Digital Knights
by AstroRocket
Summary: Tai is struggling to cope with a broken heart. Davis is as well. Jun's life is without direction. Kuri doubts her worth. Once, the digidestined were called upon to fight the evils of the digital world. Now, with new allies, can these four be called upon to stop the evils of men? 7 years after the events of 02, this is the story of the Digital Knights. TaiJun DavisKuri
1. Vague Beginnings

Okay, this is my first time writing one of these. I've been bored, trying to find a job for the summer and this story popped into my head. I'm sure there are some conflicts between this story and Digimon: Adventure's continuity (Its been so long since I've seen them), but I hope they are all minute and don't distract from the story as a whole. Also I mix a lot of things from the Japanese and American versions, I know, I know, seems blasphemous to use American names, but really, I just include whichever ones I like (Like Jun being cooler than June and Davis being slightly less generic than Daisuke). These should all be minute also.

I've paired Tai and Jun mainly because I can take certain liberties with Jun's mostly undeveloped character and her maturation over the period of 6-7 years between Digimon 02 and this story. Also, I want to work with what the creator's gave me. If Sora's with Matt, then she's with Matt. I'll deal with it. I created Kuri because there weren't any other characters that intrigued me enough to give them the fourth main role. She's not me, or an extension of me. She's just a character I figured would help me spice up the plot a bit.

Notes on the first chapter: This chapter mainly focuses on character development and providing some back story for the past few years. The plot doesn't move too much, though I hope it does keep you readers intrigued. (Review and tell me, please). Without further ado, here it is.

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. I do own Kuri…and Kado, and Kin. And whomever else I've created.

* * *

**Digital Knights:**

**A Digimon Story**

**Vague Beginnings**

Odaiba never seemed so bleak.

Tai Kamiya forlornly stared out of his bedroom window and allowed a soft sigh to escape his lips.

"I can't believe it. It's over." He muttered, "My last chance, my only chance. It's gone."

He reached over to the phone and pressed play on the answering service once again, just to be sure.

"Hello Tai." A calm voice greeted him. "As I'm sure someone has told you by now, Matt asked for my hand in marriage last night. I said yes." A long few seconds of silence followed. "I'm not requesting your presence at any ceremonies. You don't have to throw a bachelor party, or be the best man. There was once a time when I would've wanted you there, but after the other day, I just don't know. I can't believe you did that." She paused, her voice giving away her being on the verge of tears. "Tai, I thought we were friends. Friends don't do that to one another. I-I have to go…"

That was where the message ended. Tai stood, his finger hovering uncertainly over the machine. He contemplated deleting the message, but some small section of his subconscious just wouldn't allow him to do it. Instead he reached for his brown overcoat, sprawled carelessly on the bedroom floor. At the very least, he figured the message would serve as some clue to Kari as to why her brother hadn't returned home in the last twelve hours or so. After putting his coat on, Tai reached for his keys and exited the room. He needed to go somewhere for a while, to get away. He had no idea where exactly, but he knew it had to be far, just to give him enough time to pull his thoughts together.

* * *

**The Digital Realm**

Two figures stood in a rather small clearing, staring up at the humongous structure whose construction had just been completed.

"Do you really think anyone will go for this?" the smaller, younger one asked.

Gennai, the older one, stared up at the large building. Its style much resembled the expansive country mansions of the real world. The only difference being that it was easily ten times their normal size.

"The ones I choose will. I wouldn't go through the work of building such a large academy for nothing, Keyan."

"But, a one year term? Without seeing their family or friends?"

"Two weeks in their world."

"Still, you have to admit that it's pretty daunting at the least."

"Yes, it is. But in any case, this is no time to question our chances of success." Gennai responded, somewhat agitated.

"You're right of course." Keyan answered solemnly

Her mentor softened his tone. "Don't worry, this new threat requires a different kind of combatant. The original digidestined were a roll of the dice compared to the current situation. The kind of people we pull in for this will be exactly what we need."

"I certainly hope so."

* * *

Tai had just put his keys into the ignition of his navy blue Tiburon, when a knock on the passenger side window disturbed him from his thoughts. He looked over, only to see the familiar countenance of his longtime friend Koushiro, "Izzy," Izumi staring back at him. He motioned impatiently for Tai to open the door, and upon being granted his request, asked him to start the car and turn on the heat.

"Come on Tai! It's freezing out there!" he pleaded, upon seeing the annoyed expression of his former leader's face. After acquiescing to the computer wiz's wishes, Tai simply stared at him as he made a show of warming his hands over the vents and rubbing them together.

"Can you believe it's supposed to be summer right now? I mean, this cold? It's almost ridiculous. If I were a meteorologist…"

"Yeah, well the mornings have been like this for a while now."

"I know, but still, this is just crazy-"

"Izzy, do you have a reason for being here?" Tai interrupted.

"Well, yes, not me exactly, but some of the guys-"

"Spill it, Izumi."

Izzy took a moment to compose his thoughts. "Tai, what the hell did you do to Sora?"

Tai groaned and allowed his head to fall upon his steering wheel with a thump.

"Look Tai, I'm not going to judge you, I mean, I still have no idea what happened exactly. What I do know is that Sora is extremely angry and hurt, and Matt seems about ready to kill you."

"She told Matt?" Tai's eyes widened in surprise.

"Apparently, now would you mind telling me _what _she told him?"

Tai leaned back in his seat and ran a hand through his usually unkempt hair. "I don't want to…" he began.

Izzy remained silent and Tai took in the young genus's unflinching façade.

"But I suppose I'm going to have to, at least to have some peace for myself."

He sat there for a while, staring up at his car's convertible ceiling.

"Well?" Izzy urged.

Tai sighed, finally resigned to the fact that he would have to do this. "Well, it all kind of started with Matt telling us of his plans to ask Sora to marry him…"

* * *

**Days Earlier, Digital World: Digitamamon's diner**

"So what do you guys think?" Matt asked, brandishing the new engagement ring he'd just bought in front of Tai, Izzy, and TK.

TK was the first to respond. "Wow, bro. I never would've pictured you as the marrying type, at least not this early anyway. She really means that much to you?"

Matt shook his head while grinning, "Man, you don't even know the half of it. She's like, my whole reason for being, sappy as that sounds. It just feels like the right thing to do."

Izzy was next, "Well, in any case, congratulations. Along with a very sarcastic thank-you."

"What?"

"For the 'wonderful' ideas you'll be putting into Mimi's head."

"Oh please, Izzy, it won't be long before you're getting down on one knee and popping the question too." Matt said with a laugh.

Izzy only replied with a grumble. It was probably true. Ever since his effervescent girlfriend had moved back from America the two had been utterly inseparable.

Matt then turned to Tai, who had been unusually quiet for a while. "So, O fearless leader, what do you think of this?"

Tai, disturbed from his reverie, answered unsurely, "Huh? Oh, I don't know. I mean, you're only twenty Matt. Are you sure about this?"

"I'm as sure as I can be Tai. Do you know what it's like to be with someone you care about, you need, so much that you just know you can't ever be separated from them ever again?"

"No." Tai answered truthfully.

"Oh…well one day you will." Matt said, placing a hand on Tai's shoulder. "And when you do you'll understand why I'm doing this."

"Well, if you feel so strongly about it, who am I to stop you?" Tai shrugged, giving his closest version of consent.

Matt grinned. "Thanks Tai. That really means a lot coming from you. You've been her best friend for so long, I don't know if you should be my best man, or her bridesmaid.".

Tai considered him skeptically. It had been quite a while since they were all that close. In fact, this meeting was the first time he'd seen Matt in weeks, and he'd only seen Sora sporadically. But if he still supposed they were such good friends, who was Tai to argue? There was no disagreeing with someone as socially deluded as Matt apparently was.

"Now now, Matt, don't get ahead of yourself," Tai said, forcing only the slightest hint of a smile, "You haven't proposed yet."

"True," Matt agreed, "but there's no way she's gonna refuse. I can just feel it"

* * *

"I'm sorry," Izzy said, interrupting Tai's recounting of the events of that day, "but what does this have to do with anything? I was there you know."

"That's when I realized."

"Realized what?'

"That my last chance with Sora was about to pass."

"Tai, what are you talking about? Your last chance? Surely, you haven't still been pining for her heart after all these years. I mean, the possibility of you and Sora being together has decreased almost exponentially since she and Matt got together, and furthermore, you two have maintained quite a good platonic friendship since then. No way you'd jeopardize that for feelings you lost long ago, right?"

The plaintive look on his old friend's face was answer enough for Izzy.

"Oh…" he said in surprise.

"I never lost those feelings Izzy, I just hid them." Tai was holding his face in his hands at this point, as if trying to force an embarrassing moment from his memories. "The only ones who knew the truth were Agumon and Kari, to an extent, and, well… one other person."

"Well, as disturbing as that is, it still doesn't explain why Sora would like nothing more than to see you dead right now…unless." Izzy paused, stumbling on a sudden realization, "Tai, you didn't-did you?"

Tai kept his face down, and only nodded in response. "Yeah, I did."

"When? How?" Izzy inquired, "And although I realize your chances of success weren't high, how in the world did things go so badly?"

"Well, I planned it all out as well as I could. I took her to a movie, went shopping, you know, normal friends stuff. Then I took her to the tree."

"The tree?"

"Yeah, it's this tree in the park that we used to climb as kids."

Izzy nodded. "Hmm, I remember that. You guys would climb up there and talk for what seemed like days. So then what happened?"

"She was really touched at that point. I even considered going back on my plans right then, but something just forced me forward, kept telling me that this was my _last chance, _you know? I just couldn't ignore it…"

* * *

"Wow, this is really nice Tai." Sora said as she sat with Tai on a park bench adjacent to "their" tree. "Sometimes I can't believe what a sweet person you can be."

The sun glinted perfectly off her radiant, crimson, mane as she looked up toward the old landmark. Her beautiful, petite, smile almost made Tai groan in frustration.

"Heh, thanks," he responded, unsure if her words amounted to a good thing. "I guess."

"It's a complement, Tai," she confirmed. "You can be so much like Matt sometimes."

"What?" Tai's tone was somewhat defensive. "How's that?"

"You're both so dense at times, maybe it's just a guy thing, but you and Matt are particularly good at it."

"Oh, yeah." They both sat there in silence for a while, enjoying the gentle breeze and sound of rustling leaves overhead, before Tai spoke again, "You know, in some ways I wish I was more like Matt."

"What? Why?" Sora asked, caught off guard by his statement.

"I don't know, I guess the way he lives allows him certain, um, perks."

"Perks? Like what? We've all become famous since the fight with MaloMyotismon, and god knows it's been especially hard to maintain any sense of anonymity since we turned eighteen." Sora laughed. "We're part of the 'eight original,' remember? If everyone wasn't so busy with the discovery of a new species of beings and inter-dimensional travel, we'd never be able to have any privacy. I mean, yeah the Teenage wolves are world famous, but hell, half their fans are there because they know Matt's an Original Digidestined. Even I'm willing to admit that its helped tremendously in my fashion design ventures, and TK's only seventeen and already writing for major magazines-"

"That's not exactly what I meant, Sora." Tai interjected before she could continue her rant. "It's not the popularity I envy, like I said, it's the perks."

She frowned in thought for a moment, "Well, what exactly constitutes a perk?"

"Oh, I don't know exactly, opportunities, lifestyle," he turned to look at her seriously, "people."

"Tai, are you okay?" She mockingly placed a hand on his forehead. "If you would just decide what you wanted to do with your life, you could have everything he does."

"Sora, I couldn't-"

"How many contracts have you been offered by pro soccer teams and turned down?"

"I dunno, five or six, but they only want me because of-."

"And how many universities offered you full scholarships only to have you refuse them?"

"Sora-"

"Tai, it's been six years since we last battled the forces of darkness. When are you going to figure out that there are other things in life that you're good at?"

Tai finally placed a hand in the air to discourage her from going any further. "Look Sora, I'm not sure what I want to do right now. I know you and the rest of the guys are leaving me behind and I'm willing to accept that. If I had as much going for me as you all, I wouldn't just sit around, waiting for someone like me to get it together either."

"Tai-"

"No, Sora. It's true. But it's still not the reason I envy Matt."

"Then what is?" Sora threw her hands in the air, exasperated at having this conversation in the first place.

Tai simply stared at the ground, "Isn't it obvious?" he mumbled.

"No, if it was, I-" A look of realization crossed her face, mid-sentence. "Oh no you don't."

"What?"

"I can't believe this, you selfish…" Anger overtook her features. "FRIEND Tai, that's what you are to me. Nothing more, nothing less. Can't you see that I'm happy with Matt? Do you even care? After all these years, you bring this up now?" Her eyes began to water as she pointed a shaky finger at his chest, "This whole day was just a setup for this wasn't it? I can't believe you."

Tai, taken aback by her fiery response, attempted to tread lightly in choosing his words with caution. "I'm sorry Sora. It's just, ever since that Christmas, I never received my chance."

"Tai, what makes you think I'd ever even want to give you that chance? I don't love you like that. I love Matt. I'm happy with Matt." She picked up her purse from the bench and stood up. Tears now streamed down her face as she ineffectively tried to wipe them away. Narrowing her eyes at Tai, Sora delivered one final, damning statement. "At this point, I don't know if I even like you anymore."

With that, she turned away and walked down the path heading out of the park, not bothering to take the bags from their earlier shopping trip.

"I-I'm sorry, Sora." Tai stammered, much too softly for her to hear.

* * *

"Wow, Tai. I'm sorry." Izzy said at the completion of the story.

"Yeah," Tai croaked, only vaguely aware of Izzy having said anything. "I never considered the fact that she could be completely over me by now. And she told Matt about it…"

"The proverbial nail in the coffin."

"Tell me about it. For someone bearing the crest of love to say she doesn't even like you…it's harsh."

"In a way, she was right about one thing, though," the genius continued, "You can't live off of our royalties forever, Tai. At some point, you're going to have to find something you can do. Live your own life, you know."

"Izzy, I've only found one thing I'm particularly good at that I actually want to do," Tai said as he straightened his rear view mirror, "and apparently it only comes along once in a lifetime."

He put the car into gear as a signal to Izzy that he was through with the conversation.

Izzy opened his door to exit. "Well Tai, with any luck, maybe Myotismon will come along in some new evolved form to once again threaten the world." With that sarcastic remark, he got out and closed the door behind him.

"We can only hope," Tai responded to himself with a sad smirk.

He then pulled out of the lot and accelerated towards parts unknown.

Izzy watched the car disappear around a corner. "Out of all of us, Tai," he said quietly, "I never thought you'd be the one to end up like this."

* * *

**The Green Room**

"Oh boy, here comes Kuri and that mutant 'thing' again."

A girl who looked to be about seventeen with what appeared to be a multi-colored pig on her shoulder approached the small throng of teenagers and digimon gathered in the abandoned Odaiba Works facility. Odaiba Works, a company which had specialized in the creation of many natural drinks, mainly made from tree bark and sometimes animal excrement, had long since gone bankrupt due to an abundance of pending lawsuits, leaving only this large warehouse behind as testament to its spectacular failure. The kids now referred to it as 'The Green Room', that is, a place where digidestened children could meet without the supervision of adults or the corrupting influence of 'battlers,' people who took advantage of the fact that the legality of digimon fighting was an issue still mired in the halls of legislation worldwide.

"It's a Patamon, idiot. Her color's just a little unique. You know, like your mental state."

"Kuri, it's blue, purple, and pink," said her antagonist, a young sandy-blonde boy who was of about the same age as she.

"Yeah, and you'll be black and blue, Kin, if you keep referring to _her _as _it._"

He gave her a flirtatious smile. "You know, it's sad someone could be so beautiful and yet so violent."

It was true that Kuri was beautiful. Her ebony locks draped perfectly over her shoulders, or they would if she didn't currently have them tied into a simple, and much more manageable ponytail. Either way, it served as a perfect compliment to her tanned skin, piercing jade green eyes, and petite physique.

"Yeah, it's also sad that someone like you could objectify me and not end up dead, I must be slipping."

It was also true that she could be very violent.

"Okay okay, touché," Kin finally gave in, "How are you doing today Peko?" he asked, turning his attention to the colorful Patamon perched on Kuri's shoulder.

"Just fine, jerk." The little digimon answered in much the same spirit as her partner.

"I see you have her trained well, Kuri."

Kuri smiled. "I didn't train her, she just calls 'em as she sees 'em,"

A chorus of 'oohs' arose from the many kids seated in the varied furnishings around the warehouse. Kin mumbled something under his breath and sulkily sank further into his makeshift recliner, effectively bequeathing this round of insults to his adversary.

"Go on and play," Kuri told Peko, gesturing to a group of digimon in the corner embroiled in a rather lively game of hide and seek, "I know you're dying to."

"Okay, thanks Kuri!" The Patamon shouted excitedly before taking off.

"So, what's new guys?" Kuri asked the kids languidly lounging around the room as she plopped down onto a old sofa herself.

"Nothing at all," a girl sitting directly across from her answered, "This has so far been the worst Saturday ever."

"I don't know about that Noriko," a boy next to her countered, "wasn't it on a Saturday that that Oikawa dude kidnapped you?"

"You know Jiro, I can't quite remember, but if so then I guess this is the _second _worst Saturday."

"Either way, what they're trying to say is that today sucks." Kin added with a roll of his eyes.

Kuri leaned back into her seat with a sigh. "Well, there's always the digital world…"

"Uh, no thanks," Jiro cut in quickly, "No more herds of rampaging Monochromon for me, thank you."

"That is such a 'Joe' thing to say," Kuri commented.

"Ouch," Kin said with a laugh, "some things are just uncalled for, Kuri."

"I don't mind being compared to Joe," Jiro said, "unlike that glory hog, Tai, he was always there for people who needed him"

It was a well-known fact among the Green Room kids that Tai was Kuri's favorite OD, or Original Digidestined, mostly due to her close relationship with his sister, Kari.

"Hey, Tai was always there when people needed him," Kuri said, " Joe's the one who ran off with Mimi that time for what we all know were, 'ahem', romantic reasons."

Jiro looked at her in surprise, "That wasn't what TK wrote in the 'Chronicles.'"

"Kid, sometimes you have to read between the lines. Besides, we all know that the only real glory hog in the OD's was Matt."

"True," Jiro agreed. "Talk about a drama queen."

"Are you kidding?" Kin said. "At least Matt had a real reason for not following that blowhard Tai around like some robot."

Kuri rolled her eyes. "Yeah, he was fooled by a freaking tree."

Suddenly, an argument at the Green Room's entrance interrupted the kids' conversation.

"Sorry dude, but only people with digimon are allowed in here," Kentaro, the Green Room's portly door guardsman, boomed to a potential "invader" standing outside. "No exceptions."

Kuri got up and walked to the door to peer at the unfortunate kid who wanted into their club so badly.

"Kado, is that you?" she asked, recognizing the young boy from her apartment building.

"Kuri? Yeah it's me! I'm a digidestined now! See, I've even got a digivice and a digimon!"

Kuri skeptically peered through the crack at the kid.

"Kado, that's your dog, Raidon, with some kind of magic marker stripes drawn on him and in your hand is a calculator, a Casio to be exact." She opened the door further, "Exactly what kind of fools do you take us for?"

"I-I don't," he stammered, withering before her intimidating presence, "I just don't understand why I can't be a digidestined. What did I do wrong? Every day one of my friends gets a digivice and a digimon, but I just have to sit alone and wait. I'm tired of it. I-I just want to be a part of something."

Kuri considered him a moment before responding, "Sorry kid, them's the breaks." She made to close the door completely before something outside stopped her. Growing exasperated, Kuri flung the door open again, "Look Kado-" she began before seeing who exactly she was talking to. "Davis?"

Before her stood Davis Motomiya himself, leader of the "Second Wave" of digidestined, which had defeated the Digimon Emperor and MaloMyotismon. Though he wasn't a member of the original eight, Davis still commanded great deal of respect among most digidestined, which he usually tried to dissuade through his aloof nature.

"Kuri, let the kid in."

"But-" she gestured towards the ridiculously colored dog.

"What would Kari say about this?" He said with a lopsided grin. It wasn't often that one could win an argument with Kuri, and he'd found the surest method to doing so.

"Fine, you win," Kuri gave in, "Come on in Kado, and don't break anything." She shook her head as she watched him happily bound past her. "You know Davis, we have rules for a reason. We can't just let any kid with a mutilated canine and a graphing calculator come in here anytime they want."

"Sorry Kuri but, how do you say it? Those are the breaks."

"It _them's_ and what are you doing here anyway? Shouldn't you be out stalking Kari or something?"

He looked at her crossly. "Funny, but no."

"Then what do you want?"

"I'm looking for TK. He and I were supposed to be practicing for a basketball tournament together and it looks like he's ducking out on his part. I can't reach him at his house or his cell, and he's not answering his email." He leaned his head into the green room, "and I guess he's not here either."

Kuri only responded with a confident smirk.

Davis eyed her suspiciously, "You know something, don't you?"

"Well, yes and no."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, I know where Kari is, and I know that wherever she is, TK's with her right now, so…" She allowed her voice to trail off as she feigned staring at something interesting on the ceiling.

Davis began to grow notably more agitated, "What? Where's Kari then? What are they up to?"

"I dunno. I guess you could go down to the park and find out for yourself if you really wanted to." Kuri had barely finished the sentence before Davis was out of the door and running down the street like a madman.

"What did you just do, Kuri?" Kentaro asked ominously.

"I just made someone's Saturday a bit more interesting." She replied, a satisfied smile playing across her face.

* * *

Only five minutes passed between Kuri's disclosing of Kari's location to Davis and his actual arrival at the park. His lungs burned in hunger for air. His whole body cried out for a moment's respite, yet he continued to stalk forward, searching. For the last few years everyone had told Davis that his pursuit of a romantic relationship with Kari was pointless, that she and TK were simply meant to be, that the crests of Light and Hope belonged together and were destined to be merged. He never listened to any of that. He needed only to look at Tai to see what would happen if he didn't actively seek the favor of the girl he'd fallen in love with.

Davis wasn't as dumb as everyone liked to think, he could see what they all took to be the "writings on the wall" and knew them only as signs of friendship. He saw the way Kari and TK often talked together and shared laughs. He saw the way they shared experiences, shared a past. But so did Tai and Sora, and Sora had decided to be with Matt, even marry him, as he'd heard earlier today. Kari just needed to know who he was, exactly how he felt about her. He felt all he could ask for was a fair consideration. And in the sense of fairness, he believed TK deserved the same consideration, as well.

Right now, though, he was purposely interrupting something important between TK and Kari. When a guy ditched helping you get ready for an important 3 on 3 tournament in order to get some private time with the girl with whom you were both seeking a relationship, all bets were off.

He stopped in his frantic searching for a moment to catch his breath. In taking a cursory look around he spied a familiar flash of blonde through one of the park's tall bushes. Walking up to the bit of foliage, he parted the leaves ever so slightly with his hands and peered through to the other side. Davis' suspicions were confirmed as he saw TK standing, noticeably taller than Kari, on one of the park's many bridges crossing a small, tranquil stream. The two were both eating ice cream, which only served to further irritate Davis. He could see that they were laughing about something but couldn't quite tell what it was. In order to discern what they were saying he turned an ear toward them and leaned further forward.

"I can't believe I still get ice cream on my nose," TK exclaimed.

Kari giggled. "You've been doing that since we were eight, silly." She walked up to him and dabbed if off with a napkin, "Lucky for you, it's still incredibly cute."

TK visibly blushed at her attention for a moment before switching the tables on her.

"Perhaps I'm just that irresistible to you." He said, slowly advancing towards her.

She pretended to be fearful, backing away while holding him at bay with an arm. Davis noticed something in the way she moved that told him there was more to this than met the eye.

"Perhaps," Kari finally agreed, giving him a seductive smile. The arm she had been using to hold TK away was then used to grab a portion of his collar and pull him closer to her.

When their faces were only an inch apart she whispered, "Or maybe it's me who's just that irresistible to you."

"Maybe." TK concurred. He barely got the answer out before the two joined in a deep and passionate kiss.

Davis was rooted to his spot in shock. He didn't have any idea what to do about this. He didn't have any idea what to think. He couldn't think.

When the two finally broke apart, Kari was the first to speak. "As much as I enjoy this, TK, it isn't why I called you here."

"Mmmm?" TK responded, still basking in the afterglow of their kiss. Kari smiled at his momentary ineptitude.

"I wanted to talk about Davis," she continued.

"Davis?" He asked, growing defensive. "What does he have to do with this?"

"TK, we have to tell him about us. I mean, I enjoy having my books carried to class for me, and receiving flowers and chocolates every other day, but it's beginning to become quite sad."

"Well," TK began, scratching the back of his head, "I kinda had to ditch practicing with him for our tourney next week to come here, so telling him today wouldn't be so good."

"I suppose not," Kari agreed. "But what about tomorrow? Maybe early so we can have a little time to ourselves later on?"

"Kari, you might be taking this a little too lightly. No one, especially Davis, likes to hear that they lost something, especially when it was to their main competition." TK said. "I don't think it's going to go smoothly."

"TK, as far as I'm concerned, there was no competition. Davis is just going to have to understand that just because you like someone doesn't mean they're going return those feelings." TK remained silent. "It was always you I wanted," Kari continued, "I'll admit, sometimes I used Davis to make you jealous." She smiled at the annoyed look he gave her, "But it was always you that I wanted to be with. Davis never stood a chance."

TK couldn't help but to grin, "Really?"

Kari took his hands into hers, "TK, the past few months have been the happiest of my life. I definitely know that I made the right decision."

Davis couldn't stand to hear anymore. He carefully slipped back out of the bush and started to walk back the way he came. He moved in a stupor, not knowing what direction he was going in or whether he was actually moving at all. Months? They'd been together for _months_? He was vaguely aware of the sounds of horns honking as he wandered across the street, stumbling over a curb, or dog, he didn't know. He couldn't help but feel betrayed by Kari. The callously nonchalant way she referred to his feelings for her, how she'd never felt anything for him from the start…how could she? She used him? That's all he was good for to her? All he ever wanted was a fair chance, to be treated better than Tai. Instead, he'd received worse.

Davis began to feel a stinging sensation in his eyes. He tried to wipe at the offensive tears before they could make themselves apparent. It was to no avail though, as they fell anyway. He continued to walk, his mind a volatile mix of depression and rage. He began to curse loudly, not caring who else walking the streets heard him. While anger clouded Davis' judgment, tears blurred his vision. To the point that he missed a certain digidestined with a strangely colored Patamon passing him on the sidewalk.

"Davis?" Kuri asked, not sure that the person approaching her was indeed the happy-go-lucky Davis Motomiya she'd come to know.

He simply brushed past her, at no point even noticing she was there, and continued his vulgar tirade down the street.

"What was that about?" Kuri watched him angrily depart down the sidewalk.

"I'm not sure," Peko answered. "But it looked like he was crying, Kuri."

Kuri started as she realized what must've happened. "Damn it." she exclaimed softly.

"What?"

"When Kari said she was meeting TK at the park, I knew what they would be doing, but I sent him there anyway. God, what the hell is wrong with me sometimes?" She turned to look the way Davis had gone, "Man, he has to be hurting right now."

"Why?" Peko asked.

"Because of me and my big mouth." Kuri admitted sadly.

"Well, that's nothing new." Peko added smartly.

Kuri gave her an admonishing glare before turning her attention back down the street.

"Somehow, I'm gonna have to make this one up to him."

* * *

**Motomiya Residence**

"I'm telling you, if I had a match, I'd light this all up and enjoy the blaze, Sparks."

Jun Motomiya had just finished stuffing the last of her "Matt Ishida and the Wolves" (They had dropped the "Teenage" some time ago) merchandise in her room's rather small, personal wastebasket. Since hearing about he and Sora's engagement she'd finally decided to get rid all reminders of him and what he once meant to her. She stepped back and took a look at her now surprisingly unchanged room. A few years ago, this act would've stripped it bare.

"I think that would be a fire hazard, Jun." Sparks, Jun's partner elecmon, advised, "but fun."

"I wasn't serious. Don't get any ideas."

Jun smiled at her little digimon, probably the best thing to happen to her since she discovered the Teenage Wolves, all those years ago. It was still a mystery to many how she'd actually received him. Only Davis, Tai, Kari, and Kuri were present when she first got her digimon and digivice. Davis had asked her to come on a trip to the digital world, she supposed in an attempt to bring her out of the depression she had fallen into upon Jim Kido's move to America. She agreed to go along with them, curious to see what the digital world actually looked like. It was when Tai had taken them to Primary Village during their tour that she felt called, pulled by something toward an area of the village filled with multicolored eggs. Apparently, one of the village's many resident caretaker elecmon had felt the same thing as she, because he tackled her as soon as she came into view.

At first everyone had been alarmed, thinking she was being attacked, but when he began to shout, "I found you! You finally came to me!" everyone knew that Jun had just stumbled upon her digimon partner. Everyone except Jun that is. She, as Kuri would put it later, "practically freaked" and got up, ready knock her little assailant into next week. It didn't take long for Tai to finally calm her down, as he'd developed a knack for knowing how to talk to Jun; the two were so much alike, after all. Still, it wasn't until she found a digivice, mysteriously slipped into her skirt pocket, that she finally began to understand what was going on.

Jun smiled in remembrance of that day. It was then that her crush on Matt became less acute. She'd actually been given something else to live for. Her infatuation had never completely faded though. Some minute part of her always held hope, however morbid it was, that his relationship with Sora would fall on hard times, and she would finally gain his attention. Of course, that was never meant to happen.

"What a fool I've been."

"What was that, Jun?"

"Nothing, Sparks." She smiled at the rookie level digimon as he attempted to pick up the trash can full of posters and newspaper clippings, only to fall over.

Stifling a laugh, Jun bent over and picked it up herself.

"I could've done that." Sparks insisted from his position on the ground.

"Uh-Huh," Jun headed for the kitchen with the laden wastebasket. As she began to remove the filled bag from the can, she stopped to stare out of the kitchen window.

The evening sun cast a shadow over most of Odaiba's skyline. Tall ornate structures towered hundreds of feet into the air, interspersed here and there by smaller, simpler apartment buildings. Jun had always loved the view here. It had been the apartment's biggest selling point when she and Davis had gone house hunting three years ago, after he'd started receiving royalty checks from TK's books and the various movies and TV shows made about the adventures of the digidestined. Since their parents were perennially out of town on business (and only propped in front of the TV when home) the two figured that they might as well move to a different place, where they wouldn't have to conform to the rules of people who were never there emotionally or physically.

Overall, Jun had enjoyed the change in scenery, and her relationship with her brother had improved tremendously. But now, she really didn't know what was left. Her life had been going nowhere fast in the last couple of years. She had tried attending Odaiba University while majoring in newly created Digital Studies, but that had gotten old when she discovered that her "knowledgeable" professors didn't even know half of what Davis did about the digital world. Soon after, she quit school, despite a 3.8 GPA, out of frustration.

As it was now, Jun was a soul in limbo, abandoned by love, and forgotten by her friends in the Wolves fan club. Even her supposedly "best" friend Momoe, had gradually drifted away from her. She now only had a few friends, really; her brother Davis, of course, Tai, who she'd been concerned for and trying to call all day since hearing about Matt and Sora's engagement, and Kuri, who she had talked with steadily since that day in the digital world. Everyone else either fell into the category of "acquaintance" or complete stranger. She had no idea where to categorize Matt, but the looks of contempt he gave her every time they crossed paths told her he definitely wasn't one of the former.

It was like there was a subconscious division of power between them all, with Matt and Sora at one end, and she, Tai, and Davis at the other. Everyone else fell in the middle, well except Kuri; she probably leaned a little towards the 'good' guys. Jun smiled to herself. Not many really knew this side of her, the psychological, analytical aspect of her character that went unseen. She actually preferred it that way, better to be underestimated than vice versa, she'd always said. Jun stared contemplatively at the people walking in the streets below her, most of them heading home from work or window-shopping. They all seemed to have something to do, somewhere to be, things she could only wish for.

"What's out there for me?" she whispered to herself.

Jun's thoughts were abruptly broken by the sudden slamming of the apartment's front door.

"Davis?" she called, knowing her brother was the only other person with a key to the place.

"Yeah," he answered. Jun noticed that his voice sounded shaky, unsure.

"What's wrong?" she asked, walking into the living room, where he was already sprawled on the sofa.

He held his head in his hands, and for a moment Jun could almost swear that he was trying to hide tears. Davis tried his best to compose himself, removing his hands from is face only to expose swollen, red eyes. Although very concerned at this point, Jun waited patiently for her brother to explain what was wrong.

"She," he began, before taking a deep breath, "she chose TK." No further explanation was needed.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." Jun said, immediately rushing to his side to pull him into an embrace. A six year struggle for one girl's favor. Ended. Just like that.

They sat there a moment before Davis nodded and quietly said, "Yeah, so am I."

Jun tried her best to console her obviously hurting brother, but couldn't stop a rather sobering thought from entering her head.

_Another one bites the dust._

* * *

Tai really had no idea where he was. He'd been driving through the Japan countryside for the last six and a half hours. Well, for four hours anyway. For the last two and a half he'd simply been trying to figure out the way back to Odaiba.

Tai impatiently tapped the blank screen of what was supposed his car's onboard GPS system. It had mysteriously stopped functioning a while ago, which left him in quite a bind. "Now I've got to start bringing maps when I do this," he commented ruefully, before taking a chance on a right turn. Peering upwards through his somewhat fogged windshield, Tai could discern a large billboard that read as an advertisement for Eclipse Cola. He smiled in recognition of the landmark that he'd passed many times in previous journeys.

"Okay, now we're getting somewhere." He said, applying more pressure to the accelerator. "This is probably the way back. Now I can start moving." Tai's euphoria only lasted a few fleeting moments, however, when he realized he really had nothing to rush home to. Accordingly, he eased his foot back off the gas and allowed the car to slow a bit, not caring how his mood swing affected the surrounding traffic. A depressed sigh escaped his lips. Abruptly, his broken GPS monitor began to flicker and started to crackle to life.

"Oh, well isn't that great," Tai cynically grumbled, "Don't work when I want you to, but now, when you'll be a danger to my safety, by all means, provide a distraction." He angrily reached over and began randomly punching at buttons in an attempt to turn the infernal device off.

"Tai, it took me quite a while to get into this thing, please don't turn it off." A voice emanating from inside exclaimed.

Many drivers on the Odaiba expressway had to suddenly hit their brakes as a certain navy blue Tiburon swerved completely across four lanes of traffic.

"What the hell?" Tai yelled, when he finally recovered from his shock and regained control of the car.

"Tsk, such language. Your manners were much more refined when you were fourteen." The machine retorted.

After a moment's thought, Tai was finally able to place the voice. "Gennai?"

"Hello Tai."

"Gennai, what're you- I mean why-…" Tai paused, not really knowing what to say.

"I'm sorry Tai, I don't have much time to explain. In short, I am once again in need of your services."

Tai couldn't help but to allow the beginnings of a smile to creep onto his face, "Okay…what's up? How serious is it?"

"I can't tell you much, but here's what you need to know. There's a new threat to both of our worlds, which even I don't completely know how to stop. I can't even identify exactly what the threat is. I do know this, though. It combines the darkness of the digital world, and the evils of men in your own. This is why I have built the Academy."

"The what?"

"It's a place where I plan to train specially chosen digidestined to combat this new danger."

"And you want me to come?"

"You, and others like you, namely Davis. Look, Tai, what I'm asking of you is no easy task. The required tenure at this Academy is a year, maybe more."

"A year? Gennai, I can't-"

"I know Tai, that's why I've made sure that it only lasts two weeks in the real world."

A picture that somewhat resembled Gennai wavered in and out of focus on the GPS screen.

"Gennai, I thought the digital world had returned to its normal timeline a long time ago."

"It did, but with some help I've created a small scale replica of the digital world in another, lesser used dimension. We call it the Digital Realm."

"Okay, and what do we do in this 'Digital Realm?'" Tai questioned.

"Sorry Tai, I can't elaborate on that any further right now. You'll have to make your decision based on the information I've already given you."

Tai gave a frustrated sigh. "Okay."

"Good. I'll open a gate in front of Highton View Terrace at ten o' clock tomorrow morning. Pack lightly, all of your needs will be provided for, and make sure to tell Davis and any other digidestined you think will want to go."

"Okay Gennai," Tai answered, "Just one problem, Kari and I no longer live at Highton View. We've moved."

"Well, that is a problem," Gennai agreed. "Guess you'll just have to get up earlier, because that's where I put the gate."

Tai groaned, "All right. If I'm going, I'll be there."

"Very well. I have to do this quite a few more times tonight before I'm done. I hope to see you soon, Tai."

"Yeah. Me too."

The screen returned black when the communication ended. Tai pondered heavily on what Gennai had told him. A year, maybe more? Even if it was only two weeks in reality, that was still a long period of time to be removed from family and friends, or what few of those he had left. He wondered if Davis would agree to come along. After all, he still had Kari to pursue, or so he thought, anyway. Tai could've sworn he'd seen his sister and TK becoming rather intimate on their apartment's sofa late one night a few days ago. There was once a time when Tai would've beaten the snot out of TK for even breathing on his sister, but Kari's growing independence, combined with his newfound penchant for not really giving a rat's ass about anything, made him ignore the affair, while keeping their little tryst a secret to keep from hurting poor Davis. Without Davis, Tai knew there was a good possibility that he would be departing for Gennai's realm alone tomorrow, if he actually went at all.

The ringing of Tai's cell phone interrupted his thoughts. He stared at the device bewilderedly for a moment. No one ever called him except Kari, Davis, Jun, or some of the more self assured kids from the Green Room, the one's he'd actually had confidence in giving his number to. Tai didn't recognize the number on the display as being any of theirs. Careful to keep his eyes on the road he picked it up and pressed the talk button.

"Hello?"

"Tai." The voice one the other end answered. He immediately recognized it as belonging to one Matt Ishida.

"Matt." Tai greeted, matching the Wolf's cold acuity.

"Tai, Sora and I had a discussion, I 'm sure you know what it was about." Matt paused, allowing what he said to sink in, "We've come to a decision, and trust me, although Sora doesn't have the heart to say what I'm about to, it is a _joint_ decision."

Tai said nothing and simply waited.

"Okay," Matt began after a moment, apparently thrown off by Tai's silence. "Tai, until you've done something of significance with your life we're requesting that you stay away from us."

Silence.

Matt cleared his throat awkwardly. "Tai you're stuck in the past. You're failing to notice how the people around you are changing, while you're not changing yourself. You're still acting like the same eleven year old who helped save the digital world, trying to take things simply because you want them, fighting logic. I mean, how are we supposed to be friends when you're making moves on my fiancée? You need to examine yourself, man."

Tai couldn't believe this. Matt, the great blonde idiot, was psychologically evaluating _him_? He remained silent, too angry to give anything close to a legible response.

"Sora and I are in love Tai. If you can't see that, I don't know what kind of friend you are, certainly not one of ours." Another pause, "And if you're not our friend, you're our enemy. I don't treat my enemies too nicely, Tai." Matt voice grew deeper and more menacing as he continued. "And neither does the Wolves' protection staff."

Sora broke into the line before Tai could respond.

"Tai, all we're saying is _do_ _something _with your life. Get your mind off of me, do something constructive, find-"

"Okay Sora," Tai broke in, "You're forgotten, if that's what you want."

"What? That's not wh-"

"And as far as my doing something with my life, I'll get started first thing tomorrow."

Tai clicked the phone off without listening to anything else Sora had to say and smiled, briefly thinking of how regretful she'd be when he went 'missing' for the next two weeks. Not that he still held out hope of her discovering some long lost love for him or anything. For some reason, none of that seemed as important now. He accelerated the car once again, now having a reason to do so.

* * *

Kuri lay in her bed and stared at the ceiling. She'd been doing so for the past hour.

"Peko, do you think he's mad at me?" Kuri asked her digimon partner.

"I don't know." the Patamon replied, busily munching on a candy bar. "Probably more mad at TK and Kari. Why do you even care so much?"

"Despite his obvious density at times, Davis is a good person, Peko. He's never really angry, even though he sometimes acts like it. If he's mad at me…"

"Then you must've really screwed up." Peko finished for her.

Kuri sighed. "Yeah."

Suddenly shouts from the next room interrupted their conversation.

"Why don't you just go to hell!"

"I did when I married you, you contemptible-"

Kuri covered her ears and shut her eyes tightly in an attempt to keep from hearing her parents' arguing.

"They're at it again." Peko noted sadly.

Kuri opened her eyes to look at a picture of her older brother on her nightstand. It had been three years now since he'd left them, precisely because of the reason she was now covering her ears. Their verbally abusive parents had finally gotten the best of him, and he'd moved to Australia to pursue an acting career immediately when he turned twenty-one. Kuri missed him dearly and despite the fact that he sent her secretive emails every few weeks, she couldn't shake the feeling the he'd abandoned her for a better life. She couldn't blame him though. Two parents and a vindictive younger sister were pretty tough to deal with.

Many people had tried to convince Kuri that she wasn't a mean spirited person, but she knew better, she'd inherited too much from the people yelling in the other room. Ultimately, she knew she was the proverbial last straw on the camel's back that had her chased her brother away. And, although unintended, she was the one that brought tears to Davis' otherwise untroubled face today. Kuri sat upright in her bed, removing her hands from her ears and allowing her parents' shouting to act as a background to her thoughts. Checking her watch, she saw that it was nine o' clock. There was nothing she could do about her brother at this point, but she still had time to set things right with Davis.

Kuri got up, walked to the closet and pulled out a light jacket.

"Where are you going?" Peko asked, watching her from the floor.

"Jun and Davis's place. You coming?"

Peko smiled flew up to Kuri's shoulder. "You know it."

* * *

Jun sat at the dining room table and watched her brother with concern as he blankly stared out the kitchen window. He'd gone in to get a glass of water and hadn't come out in the last twenty minutes.

"You know, Davis, that view's a killer." She said.

"Huh?"

"You stand there long enough, and life won't even seem worth living."

Davis replied grimly, "It isn't."

"Oh come on Davis, it was just one girl."

"And Matt was just one guy, sis."

"You're right, he was. It just took me five years to realize that." She uttered sadly. "Davis, I don't want you to go through that."

"I won't Jun, I promise. Just give me a little time, okay?"

It took Jun a while to answer. "Okay," she replied.

He continued to stare out of the window and she continued to observe him worriedly.

After a few moments there was a knock at the door. Jun got up to answer it, since Davis gave no inclination of having heard it. She smiled upon opening the door.

"Hey Kuri, what's up?"

"Hey Jun," the ebony haired girl greeted in return. "Is your brother here?"

"Yeah, but I don't know if this is such a good time to see him." Jun noticed the patamon on Kuri's shoulder. "Hey Peko." She said offhandedly.

"Hi Jun." Peko smiled. She liked how Jun always spoke to digimon and treated them as individuals. Most people didn't do that.

"You know, Sparks is back there somewhere," she said, gesturing toward the back of the apartment, "Earlier he was saying something about you still owing him money from a poker game."

"What?" Peko exclaimed, "_He _owes _me_ money! Why that little-" she took off into the apartment, grazing Jun's hair in her fervor.

Jun smoothed her spiky mane while giving Kuri an apologetic smile.

"I know what's wrong with Davis." Kuri said, unaffected. "It was all kinda my fault."

"What?"

"I was the one who told Davis that TK and Kari were in the park together. I wanted him to see them… together."

Jun let out a small gasp. "Kuri, why would you set him up like that? That's not like you."

"Oh come on, Jun. That is totally like me."

"Kuri, don't start this again. How many times do we have to tell you-"

"I know, I know, I'm a good person." Kuri interrupted acerbically with a roll of her eyes.

Jun laughed, "You certainly try to prove otherwise, don't you?"

"Well," the younger girl sighed, "I suppose I could prove you right by apologizing to Davis."

"That would be a good start," Jun agreed, stepping aside and pointing towards the kitchen, "He's in there."

"Thanks, Jun." Kuri, said, fixing her with a sincere gaze before entering.

* * *

_Davis saw himself waiting, hidden in the shadows, watching two figures in their elaborate dance of passion._

_"Davis never stood a chance." She said, "I never had any interest in him whatsoever. He was like a gnat under my feet. In fact, I think I'll now take the liberty of shooting him through those bushes he thinks he's hidden in over there." The short, brown haired girl then produced a revolver from her purse and pointed it directly at him._

_"Kari! No!" he shouted, just before she pulled the trigger and a projectile ripped through his chest. There was a bright flash of light. Then Davis lay on the ground, writhing in a pool of his of his own blood, desperately moaning his attacker's name. She walked up to him calmly and aimed the weapon directly at his head. "Now, I end this," was all she said before squeezing off another three rounds_.

Davis was shaken from his ridiculously disturbing reflection by a gentle tapping on his shoulder.

He turned around to stare into a pair of stunningly jade eves.

"Kari?"

"Um, no," Kuri answered unsurely. "Drop the A and add a U."

"Kuri?" he said, vaguely recognizing her at first, then fully recovering from his stupor. "What're you doing here?"

"Wow, you're really messed up, aren't you?" she said, ignoring his question.

Davis looked at her incredulously. "Now I see," he hissed vehemently, "Came to see your handiwork, huh? Well, I hope you're happy." He turned to exit the kitchen.

Kuri reacted quickly by grabbing his arm. Davis whirled around to give her an angry stare. "Why the hell are you tormenting _me_? I never did anything to you, Kuri. What kind of person gets so much out of someone's else's pain?"

Kuri hung her head shamefully, but still held on to his arm. "Davis," she began, her voice quaking, "I don't know what kind of person I am, but," she took a deep breath, "I am sorry for whatever role I had in causing your pain."

"I'll bet." Davis replied cynically.

"I am. I knew what they were doing at the park, but I guess I never thought through just how much it would affect you. I never think these things through-" She whispered, more to herself than him. She sniffed and furtively wiped at her hidden face.

Davis immediately softened upon realizing how sincere she was. "I believe you, Kuri." Unable to stand the way she was humbling her usually strong demeanor before him, Davis used his free hand to tilt Kuri's chin up so that she could look directly into his eyes.

"I believe you." He emphasized. "And I forgive you."

She only nodded in understanding. The two stayed that way a moment before Kuri decided to interrupt the silence.

"So what're you going to do?"

"What do you mean?"

"You can't just let them get away with treating you the way they did."

Davis looked at her thoughtfully, "You know, I could've sworn that you and Kari were pretty good friends."

Kuri faltered, "Um, yeah, well, I'd like to believe that you and I could be good friends too."

Davis smiled, the first time he'd done so in hours, "You'd be right. So what does my good friend suggest I do about this?"

"Getting even would be the order of the day," Kuri answered, the wheels in her head starting to turn. This was truly her area of expertise.

* * *

Jun watched her brother and Kuri interact from her position at the front door. Davis seemed to have lightened a bit in his mood a bit since the two had first started talking.

"They get along well," she noted to herself. For a moment there, it had seemed to Jun that Kuri was there to do more than apologize, she couldn't put her finger on it, but there looked to be some kind of connection between the two that they had yet to realize. Davis and Kuri had never been close friends, but as she watched them Jun felt that if they ever did become closer, their inherent personality traits could really be mutually beneficial.

"You have to know this isn't safe."

Jun jumped back, startled by a voice from outside her door. She turned to look directly upon Tai's grinning face.

"Tai!" She exclaimed, before playfully hitting him on the shoulder. "Don't do that!"

He only shook his head in response. "Then start closing your door when you're not actually using it.'

"And where have you been?" she continued, "I've been trying to reach you all day."

"I've been out. Why didn't you call my cell?"

Jun slapped her forehead in realization. "I forgot you even had one. You certainly never use it."

"Yeah, well," Tai rubbed at a kink in his neck, "it got used today."

"What happened?" Jun asked, catching his implied significance.

"I got a kinda 'joint call' from Matt and Sora."

Jun's persona sobered immediately. "Oh, Tai, I'm sorry. I wanted to be there for you when you found out."

"No biggie." He replied almost automatically. "I've known for a while."

"And you've been carrying it around without telling me?" She reached for the hand he rubbed his neck with and held it. "Look, Tai, you've always been there for me these last few years, how do you think it makes me feel when you don't let me return the favor?"

"Come on, Jun." He said dismissively, "You know this kind of stuff just rolls off my-"

"Tai, don't even try to finish that sentence. You know I know you a lot better than that."

"Maybe I just didn't want you to worry about me." Tai said, finally telling some semblance of the truth. "And what about you? How are you dealing with it?" he asked, trying to turn the tables.

"Matt was just crush, Tai. A crush I've been over for quite a while...kind of. Sora was something very different for you. You've known her since childhood, seen all her faults and shortcomings, and yet you still wanted to be with her with the fervor of a teenager infatuated with her favorite rock star." Jun couldn't help but to smirk at the comparison before becoming serious again. "For all intents and purposes, she was your first love, Tai, and although you won't tell me, I know you're hurting right now. I just want to be here for you, like a good friend should be."

Tai just stared at the ground, his hand still clutched in Jun's. Jun gave him a reassuring squeeze.

"You're really good at this," he finally said, "Have you ever considered being a therapist or something?"

"Oh please," she scoffed, "I have enough problems on my own, considering my life is going absolutely nowhere right now."

"I know the feeling."

"And then there's this whole thing with Davis."

"Davis?" Tai asked, reminded of the actual reason he'd come, "What's wrong with him?"

"Your sister chose TK." Jun said matter-of-factly. "He found out on his own."

"Oh." Tai responded solemnly. "How's he taking it?"

"About like you would"

Tai grimaced inwardly. "In other words, not well at all."

Jun shook her head in affirmation. "I guess you're happy though, huh?"

"What? What's that supposed to mean?"

"I know you always preferred she be with TK instead of my brother."

"There was a time when I did," Tai admitted, "but Davis has matured so well over the years, I honestly didn't have a preference anymore." Tai nervously shifted his feet, "Does he need any um, comforting or anything?"

Jun smiled at Tai's usual social ineptitude in these situations and thought of how cute it was of him to still offer. "No, Kuri's handling damage control, and quite well, I might add."

"Kuri?" he said, eyes widened.

"Yeah, surprised me too, but something keeps telling me she's just the type of friend Davis needs right now."

Tai snapped his fingers, "Oh, that reminds me, I stopped by an Internet café on the way here and picked up another one of his friends." Tai put two fingers to his mouth and let forth a shrill whistle. Suddenly, two balls of orange and blue came streaking around the corner at the end of the hall.

"Veemon, Agumon!" Jun shouted happily, greeting the two digimon barreling toward her.

Veemon was the first to respond, "Hi Jun! Is Davis here?"

"He's in the in kitchen," she told him. Before he could take off into the apartment she added, "Hey, I thought you guys were taking a vacation in the digital world."

"We were," Agumon replied "but Tai called us back here because of some kind of emergency."

Jun looked back to Tai seriously. "An emergency? Tai, what's going on?"

"He said he'd tell us when we got here," Agumon answered for his partner, while looking at him impatiently, "and I'm still waiting."

"Okay, okay," Tai said, his hands raised defensively in the air, "I'll tell you all inside. But Davis needs to hear this the most, so Veemon-"

"Don't worry, I'll get him!" Veemon interrupted, bounding through the door.

Tai turned back to the concerned expression on Jun's face. "Don't worry," he said, stepping inside the apartment with Agumon, "It's nothing that we can't handle. At least I don't think so."

* * *

"Okay, so the whole 'make her think you killed yourself in grief' thing is out." Kuri leaned back against the kitchen counter, going through potential revenge scenarios with Davis. "I can't believe you think that one's too harsh. It's pure gold in this situation."

Davis couldn't help but to laugh at Kuri's outlandish manner. "You're crazy, you know that?" He said between chuckles.

"And you're smiling," she replied, "You know that?"

Davis eyed her suspiciously. "So, you're telling me you wouldn't seriously do any of the things you just talked about?" He asked, skepticism apparent in his tone. "You were just trying to cheer me up?"

"Well, that's for me to know, and you to find out." She said playfully.

Davis regarded the girl in front of him for a moment. This was most likely the first time the two of them had had a real conversation without anyone else around. Davis felt guilty for not getting to know better Kuri earlier. She was so…interesting.

"Why haven't we done this before?" he asked, voicing his thoughts aloud.

"Done what?" Kuri asked.

"You know, talked."

"I dunno, maybe because you're such a cool, sincere person and I'm-" Kuri wavered for a moment. "Well, I'm me."

"And that's supposed to mean?"

Kuri sighed, "I'm just not the most socially apt person around. In fact, as you can see from today, I'm actually quite adept at pissing people off." She stopped talking with a dismissive wave, "I'm sure you know my reputation."

"I know what my sister and Kari have said about you, that you're strong willed, not mean."

Kuri gave him a non-believing look. "And what do you think?"

"I really don't know, I've never gotten to know you as a person."

She once again found herself staring at the floor.

"But what I do know is," Davis continued, "that you've made a damn good first impression tonight, and I'd really like to get to know you better."

Kuri looked up at him, curious as to his meaning.

"I didn't get the digimental of Friendship for no reason, Kuri. I know how to pick 'em" He smiled. "You're a good person, and I won't hear otherwise. You'll just have to trust me."

"Whatever it is that you see in me after all of ten minutes, I certainly don't."

"Then I'll just have to show you."

Just then, Davis was overrun by a ball of blue energy, which proceeded to tackle him to the kitchen floor.

"Davis!" it shouted, "It's so good to see you!"

"Veemon?" Davis stammered. "What're you doing here?"

"Tai brought me and Agumon."

"Tai's here?" Kuri asked.

"Yeah, he's in the living room with Jun."

"Veemon," Davis interrupted seriously, "Why did Tai bring you here? Is there something wrong?"

"Tai said there's some kind of emergency. I'm betting we have to save the digital world again."

"Veemon, you just came from the digital world, right?" Kuri said, "Did anything seem wrong to you?"

"Well, no, now that you mention it."

Kuri rolled her eyes, "I think we'd better ask Tai what's going on." She said, offering Davis her hand to help him up.

"I agree," he said, taking it.

* * *

After the four digidestined in the apartment were seated around the dining table with their respective digimon, Tai finally related to them all what Gennai had told him in the car.

Kuri, who'd been persuaded to stay by Davis, was the first to say anything after he'd finished. "I'm in."

"Kuri, did you hear what I said?" Tai said. "You'll have to spend a whole year of your life away from-"

"I know, I know. Blah, blah, blah." Kuri interrupted. She made the impression of a talking mouth with her thumb and forefingers. Davis laughed. "Look, the way I see it, this is an opportunity for me to do something good for once. I definitely want to go, whether you like it or not."

"Fine, you're in," Tai gave in, "if you get your parents' consent."

"Okay," she agreed, having no intention of telling her parents anything.

"It's good to have an extra person aboard," Tai admitted "but I think the one here Gennai was most interested in was Davis."

"I think she should go too." Davis said with a grin. "Good people should do good things."

Kuri crossed her arms over her chest and gave an irritated sigh. Damned if he wasn't a persistent one.

Tai fixed Davis with an annoyed glare, "You know what I mean."

"Yeah, I do. You know I'm down for whatever, Tai. If Gennai needs us, I'm going." He said seriously.

Tai then turned to Jun, "What about you? You think you'll be alright here for two weeks?"

"Yeah, I think I would, if I were staying." She answered sweetly.

"Come on Jun," Tai pleaded, "This could be dangerous. I can't just let everyone come along."

"I'm not everyone, I'm me," she countered, "and there's no way I'm missing a year out of my bother and best friends' lives. Plus, I don't exactly have any pressing issues to attend to right now."

"But-"

Davis raised his hand to stop Tai from going any further. "You're not going to win this one," he said, "If we're only going to this Academy place, then we must be there to learn, not fight, which sucks to me, but also means that it won't be too dangerous for Jun to come along, anyway."

"Fine, whatever." Tai hung his head in exasperation, "Some leader I am. You guys are just running over me."

Secretly, he was glad Jun was coming. Over time she had become a very important figure in his life. In no way did Tai want to spend a whole year without her.

"Everyone at this table is a natural leader Tai," Jun explained, "we aren't looking to you for direction, like the other digidestined might have, just information."

"I'm sure Gennai will be thrilled to know that four versions of me are coming to the digital realm then."

Kuri could barely hide her blush at being called a natural leader and subsequently being compared to Tai. "Well, I guess it's decided then." She said, "What time do we leave?"

"Wait a minute," Jun cut in, "we're forgetting the most important ones here, our digimon. They do all the work and fighting." She turned to address the assortment of little creatures, sitting, or in Peko's case, floating next to their respective human partners. "What do you guys think?"

"Are you kidding?" Agumon answered for them all, "We're ready to go right now."

"Are you sure?"

"I feel insulted, even being asked that." Veemon said.

Jun laughed.

"Does that take care of everyone?" Davis asked

There was a pregnant moment of silence, as all parties in the room examined their dedication to the upcoming task, and their motivations for participating. None of them even remotely had reneging on their minds.

"That settles it then," Tai eventually said, satisfied, "We meet tomorrow if front of Highton View Terrace at nine thirty in the morning. The gate's supposed to open at ten."

"Aren't you going to tell anyone else?" Jun asked.

Tai replied, "No, I'm pretty sure Gennai was only expecting two of us. Four is more than enough."

"Also, you don't want to deal with anyone else." Jun finished for him.

"Yeah, that too." Tai added soberly.

"Look, I'm not going to go against your wishes and tell the rest of the guys," Jun stated, "But it's not healthy to just keep them out of the loop."

"I disagree, sis." Davis said, "I hardly want to see any of those jerks again, much less spend a year with them."

Kuri laughed now, realizing that those 'jerks' were only two people in particular.

"Hey, that's not funny." Davis protested.

Kuri ignored him. "I really don't care one way or the other," she said candidly, "as long as I get to go."

"The way Gennai spoke to me makes me think I'm not supposed to share this with a lot of people." Tai said, hoping to placate Jun.

"Uh-huh, sure," she said, non-believing, "I just hope you don't regret this."

Tai gave a sigh of relief, realizing she was going to let the issue drop.

"Okay, now the last thing he told me was to pack light. I assume this means he's going to take care of most of our needs." He looked at the two girls, "Davis and I won't have a problem with this, I'm sure, but you two…" he allowed his voice to trail off.

"That was an awfully chauvinistic thing to say, Tai" Jun said, giving him a glare of reprimand.

Kuri joined in, "I don't think it was chauvinistic so much at it was stupid, or idiotic, or moronic, take your pick."

"But-"

"I'd say moronic," Jun said in mock conversation, "But the real question is, what do you think was dumber, the statement or the person who made it?"

"Oh, that's a toughie," Kuri responded, "On one hand you have a statement that's built on the ignorance of our society's sexist attitude from years of false assumptions and foolish prejudices, but on the other hand you have Tai, who can be an idiocy tour-de-force in his own right."

"Okay, I get it. I'm sorry." Tai muttered, "This just isn't my day."

Davis found himself having a hard time stifling his snickers at Tai's misfortune.

"Don't worry Tai," Jun assured, "We'll only pack essentials, if that pleases you." She winked at him and gave a sympathetic smile.

"Well," Kuri began, getting up from the table, "If that's all, I think I better go home, pack, and get some sleep."

"And tell your parents about one of the biggest decisions you'll ever make in your life, right?" Tai added suspiciously.

"Um, yeah," Kuri said sheepishly, "Of course."

Davis rose from his seat also, "I'll walk you home," he offered to Kuri, "It's getting pretty late."

To everyone's surprise, she didn't resist. "Fine," she conceded, picking her coat up from her chair, "Come on Peko."

Davis turned to Veemon, "Well, aren't we privileged." He said, dripping sarcasm.

"You are." Kuri confirmed, heading towards the front door, "Now lets go." Only the slightest hint of a mischievous glint in her eyes told Davis that she was being playful.

He gave Jun and Tai a mock salute before heading out after his fiery tempered charge.

"See what I mean?" Jun said to Tai after the two had left. "He really acts natural around her. He's not trying to impress anyone or saying inappropriate things."

"Yeah," Tai agreed, "The only other person he acted that way around, besides us, of course, was Ken."

"Before Yolei came along and dragged him off to that college in Tokyo, anyway." Jun added. "And that girl's so self centered, I'm sure it never occurred to her that she was breaking up a pair of best friends."

Tai began to look at Jun admirably. She always managed to notice these little things- people's thoughts, how they connected with one another- that anyone else would completely miss. "You really should be a psychologist or something." He said teasingly, "Look at how much you like to analyze people. I bet you're in my head right now."

"You're right Tai, I am in your head right now," she said, leaning forward with a smile of mischief, "and all I can see is a singer just screaming to come out."

Tai's eyes widened in surprise. "I told you to never mention that!" he exclaimed. "I did that in strict confidence!"

"What's going on?" Sparks asked from his position at the other end of the table, where he was starting a game of connect four with Agumon.

"Nothing," Tai answered quickly.

"I wouldn't call your considerable singing aspirations 'nothing' Tai," Jun said, wearing a sickeningly innocent smile on her face. "In fact," she continued, "I think you sound quite good when you sing-" Jun was unable to finish her sentence however, as she was forced to run toward the kitchen screaming, with an angry Tai in hot pursuit.

"Now I'm really confused." Sparks said as he dropped a red checker into the game board.

"Me too," Agumon agreed, "I always thought Tai did a pretty good rendition of "Moon River" myself."

Jun neatly leapt over the living room sofa and spun around Davis' Lay-Z-Boy before reaching the kitchen, which she planned to run through and continue around the apartment in a large circle. She was thoroughly surprised when Tai jumped in front of her from the other side. He grabbed her around the torso from behind before she could turn and run in the other direction.

"Ha! You made some nice moves, but in the end, no one escapes Tai Kamiya." Tai said between heaving breaths.

"Too bad the great Tai Kamiya is dead tired, because that could've sounded a lot more intimidating." Jun was barely able to get the words out before falling into a fit of laughing hysterics.

"Hey!" Tai shouted, turning her around to face him, "I demand an apology for your insubordination."

"I-I can't," Jun stammered, "I'm laughing too hard!"

"You weren't laughing too hard to say that!" Tai accused.

"Yeah well," Jun backed into a counter and tried to catch her breath, "I guess I just don't want to apologize then, genius."

Tai advanced on her in mock menace, "You should," he said, sounding serious, "because some people tend to think I'm a dangerous person."

Jun was once again overtaken by a fit of giggles.

Tai, while trying to keep up his façade, couldn't help but notice how adorable Jun was when she was happy. He'd had such thoughts before. Many, many times.

"And I demand that you do this more often." He added, dropping the act somewhat.

"Do what?" Jun asked when she finally sobered.

"Laugh."

"I would, if there was more to laugh about, like your ridiculous sayings."

Tai smiled, "Then I suppose I'm glad I can bring such joy to your world."

Jun looked at her 'aggressor' thoughtfully, "Anyone ever tell you what a sweet person you are, Tai?"

"Yeah, once," Tai said, "and then she went off to marry Matt Ishida."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Jun said, taking the obvious hint. For a moment their eyes met, and Jun saw none of the usual angst that was found in Tai's when they broached the issue of Sora and Matt's relationship.

Tai felt a pang of guilt for bringing up such a sore issue. "Don't be," he assured, drawing closer, "because right now, I'm not."

"You…aren't." Jun said, her breathing growing heavier. It was a statement more than a question.

"No, I have other…interests." Tai answered, his voice growing seductively deeper.

A crash in the living room diverted both of them from their conversation.

"I hate this game!" they heard Sparks shout, followed by the sound of game pieces being flung against the wall, and Agumon laughing.

"Damn," Jun muttered, "He doesn't take losing easily."

"Can't blame him. I'm the same way." Tai said, slowly backing away from her, "I guess we should go help clean up, huh?"

"Yeah," she agreed solemnly.

They both slowly walked into the living room where Tai began to immediately berate the two digimon for acting immature and started to help pick up the hundreds of tiny checkers scattered around the floor.

Jun just leaned against the opposite wall and slipped deep into thought. She was fully cognizant of what had almost happened between her and Tai in the kitchen. It had been brewing for quite some time. For the last year or so they'd been becoming much closer than friends normally would, talking with each other for hours on end, sharing secrets they didn't dare tell anyone else. If Tai ever told anyone that he thought Jun would make a good psychologist, they'd regard him as if he were crazy.

That was a side of Jun's personality she only ever exhibited around him, just like he only ever sang around her. She smiled. Or tried to sing, anyway. Then there was the way he held her as they watched a DVD a few weeks back, slowly stroking his fingers through her hair as she leaned against his shoulder. "Friends" didn't normally do that. Of course, Tai had acted as if it never happened days afterward. Jun never said anything either. She understood.

Tai was torn between two entities, and since he and Jun's relationship was largely based on their continuing failures in romance, he didn't want to do anything to risk losing her companionship. Thus, he religiously pursued Sora, until today's final heartbreak, that is. Now, Tai was something of a rogue state. Jun honestly had no idea what he wanted. She knew that she had some amorous feelings for him though, yet her days of wearing her heart on her sleeve were long gone. In order for her to ever pursue anything more than a platonic relationship with Tai, he would have to make the definitive move. She watched him as he flicked a checker at Sparks while his back was turned and subsequently tried to blame it on Agumon.

Jun smiled once again. The two of them were so much alike that sometimes she "foolishly" indulged in believing that they were destined to be together. Her countenance became serious once more. It scared her sometimes, how much she liked Tai. She'd never fallen for a guy she knew so well.

"Jun? Jun!"

Jun was pulled from her thoughts by the intrusive shouting of her elecmon. "What?" she asked, somewhat annoyed.

"You saw who threw it, right? Was it Tai?"

Jun put a finger to her lips and looked upwards, feigning thought, "Hmmm, I'm not sure."

"You know he did it." Sparks accused, "You guys always stick up for each other."

Jun put her hands on her hips indignantly, "Now how could you suggest that anything could come between the bond between a digidestined and her digimon partner?"

"If anyone could come between ours, it'd be Tai." Sparks suggested before casually strolling to the couch to watch TV.

Tai blushed heavily as he finished putting all the game pieces back into their box. He took a fleeting glance at Jun only to find her staring directly back at him. Tai paused as their gazes locked for a moment, a sort of rudimentary communication passing between the two of them. Their timid desires were almost palpable in the moment of silence.

"I-I think I need to go." Tai said finally. "We have a really big day tomorrow and all."

"Yeah," Jun half-heartedly agreed, "and we both need our rest."

"Yeah," Tai said redundantly while grabbing his coat from the table. He slowly put it on and chanced another glance at Jun. She was still watching him intently and Tai couldn't shake the feeling that she could see right through him, to exactly what he was thinking. With Agumon in tow, he walked to the front door. Jun followed them both. Tai stepped outside and turned around in preparation to say goodbye when Jun interrupted him.

"Tai, I know you're going through a lot up there right now," she said, indicating his head with a slight nod. "And I understand there are things that you may want to say right now, feelings you may want to express, but you aren't sure if they're real, or safe." She wore a look of sincere affection on her face. "But, as it is, we may be spending the next year of our lives away from this world, with one another. It's going to present a chance to create a new life, a new identity."

She reached out and once again held his hand. "Tai, you're going to have to make decisions about the person you want to be, and the people you want to be with." She unabashedly gazed directly into his eyes, searching their mahogany depths. "Just know this, whatever you decide, whatever you do," Jun slowly leaned up and without a moment's hesitation, placed a gentle kiss on Tai's cheek. She pulled back and allowed his mild surprise to bring a small smile to her face. "I will be here for you. I will be here with you. No matter what."

With that Jun slowly closed the door, never breaking her stare with Tai until the two inches of wood completely separated them. She then turned her back to the door and leaned against it, eyes closed in thought.

"God, I hope I did that right," she whispered to herself.

Tai stood in front of the apartment door in astonishment for a few minutes before finally coming to his senses and following Agumon down to his car. As he walked down the hall away from the door, Tai touched the area on his cheek where he had been kissed. It seemed the small gesture had ignited a firestorm of curiosity in his mind.

Tai had always known that he had certain feelings for Jun that weren't exactly platonic, but he'd always excused them as emotional acts of desperation in response to his lack of attaining a romantic relationship with Sora. He reflected on how many times he'd imagined Jun's pert lips meeting with his own, pictured holding her lithe body in his arms, wiping the stinging tears of rejection from her eyes. He thought about that time a few weeks back, when he actually did hold her for a while, as they watched a DVD she'd rented. But he had been too scared to take it further, or even mention it, afterwards.

Tai found himself confused. Was he actually equating Jun with the girl he loved for so long because he was, in essence, settling for whatever he could get, or was there something real there? Something tangible that they both shared? Tai mentally admonished himself. Of course he was genuinely attracted to Jun. He knew her too well to think otherwise. He liked the way she studied people, cared for them. Jun was as much an active person as he. She didn't just look to see what to do; she did it. When Jun said she was there for someone, she was really _there_.

Whereas Sora was always willing to listen to a person's problems, Jun already knew what they were and had planned ways in which she could help. She also had a great sense of humor which closely matched his own. Sora was usually a more serious minded person, only laughing at the most obvious of jokes. Jun, however, was deliciously irreverent, often finding humor in the most dismal situations. She also used her natural athleticism as a joy rather than a tool. Sora usually entered tennis competitions and other sporting events of the like, she worked out at a gym, had a personal trainer. She never just ran for the fun of it, like Tai and Jun often did on routine walks around the block.

Tai surprised himself with all the comparative match-ups Jun was winning against his longtime love. Sora was a more subdued person. She lived within herself, hiding her emotions from the world, confiding in only a precious few.

"Just like Matt," Tai thought in realization. Jun, on the other hand, held her heart out for everyone to see, or she did before Matt broke it. Tai understood heartbreak well, what it was to hide his feelings because of fear. He knew what Jun was going through, and that she likely knew the same of him. They were so much alike that Tai wondered why he'd never noticed before.

He whispered the answer to himself, "Because I was blinded."

Tai began to understand how the aspect of compatibility played into one's love interests. This was why Sora had fallen for Matt; the similarities between them were obvious. But why had Tai coveted Sora so dearly? Part of him had always known the truth, that whatever romantic feelings Tai originally had for Sora, however minute, were amplified immensely by the fact that she was interested in Matt. Envy could be a very motivational catalyst in men.

For most of these past few years, Tai had been pushed by a desire not to lose to his rival, rather than a genuine desire to be with his childhood friend. Had he really loved Sora at all? On some level, Tai determined that he must have. As Jun stated earlier, he did know her well. And he did have some amorous feelings for her after Matt forced him to look at her in a different light. Yet it seemed that these feelings were self induced and unshared by the party to which they were devoted.

What Tai currently felt for Jun was exactly the opposite. This had crept up on him unexpectedly; there wasn't anything, or rather anyone, pushing him toward her. She was his friend at first, then his confidante, and eventually the only person who could truly understand him. The more Tai thought about it, the more he realized just how much he'd become smitten with Davis' sister. He absolutely loved her smile; perhaps because it was something she so often kept to herself. Anytime she bestowed one upon him, Tai felt as if he'd received a special gift. Sometimes he believed no one wanted to see Jun be happy more than he. Not even Davis. He felt that she truly deserved contentedness for simply being the considerate person that she was. And, he realized, he wanted to be the one to bring her that happiness.

The icing on the cake was the way she accepted him for everything that he was. Unlike most of his other friends, Jun never urged Tai to "do something with his life." To the contrary, she always encouraged him to find himself before seeking out a place in society. She never rejected any aspect of his character. In fact, it was usually Jun who pointed out values in traits even Tai thought were harmful. Yet, despite all this, the prime reason Tai felt he was growing attracted to Jun was the fact that, unlike Sora, any amorous advances he made towards her, conscious or not, were usually returned.

Tai slapped himself on the head. "What an idiot I am," he said to himself, staring up at the door to the Motomiya's apartment from his car. "She likes me too."

Agumon stared at his partner questioningly.

"Don't you realize?" Tai asked, knowing full well his digimon had no idea what was going on. "We're both too scared to say anything. We've been burned before, we don't want it to happen again."

Agumon was really confused now

Tai tapped his chin with a finger. "Up there, just now, she was telling me something." He half consciously unlocked his door and let Agumon in. "She wants me to make the first move. Why?"

Tai thought about the way he'd treated Jun over the last few months, making romantic overtures and dropping them in his pursuit of Sora, erratically being flirtatious and distant. In his confusion, Tai had been neglecting Jun's feelings.

"I've been hurting her." He realized. If Jun felt the same way about him as he was now discovering he felt about her, then her heart must have been in a severe state of flux over the past few months, as he unwittingly toyed with her emotions. Tai wasn't sure if the true attraction he was finally admitting that he had for Jun was as strong as what he had for Sora, but he did realize one thing; now that Sora was now officially "off limits," he had been given the opportunity to clear his mind and examine the congestion of ignored thoughts that had been festering inside it.

He knew that this thing with Jun could work out, or it could fail miserably. But one thing his experience with Sora taught him was that he had to try. No longer could he allow opportunities for love to simply pass him by. He knew what it was to stand on the sidelines and watch others take what he desired so much. Tai was determined not to let that happen again.

"Tomorrow is a new beginning, in more ways than one," he muttered to himself, half-smiling.

Agumon continued to look at his partner bewilderedly as they pulled out of the lot and headed home.

* * *

"You're kidding!"

"Nope. I swear, that's what he told me."

"Ken, the same Ken who's always so quiet and shy around everyone?"

"Yep, he said he wants to be just like Colombo, trench coat and all."

Kuri burst into a fit of giggles at Davis' tale. The two had been pleasantly walking and talking for a few minutes now.

"I can't believe the former digimon emperor now wants to be a detective." She said.

"I can't believe I still have no idea who Colombo is," Davis added.

They both shared a laugh at that before Kuri spoke again.

"It must be nice though."

"What?"

"To have goals you know, knowing what you want to be, to do."

Davis looked at Kuri worriedly. "You don't?" he asked

"I used to want to go into acting, but not anymore."

"What happened?"

"Things changed," she responded quickly, before turning the tables on him, "What about you, what do you want to do?"

"Man, you're going to think this is so stupid," Davis said, "Everyone else does."

"Try me."

"All I really want is my own noodle cart."

Kuri gave him a disbelieving look.

"Eventually I'll want to have my own restaurant of course," he continued, "but for now, a cart is the goal."

Davis waited, expecting the usual dream bashing he got from the rest of the guys.

"Well, that's um, different." Kuri responded unsurely. "Mind telling me _why_ you want a noodle kart?"

"I dunno really, I guess I just like noodles, and I've always wanted to go into business for myself so…" He trailed off with a gesture, as if the rest explained itself.

Kuri shrugged. "Hey, if that's what you want to do, that's what you want to do."

"You really mean that?"

"I guess so," Kuri answered. "No one really believed I could be any good as an actress either…" She stopped mid-sentence.

Davis watched her as she stared blankly forward for a moment.

"And?"

"And," Kuri stalled, looking up for a moment. "This is my place."

Davis looked in the same direction. "So it is." He said, still waiting for her to continue.

They both stood in awkward silence for a moment.

"So, I guess I'll be heading in then." Kuri gave Davis a hard stare, telling him to drop the obviously sensitive subject.

Davis decided to give in for the moment. "Yeah. Well, I hope you don't have any second thoughts about tomorrow. I know it's such a huge decision and all, but I think it'll be so much cooler if you're there."

"Davis, you barely know me." Kuri protested.

"That's just it, I can get to know you."

"Are you sure you want to do that?"

"Definitely. Like I told you before," He said. "I have a sense about these things."

"Anyone ever tell you how creepy your persistence is?"

"All the time, but honestly, it's saved my life on a few occasions so I guess it all balances out in the end."

Kuri studied Davis' confident demeanor skeptically for a moment.

"We'll see." She said before turning and heading for her building.

"So, I'll see you tomorrow?" Davis said to her retreating form.

"We'll see." She repeated.

Davis frowned. "I can see I'm not the only persistent one here," He said solemnly, before turning back towards home with a sleeping Veemon in his arms.

* * *

The morning's sunrise violently greeted Jun Motomiya. She squinted and put a hand in front of her face to block the offending light form her eyes while she tried to pack. She grunted as she attempted to close her duffel bag, alternately rearranging its contents and attempting to zip it up.

Davis walked into her room wearing a smirk during one of her more vain attempts.

"I thought Tai told us to pack light." He said.

"Look Davis, I haven't met this Gennai personally and I really don't know him from my left foot so you'll excuse me if I want to make sure I'm covered."

After zipping it up she grimaced and tried to drag the large bag toward her bedroom door.

"Here," Davis offered, picking up one end of the bag, "Tai is going to be so pissed at you."

"Let him be. I'm not going into something this big unprepared."

Davis laughed. "And you gave him so much grief about this last night."

After they dropped the bag in the living room, Jun said to her brother, "You're acting more cheerful than I expected, considering."

"How could I be sad on a day like this?" Davis said, pointing at the window.

"Mm-hmm," Jun said skeptically, making a final check of her belongings.

"Okay, I'll be fine as long as I don't see either one of them for a while." He said seriously. "And this way," he hefted his own compact backpack to his shoulder, "I won't." Davis' smile returned and he even began to whistle as he walked around the apartment checking that all the faucets and lights were off.

Jun shook her head at him before staring at her bag. It was really…big.

"Veemon," she called, looking around for the little blue digimon. If he digivolved to ExVeemon, he could carry her bag as if it were nothing.

Veemon must've known exactly what she was thinking, because he peeked around a corner and responded, "Jun, you know that it's against Green Room rules to digivolve without any good reason, such as-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know, such as sudden digimon attack or lives in danger." She finished for him with a sour look on her face. "I hope you're satisfied when I break my back."

"Well, I guess that would be an emergency," Veemon said thoughtfully, "So I could digivolve and fly you to the hospital if you wanted."

"Gee, thanks."

"You're welcome." He said, disappearing around the corner once again.

Jun rolled her eyes and waited for Davis to return. She could always use the helpless sister card to make him carry her bag.

* * *

Kuri tiptoed across her living room with Peko in tow. A good-sized bag was slung across her shoulder. She counted her steps; Only ten more to the front door.

"And just where do you think you're going?"

Kuri turned to look upon the weary face of her father

"Out." She answered.

"That's an awful lot of stuff for just going out."

Kuri didn't reply as he slowly trudged across the room and sat at the dining room table. He patted an open seat next to him and motioned for Kuri to sit there.

"Dad," she started to protest.

"Honey I just want to talk to you for a moment." He said, "You mind?"

Kuri sighed and reluctantly took a seat at the table.

"Honey, what is this all about?"

Kuri petulantly sighed again in answer.

"Look, if this is about your mother and I…"

"Isn't it always, dad?"

Yoshi Katsura shamefully stared at his hands, folded on the table.

"I know," he began, "it's hard to see this. But I still love your mother."

Kuri gave him a look of obvious disbelief.

"I-I just don't know how to tell her, or if I still can even. And I'm not so sure she feels the same towards me anymore. Maybe she sticks it out for convenience…"

"Dad, why are you telling me this?"

"Because I want you to know we still have hope. I'm not saying that it's going to get better for sure, but it can. I'm going to try."

"Oh, I've heard all this before." Kuri said with a roll of her eyes

"I know you have, but I want to know what you think abo-"

"Why, all of a sudden, do you care what I think?" Kuri said, her eyebrows furiously furrowed.

"I just don't want you to go the way your brother did. He gave up on this family. I'm not about to let you do the same."

This was it. This was where the floodgates opened, where years of built up angst and bottled emotions would flow from Kuri in a torrent of scathing words of retribution that would finally force her parents to realize what they'd been doing to her over the years. Instead, she gave her father a chillingly calm stare before slinging her backpack over her shoulder once again and turning towards the front door.

Peko, who had been quietly waiting next to the front door during the conversation, flew to Kuri's shoulder.

"Kuri, I'm not going to let you do this, I can't." her father admonished

"Father," Kuri said coldly, "You have two choices right now. You can let me go now with the promise that I'll return in a couple weeks."

"I can't-"

"OR, you could make me stay so I can end up like my brother, never returning when I finally do get a chance to leave."

"Kuri, I'm your father. I'm not just letting you go God knows where anytime you wish."

"Let her go." A voice interrupted. Kuri's mother entered the room, looking only slightly less disheveled than Yoshi

."Sata, what are you saying?"

Sata ignored her husband and turned her attention to her daughter.

"Will you be with friends, Kuri?' she asked.

"Yes." Kuri said, her voice still holding its cold edge.

"And will you promise to call the moment there's an emergency?"

This time Kuri reluctantly nodded.

"Then go." Sata said with a dismissive wave.

Yoshi was startled. "Of all the dumbest-"

Sata turned to her husband. "You and I have our own problems Yoshi. Kuri needs time to herself; can't you see that? She needs to be around people who don't argue, who don't chase the people they love away. Yoshi, I'm sick of this and I can't take it anymore. We either work this out or we go our separate ways, but I will hurt my daughter no longer."

"Sata," Yoshi began. He sighed, not really knowing where he was going with it.

"She. Can. Go. Yoshi.." Sata said slow and deliberately. "If you really do still love me, you'll let Kuri go and help me try to salvage what semblance of a marriage we still have."

Yoshi looked at his wife, then his daughter. "I give." He said quietly. "Go Kuri, before I change my mind."

Kuri quickly got up from the table, giving her mother a nod of thanks. She headed for the door with Peko now hovering closely behind.

"I hope you're right about this." Yoshi said to his wife.

"I believe I am." She responded. "I've met a few of her friends before. They're good people."

Yoshi didn't look convinced.

"You want her to come back, right?" Sata asked.

"Yes." He answered.

"Well, I've learned that sometimes if you want them to return you have to let them go."

They both watched as Kuri disappeared through the door into the early morning light.

* * *

"Damn the man who invented the snooze button." Tai muttered to himself as he hopped around his room on one foot while trying to put a shoe on the other. A toothbrush dangled precariously from his mouth. Agumon, wholly unimpressed with the ritual, rifled through Tai's hastily packed bag while going over a checklist of items he knew they would eventually need. Tai hopped over to where Agumon sat and leaned over the bag, searching for something. Agumon looked up impatiently.

"I zheem my dishivische." Tai said. He held out one hand while biting his toothbrush and still working on his shoe with the other.

Agumon shook his head and mumbled something before reaching into the bag and producing the small electronic device. He handed it to Tai, who managed a muffled thank you before hopping back towards the bathroom.

Agumon went back to sifting through the bag when he heard a loud thud. He looked up to see Tai sprawled across the floor. Tai remained very still, fearing his loud misstep might have awakened Kari.

Agumon shook his head again. "I don't thing she's going to wake up, Tai." He said, "She was out with TK pretty late last night."

Tai rolled his eyes as he slowly picked himself up off the floor and trudged into the bathroom. He returned a few seconds later, teeth brushed, and wearing shoes.

"Are we ready to go?" he said.

Agumon looked at Tai sadly. He hadn't chastised or protected Kari in a long time. Not since the day she yelled at him and threatened to go live elsewhere if he didn't stop "butting into" her private life. Tai was a shell of the big brother he used to be, for fear of losing yet another important person in his life.

"Something wrong Agumon?" Tai asked concernedly.

"No, I'm fine Tai." Agumon said, handing him the bag. "Everything checks out. We're ready to go."

"Good." Tai picked up his car keys off his desk. He also picked up a small envelope with KARI written on it and taped it to the front of his room door. "Lets go."

# # #

Jun and Davis stood outside Highton View Terrace, impatiently checking their watches. Davis was panting heavily.

"I can't believe you made me carry that huge bag." He complained. "Sometimes you can be the worst sister…"

"I love you too, Davis." Jun said sweetly before changing the subject. "I wonder where those guys are? We're down to 15 minutes before we leave."

"Knowing Tai, he'll probably barely make it on time, and from what Kuri told me last night, she may not come at all."

"You shouldn't take everything I say so seriously."

Davis turned to see the girl in question walking around the corner with her trademark multicolored "batpig" on one shoulder and a backpack on the other.

"So, you are coming then." He said with a broad smile.

"Of course." She answered, "I never said I wasn't."

"What-," Davis started before stopping mid-sentence. Technically, she was right. "Well, that's good then."

"Where's Tai?" Kuri asked.

Jun, who was still looking at her watch, answered, "I don't know, but he better get here soon."

* * *

Agumon let loose another scream as Tai barreled around yet another corner at top speed.

"Quit whining Agumon, we're almost there." He said before braking, turning, and accelerating again.

Agumon breathed a bit easier as they seemed to be driving straight for a while. "This is crazy, Tai." He said, "How much time do we have left now?"

Tai looked quickly from the road to the clock on his dashboard. "Five minutes." He answered.

"Oh man," exclaimed the orange digimon, "we're not going to make it, are we?"

Tai answered, "Are you kidding?"

He jerked the steering wheel, turning, or rather sliding, the car a sharp 90 degrees and shooting across three lanes of traffic into a large parking lot. He took a speed bump at full speed before skidding to a stop in a space directly across from the entrance.

"We're already here."

Agumon sat frozen in his seat, eyes wide open in shock.

Tai got out of the car and reached into the backseat for his bag. "Come on Agumon, we need to get moving, you know."

Agumon finally started to shakily open his door. "I'm never riding anywhere with you again." He said.

Tai just laughed as he got out. "Well, you won't have to worry about that for a while." He locked the doors and took off at a run. "Let's go."

It was a solid three minutes of running from the lot to Highton View. Both Tai and Agumon were out of breath when the spotted their group waiting for them out front.

Jun was the first to spot Tai and Agumon walking toward them. "Finally!" she shouted, waving at them. "Hurry up!"

A broad, goofy smile spread across Tai's face. The effect Jun had on him had already changed since last night. "We're coming!" he shouted back.

Tai and Agumon exchanged greetings with everyone upon reaching them before Tai pulled Jun to the side.

"What is it?" She asked quietly.

Tai gulped down a few heavy breaths before speaking. "About what you said last night."

Jun flushed with color. "What about it?" she asked.

This time, Tai took her hand. "I understand now. And.. I'm sorry."

"Oh," Jun said, not quite understanding, "Sorry? About what?"

Suddenly, a bright light shot out from the wall adjacent to them. It was accompanied by a thunderous cracking as the wind around them began to whirl intensely. A large round circle of swirling light materialized on the wall. Arcs of electricity crackled around its perimeter.

"Enter, digidestined." Said a loud, deep voice, which seemed to come from all around them.

"I'll tell you later," Tai answered. "Right now, this is our ticket out of here." He beckoned everyone to follow him as he neatly leapt through the portal with Agumon.

Jun and Sparks followed immediately behind him. Kuri and Peko were next. Kuri took one last look back at the world she was leaving behind before she entered. Veemon jumped through right behind them. Davis was last. He grunted as he struggled with his and Jun's bags and slowly trudged through.

After they had entered, the portal dissipated just as quickly as it appeared. A pair of shadowed eyes that had been watching from around the corner turned away.

"The game is on Gennai," said their owner. "You've played your hand. Soon we will do battle." He smiled to himself. "But in the meantime, I have my own work to do."

_To be continued…_

* * *

(AN: Please send reviews. I'd really like honest feedback on my writing style. Thanks in advance.

The next chapter should be up within the next couple weeks. It may be longer if I don't get reviews, because I really won't have much motivation to continue. 'hint, hint')


	2. Arrival

I didn't get quite as many reviews as I wanted the last time around, but its cool. I find that writing and planning out this story is a lot of fun anyway. I must say thanks to cyberwolf for his/her detailed and very motivational review. It was a real boon to my somewhat sagging confidence.

Notes on this chapter: Willis- His character is so skewed between the American and Japanese versions of Digimon that I just decided to take elements from both and make him my own. (This will be more apparent in the next chapter) Also, I've decided that he has yet to meet the Odaiba digidestined. That whole "out of continuity" thing doesn't work for me so I just said screw it all. He's basically a new character.

Also, this chapter was originally about 17,000 words longer, but I decided to split it up in order to keep a steady update rate while still making revisions to its latter portions.

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, but I do own a crapload of characters in this story.

* * *

**Arrival**

The four digidestined slowly took in their surroundings. They stood in the middle of an immense field, surrounded on all sides by dense forest, and a bright, clear, sky overhead. A extremely bright yellow sun was noon-high and beat down upon the group, providing them all with a comfortable warmth that belied its intense appearance. This "realm" Gennai had created did indeed very much resemble the digital world.

All around the huge clearing there were small groups of two to five kids and teenagers, each of them carrying bags and accompanied by various digimon. Many of them wore different cultural attires, and all of them were slowly looking around the expanse of land, sharing similar expressions of confusion about what to do next.

Tai deduced that everyone must've all come through their respective portals at the same time.

"Well this is nice," Kuri said, "Anyone have any idea what the hell we're supposed to do now?"

"We wait." Tai said. "Gennai will show up sooner or later."

"And while we wait," said Davis, "we can meet all these other cool people that we're going to be spending the year with."

Kuri rolled her eyes. She never understood social people.

"Come on." Davis suddenly grabbed her arm. "We can do it together."

Kuri grumbled something unintelligible as he dragged her toward a nearby group of Italian digidestined.

"Well, this is something." Jun said as she watched her brother and Kuri leave, Veemon and Peko bounding happily behind them. "A bit anticlimactic, though."

"Yeah," Tai agreed. "But Gennai should be here soon."

Jun shielded her eyes with her hand as she looked around the field. "It's a lot warmer here than in Odaiba. I'm glad I wore shorts now."

Tai looked at her, only now noticing her attire, and was quite pleased with what he saw. It was a well-known fact that Jun possessed a gorgeous pair of legs.

"Yeah, me too." He said absentmindedly, before realizing his gaffe. "Um- I mean.."

Jun giggled.

Tai gave her a sheepish smile. "Sorry."

"That's the second time you've told me that today," she said. "And I'm still trying to figure out what you meant the first time."

Tai suddenly remembered what they were talking about just before they had entered the portal. "Oh, that's right." He shifted his feet nervously. "Well, I-"

"Tai Kamiya? Oh man, it's Tai! The man himself!"

Tai turned to see two African-American digidestined walking towards him. One, the taller one, had a Penguinmon walking beside him, the shorter one a Tapirmon.

"It's great to finally meet you." The taller one said, extending a hand.

Tai shook it. "Yeah, it's nice to meet too, um..."

"Terence Dumars." Jun answered for Tai, eyes wide with awe.

Tai glanced at her. "You know him?"

"Tai!" She scolded. "Everyone knows Terence Dumars. He's one of the best R&B singers on the planet!"

She turned to him and shook his hand vigorously. "I have so many of your mp3s and albums, Mr. Dumars! It's great to meet you!"

"Thanks, but please, call me Terence," He said. "And your name?"

"I'm Jun…Terence." She answered shyly. "Jun Motomiya."

"Well, it's nice to meet you too, Jun Motomiya. Hey, you wouldn't happen to be related to-"

"Ahem."

The three of them turned to the smaller kid accompanying Terence.

"Am I going to be introduced or what?"

Terence rolled his eyes. "This is Curtis." He said unceremoniously, "My little brother."

After she shook his hand, Jun noticed how different Curtis looked from his brother. Whereas Terence kept a calm cool appearance with his designer clothes, low cut hairstyle, and sunglasses, Curtis was just the opposite, sporting baggy jeans, a football jersey, and an untamed afro.

"Nice hair." Tai said when they shook hands.

"Likewise." Curtis responded. "Oh," he added, almost as an afterthought, "This is my partner, Taps." He pointed to a Tapirmon standing behind him. "My brother's Penguinmon is Pings."

"Agumon and Sparks." Jun said, gesturing to their two partners as the four digimon enthusiastically greeted one another.

"So, just how big is this thing?" Terence said, turning his attention back to Tai. "Seeing how they called you in."

Tai shrugged. "I dunno. Actually, I suppose I only know as much about this as the rest of you."

Like just about everyone else in the field, the four of them began to discuss what they thought was behind their being called to the realm. After a few minutes, the crown gradually started to gravitate towards the famous faces in the crowd, namely Davis, Tai, and Terence.

Tai grew uncomfortable when he realized just how raptly everyone around him was listening to every word he said. He wanted more than anything to just melt into the crowd as just another confused digidestined. Unfortunately, in all of their minds, his established fame as an "OD" had automatically made him an authority on the current situation.

Tai nervously pulled on his collar as yet another kid bombarded him with a series of questions he couldn't answer. Terence had it a lot easier; all he was doing was signing autographs and flirting with girls. Unexpectedly Tai felt a comforting touch on his arm. He turned to see that Jun had linked her arm with his. She slowly tugged him away from the crowd while asking everyone to back off and give him a little air.

"Thank you," Tai said once they'd put a little distance between themselves and the crowd.

"Anytime," she said back.

Tai noticed that she still kept their arms linked. He liked it.

"Well, it's nice to see you two have had time to enjoy the view." Kuri said as she came trudging across the field toward them, Davis reluctantly following behind. "Because we've been in pure hell with all those people."

"It wasn't all that bad." Davis said.

"Davis, you couldn't give a single pertinent answer to any of the questions they were asking."

"Yeah, well…still, they were all so cool…"

Kuri sighed in frustration. "What is it with you and people?"

Agumon spoke to them for the first time since arriving. "At least all the digimon seem strong and in good health. Gennai really got the best of the best here."

"I hope they aren't too bright though." Sparks said.

"I doubt it." Peko assured him. "It'll be like taking candy from babies."

Everyone looked at the two digimon curiously.

"Poker." Peko said simply.

Veemon grunted. "I hate that game."

"That's only because you suck at it." Teased Sparks.

"Kind of like you and connect four?" Asked Agumon.

"Hey, that was uncalled for!"

Veemon laughed. "But funny."

Predictably, the four digimon quickly became embroiled in an argument over which was better at what board games.

Tai rubbed his temples, the surrounding chaos and confusion starting to get to him. "Where's Gennai? I don't know if I can take much more of this."

"Not to worry Tai," said a mysterious voice from seemingly nowhere. "I'm right here." In a flash of light, Gennai abruptly appeared before them. He looked a bit older than Tai last remembered him, which didn't make much sense, since the timelines between the digital and real worlds had been merged. There was no reason for the digital guardian to be growing old at a faster rate than any of the rest of them. Upon closer inspection, Tai determined that Gennai actually didn't look aged as much as he did tired. Nevertheless, to older man welcomed all those gathered in the expansive clearing with a warm smile.

"You brought more than I expected." He said to Tai.

"Um, yeah. Is that a problem?"

"No, not at all. Everyone is welcome at the Academy."

"That's another thing Gennai." Davis said. "What exactly is the Academy?"

"You'll soon see." Gennai said, strolling past them into the middle of the clearing.

He cleared his throat, amazingly loud enough for everyone to hear. Every head in the field tuned toward him.

Gennai grinned at the curiosity in their eyes. "I assume you all want to know why I called you here, and what exactly here is."

Everyone nodded in unison.

"And you've probably given Davis and Tai here a hard time, assuming that they knew more about this than you."

This time some of those in the crowd shamefully hung their heads.

"Well, not to worry. All will be explained shortly. Follow me." With that, Gennai turned around and began heading for the nearby woods. Everyone scrambled for their bags and hurried after him. Jun frowned as she looked at her huge duffel bag on the ground. There was no way she could get Davis to carry it again. But instead, Tai walked to the bag and grunted as he lifted it off the ground.

"Wow. Thank you Tai." She said. "I'm sorry I packed so much after you told us-"

"Don't worry about it." He said with a dismissive wave and not a hint of complaint.

Jun was taken aback by the kindness Tai was showing her. She walked to him and removed his bag from his other shoulder and put in on her own. They smiled at each other before linking arms again and following Davis and Kuri, who were acting as mediators for the once again arguing digimon, into the woods.

After a hike that lasted only a few minutes, they emerged into another clearing, where they saw Gennai standing at the crest of a large hill, addressing all the digidestined who stood below.

"That," he said, pointing down the opposite side of the hill, "is the D-Academy."

The four ascended the hill to better see what he was talking about. There was a long slope down into a valley, consisting of a meadow of lush green grasses, in the middle of which stood the largest mansion any of them had ever seen.

"Holy sh- is that where we're going to live?" Kuri asked, amazed.

There was a general murmur through the crowd as everyone expressed their excitement in similar fashion.

Gennai smiled. "I'm glad you like it." He said. "It took a while to build and perfect, but I think we did a good job." He paused thoughtfully. "Now I wasn't sure exactly how the living arrangements would work, so I separated it into boys and girls sections. Individual rooms house up to four people comfortably, so I don't think that space will be a problem. Rooms and roommates are up to you. First to come gets the claim."

He had barely finished the last sentence before just about everyone took off at top speed down the hill.

"Once you've found your room and gotten situated, report to the assembly room for our first meeting!" Gennai shouted after them.

Since Davis and Kuri seemed to be running near the front of the pack of assorted digidestined and digimon, Tai and Jun stayed behind, confident their friends would claim rooms for them also.

Gennai turned to them. "Ah, to be young again, eh?"

"You would know." Tai said with a smirk.

"So, are we the oldest digidestined here?" Jun asked.

"Hardly," Gennai said. "The ages here range from 13 to 25."

"Wow, pretty big spread." She said.

"Pretty big need."

"What exactly is the need Gennai?" Tai asked.

"You'll see, soon." Was all Gennai said before walking down the hill.

Tai and Jun shrugged to each other before following him down.

When they reached the mansion, Tai decided he would go with Jun to the girls' section, in order to drop her bag off first. The interior of the place was huge. Everything seemed to be made of mahogany and other types of expensive woods. There were small enclaves with plush couches and armchairs all along the main hall. At the end of the hall was a grand elegant staircase with a sign above it that read: dormitories. To the left of the staircase was a door with a sign that said Dining Room. A door to the right read Classes/Assembly Room.

"So, we'll be coming back here then." Jun said, pointing to the door on the right.

"Guess so, but right now, we're going upstairs." Tai nodded toward the staircase.

Jun noticed the slight apprehension in his voice at having to carry her bag up a flight of stairs, and smiled as he hiked towards them determinedly. Who said chivalry was dead?

Upon reaching the second floor they followed the signs to the girls wing. Squeals of laughter were heard as groups of girls and digimon ran this way and that, checking out all the amenities of their new home. Jun scanned for Kuri in the crowd, hoping she'd found a decent room for them.

"Hey Jun!" someone shouted.

Jun looked around.

"What's up?" Tai asked her.

"I thought I heard Kuri."

"Jun! Up here!"

Tai and Jun looked up to see Kuri waving from a balcony jutting out over the hall. Tai let out an impressed whistle when he saw her. The place was so big that all the rooms along the central hall were two stories tall, with balconies that still had a good 15 feet of clearance from the ceiling,

"Oh my God!" Jun shouted back, "Is that our room?"

Kuri nodded with a huge grin on her face.

"Hurry up!" Kuri said, disappearing back into the room.

Jun met her at the main door on the bottom floor.

"Come in come in!" Kuri beckoned.

Tai and Jun entered and looked around in awe. The room was decorated in a blue and royal purple color scheme. There was a fireplace with a marble mantle on one wall, flanked on either side by tall bookcases, well stocked with reading materials. In the middle of the room was a large, U-shaped, couch. An oval, glass, coffee table stood in front of it. All around the room there were touches to make it more homely; flowers and various plants, paintings on the walls, a pool table in one corner, and a full length window, overlooking the field they had just left, on the wall opposite the front door. Tai looked out of the window and found he could see clear across the outside meadow, all the way to the ridge they had all been standing on earlier.

"Wow, this is really something." Agumon said, standing next to Tai.

"Isn't it though?" Kuri agreed. She looked around. "Hey, where did Jun go?"

On cue, Jun emerged from the bathroom on the wall opposite the fireplace.

"Man, that thing is huge." She said. "But it doesn't have a bathtub or shower."

"Oh, the full length bathrooms are upstairs, with the rooms."

"Bathrooms? Plural?"

"Yep." Kuri nodded, "There are _two. _And you've _got_ to see your room."

Squealing, both girls ran up the stairs.

"Our roommates are out checking the rest of this place out right now." Kuri said as they ascended. "I think you'll like them. I mean, I can actually tolerate them and all..."

They disappeared around a corner at the top of the stairs, having momentarily forgotten the guy responsible for bringing them here in the first place.

Tai smiled, decided it was time for him to get to his own room anyway, wherever that was. He picked up his bag from where Jun had left it by the front door and, along with Agumon, headed for the boys' wing. When he arrived, he found that it looked much the same as the girls' wing, except a bit livelier, if that were possible. While guys were running along the floor, looking into each other's rooms, there were several games of catch going on amongst the balconies. Tai smiled as he watched the projectiles flying above his head, appreciating what it meant. Only guys like him would consider baseballs and soccer balls essential packing items.

It didn't take him long to find Davis leaning against the front door of what was apparently their room. Davis smiled when he saw him.

"About time," he said. "And holy crap, man, how could you not tell me you knew Terence Dumars?"

"Because I only met him like fifteen minutes ago." Tai said, as Davis stepped aside for him to enter the room.

"Well, you still should've told me."

Tai put his bag down after entering the room and stretched. He noticed it looked pretty much the same as the girls, except with fewer flowers and a steel gray and blue color scheme.

"What did you think of them?" Davis asked.

"Think of who?"

"Terence, and his brother."

"Oh, I thought they were pretty cool guys. Why?"

"I wanted to make sure I chose good roommates for us."

At that moment Terence and Curtis came down the stairs from the bedrooms.

"Tai!" Terence said. "What took you so long? Come on, let me show you your room."

Tai grinned. In the back of his mind he had been hoping he would get decent roommates. The fact that Davis would be choosing them in his absence hadn't been all that comforting. "Lead the way."

When they finally reached his room, Tai's jaw dropped in amazement. Not at the king sized bed, the stereo, or even the brand new laptop computer on his bedside table. All that was fine and well. What really surprised him was the closet full of clothes perfectly tailored to his tastes. Tai knew this had to play off of the fact that in the real digital world, peoples' wardrobes were changed to how they viewed their digital selves. Yolei had looked particularly ridiculous because of this fact. But still, it was amazing nonetheless.

"How the hell did he pull all this off?" Tai whispered to himself.

"Been asking myself the same thing." Terence said, standing behind him. "I haven't known Gennai but for maybe, what, a day and a half now? And this all still seems impossible to me."

"There is that meeting he wants us to get to." Curtis, who had been watching the two from the door, said. "Maybe he's gonna tell us then."

"Yeah," Tai agreed. "Let's get going, then. I want some answers."

* * *

The assembly room was nothing but a large auditorium. A very large auditorium. It had a separate balcony for digimon to sit at while their partners were below, in the main seating area. After dropping their digimon off at the balcony staircase, Tai, Terence, Curtis, and Davis loitered near the back of the massive room, wondering where to sit.

Davis scanned the crowd and soon spotted a familiar hand waving in their direction.

"Hey, there's Jun. Kuri too." He said, looking towards one of the front rows. "I think she wants us over there with them."

The four made their way through the ever-increasing crowd of digidestined and down the main aisle until they reached the girls. Tai was the first to enter the row, as he wanted to sit next to Jun. Davis, Terence, and Curtis filed in behind him.

"Hey guys." Jun greeted them all. "How did you all like your rooms, or more specifically, your closets?"

The four chimed in with remarks of "Unreal, creepy, amazing, and impossible."

Jun smiled. "Yeah, that's what we were thinking too." She looked up and down her row. "I guess I have to introduce you guys, don't I?"

She turned to Kuri first. "These are the guys I was telling you about earlier. That's Terence, and the one on the end is his brother, Curtis."

As the three exchanged pleasantries, Davis whispered to Tai, "See, Jun told Kuri about her new famous friends."

Tai shushed him in response.

Jun then gestured to the two girls sitting next to her and Kuri.

"Also, these are our new roommates, Clara, and you already know her cousin-"

"Rosa?" Davis interrupted.

Rosa, who was a Mexican digidestined, looked down the row at Davis and waived meekly.

"We haven't seen you in the digital world for months!" he continued. "Not since Ken moved."

"Yes, Well I didn't want to come around knowing that home wrecker was there." Rosa said with a slight scowl.

Tai laughed. "Yolei? A home wrecker? That's funny. I didn't think you and Ken had a 'home,' if you will."

Tai winced as Jun elbowed him in the ribs.

Rosa frowned. "Well it's partly true. She knew that Ken did not want to leave his friends but she still forced him to go to that stupid university."

Davis looked down. "I can't argue with you there. He didn't really want to go."

Clara broke in. "But they were in love, no? I think it was romantic that he would put his own interests aside to be with her."

Kuri, Rosa, and Davis rolled their eyes while Jun and Tai nodded in agreement. Jun smirked at herself and Tai. She found it weird that the two of them could so adamantly believe in something they'd had so little success with.

Terence leaned forward in his seat and looked down the row at Clara.

"Hey, don't I know you?" he said, squinting.

"Um, no." she squeaked. She leaned back in her seat, and being as tall as Jun, hunched down a bit to hide behind Kuri.

Terence leaned further forward. "Wait, yes I do. You're the girl that-"

He was cut off when the lights in the auditorium suddenly dimmed.

"Whoa," Curtis whispered, pointing at the stage. "Check that out."

The large velvet stage curtains had slowly opened to reveal a menagerie of humans and digimon seated in a line across the stage. Gennai stood in front of them all, behind an ornate glass podium.

Tai scratched his head. This time Gennai really did look old.

"Hello, digidestined." He said. "You may be wondering why I appear differently right now. The truth is that the man who brought you here and I are not one and the same."

Rumblings spread through the crowd like wildfire.

Gennai held a hand up to quiet them.

"All will be explained in this assembly." He assured. "But first let me start at the beginning." He composed himself with a deep breath.

"You were called here to help me battle a menace which threatens to consume us all. As you well know, six years ago there was a monumental merging of the real and digital worlds. When the digidestined defeated Myotismon for the final time, a process began which will ultimately end with every person in the world being a digidestined, if they chose to accept it. This process, though it may take two to three centuries to complete, is already exhibiting serious flaws."

Gennai paused and drank from a glass of water on the podium before continuing.

"Darkness will always exist, and I don't know how much I can stress this. It will always exist within the walls of the digital world and in the hearts of men. It is the natural balance of things. But now we stand at a dangerous crossroads. The dark traits of the real world- greed, loathing, jealousy, and power- have met the mysterious inherent evil of the digital world. As I tell you this, powerful men in your world are plotting against you, against the light. They want control, control over everything. Accordingly, they have joined forces with digimon who share like ideals and goals, and plan to shock the world by ushering in a new era of fear and terror the likes of which it has never seen. You've seen men and digimon like these, those of great ambition and power. Hitler, Mussolini, Myotismon, Stalin, the Dark Masters, even Caesar. These men have accumulated armies. They have servants. They have finances. And the world is theirs for the taking."

Gennai looked at the crowd and noticed all the faces etched in concern. He took another drink and continued.

"Or so they think. I can't tell you who these men are because, honestly, I don't know myself. But I have felt the brunt of their attacks as they've prodded the digital world, searching for weaknesses. I've seen many digimon go missing mysteriously in the still of the night. Entire groups even. And for some reason, even I cannot tell what is happening. I have a theory that they are using dark energy for forced digimon-human bonding, but I cannot be sure. I am not the only one who has witnessed these happenings though.

"Your governments have been doing their best to monitor this situation. They've attempted to work from their end, weeding out the men who perpetuate such evils while I search out the digimon. Unfortunately, all signs point to these people existing entirely within the real world. A year ago a covert international force of D-Cells, agents dealing with harmful abuse or misappropriation of the digital world, staged a raid on construction billionaire, J.C. Barke's secretive Spanish estate. He was believed to be a major financial backer of the men attempting to use the digital word to the own dangerous ends. A few minor slip-ups on his bank records, you see. Also, the fact that he had a teenaged son who was a digidestined told us he had been exposed to the digital world and all of its potential benefits."

Gennai lowered his voice and looked downward.

"The raid went badly, very badly. We have yet to recover a single agent who was involved in it alive. Barke and his son haven't been seen since then. He pulled all his money from traditional banks and severed all his social and business ties. The whole event was kept under wraps by your governments, but it remained disconcerting to them that they were so ill equipped to handle this new threat. Thus, they sent many of their best computer programmers and software designers to, along with Azulongmon, help me construct this place, to fight fire with fire, you see. You have all been called here to be trained to combat the new evil, and, by using a new method of digivolving we have created, to triumph. But, before I continue, I must ask that anyone who feels that they would not like to participate in this project please leave now. I understand that it is dangerous and the last thing I want is for any of you to risk your lives unwillingly."

Gennai's weathered eyes scanned the audience. Not a single one of them budged.

"Very well, then. Not that I expected any of you to respond differently. You were all specifically chosen for your leadership qualities and your indomitable spirits. I even had special filters placed on the portals so that only people exhibiting these desired personality traits could enter this realm. Of course, you're the only type of people who would volunteer for this, so there really wasn't a problem."

Kuri leaned and whispered to Jun, "Nice way to call us all stubborn."

Jun smiled.

"So, now that you all have an inkling for why I invited you here, I think it's now appropriate that you meet the group of instructors who will help develop you into a strong, cohesive, fighting force over the next year."

Everyone sat forward as the figures on the stage, which had previously been shrouded in shadows, were bathed in the glow of the stage lights above. There were a few gasps in the crowd.

Gennai looked at them, smiling. "Yes, three of them are me," he said. "And not me."

He gestured towards the three men on the end of the row, one was shrouded in a black robe and sat hunched forward as he stared at the crowd, taking them all in with a dangerous glint in his dark eyes. The next one wore a gray robe that disclosed to everyone that he was the Gennai who had led the here from the field. His expression was even, though somewhat grim. The last one was wearing a pure white robe. He wore a look of contentment on his face and gently smiled at the crowd while giving a small wave. This move seemed to particularly disgust the dark robed one.

"The first one, wearing the dark and particularly depressing outfit, is Sensei Enn. He specializes in Digimon-Human combat, and along with his human and digimon counterparts, Martial arts experts Xian Chan and Krista Lee,"

A man and woman, the first distinctly Chinese and the second American, both in peak physical condition, stood up and nodded.

"and champion level digimon, Ogremon and Ninjamon,"

The two corresponding digimon stood up behind them.

"-will teach you the finer points of basic and digivolved combat."

All the introduced promptly returned to their seats.

"The next man, whom all of you met earlier, is Professor Nai. He is the most technically proficient of those of us here. He will train you in the laws and rules of the digital world and digivolution, show you its limits, and, if you're lucky, reveal some of its secrets to you. Along the way he'll be aided by his faithful assistant, the American digidestined, Willis, and his two digimon, Terriermon and Lopmon."

The three stood up, took short bows, and sat back down.

Tai furrowed his brow and wondered why Izzy hadn't been called in to help with that particular aspect of the academy.

"Willis," Gennai continued, "also helped greatly to bridge any language gaps in the digital realm by outfitting your digivices with natural translation upgrades."

"Oh," Clara exclaimed, "That's why we have been able to talk with each other so easily."

"Yes, Ms. Sanchez, that's why." Gennai said.

Clara blushed at how loud she must've been for him to hear her.

Gennai smiled and went on with his introductions. "Last, but not least, is the man in the blindingly white robes, Counselor Gen. He will train you in the ethics of the digital world, the balance of darkness and light. He will also teach you more about the history of the digital world and its relationship with the real world. In this, he will be aided by my personal assistant, Keyan. She is training to become a Guardian like me someday."

A short, tan skinned girl stood up and slightly bowed. Her long, flowing, white mane wavered slightly as she looked evenly around the auditorium with piercing blue eyes.

"Good God, she is hot." Terence whispered to Davis.

Davis nodded in agreement.

"I've got to talk to her." Terence continued. "She's definitely on the list."

Curtis slapped his forehead. "Here we go again." He muttered.

"With that done," Said Gennai, "all that's left for me to go over are the rules of living at the D-Academy…"

Jun tuned Gennai out and looked at Tai. He seemed to be concerned about something.

"What's wrong?" she whispered.

Tai turned to her. "What?"

"What's wrong?" Jun repeated. "And don't tell me 'nothing.' I can see it in your eyes."

Tai sighed. "I'm just wondering why Izzy isn't here."

"You didn't tell him to come, doofus."

"I know that. I mean, why didn't Gennai call him to help with that technical stuff? Why this Willis kid?"

Jun looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well, maybe he did. Maybe Izzy just didn't want to come."

"I can't see why Izzy, the biggest computer geek in the world, wouldn't want to get in on this."

"Mimi." Jun said.

Tai scoffed. "Mimi? Keep him from this? I don't think so."

"For someone that's supposed to be 21, you can understand so little sometimes, Tai."

Davis leaned towards them and cut into their conversation. "You guys might not care about the rules, and frankly, neither do I, but you should probably listen to this stuff he's saying about our digivices."

Tai and Jun turned their attention back to Gennai.

"-and your digivices will be reformatted at the ceremony tonight. Also, you will all receive your badges and shields during the ceremony. They work on the same properties as the original digidestined's tags and crests and are very important, so you'll want to be there promptly at 9:00 pm. You should be in bed soon after the ceremony because your sessions start tomorrow. Session schedules will be posted on the network. Log on with your laptop to see yours."

Gennai took a deep breath. "Whew, well, that is all for now. Those of you that are hungry can report to the dining hall for what Digitamamon tells me should be a delicious lunch. After that, you can explore the grounds or do whatever you wish, as long as it is within the rules. Dinner will be served at seven, and make sure you're at the ceremony by nine."

With that, he and the other instructors on stage got up and exited from the sides.

The buzz of conversation descended on the room again. Everyone got to their feet and headed for the exits, talking excitedly. Even Davis was showing his enthusiasm.

"My own tag and crest?" he said, his voice somewhat awed.

Tai put an arm around his shoulders. "About time, huh?"

Davis could barely speak, "Y-yeah, man. I can't wait."

As a group, the eight of them exited the auditorium and waited for their digimon in the hall immediately outside. Terence saw this as his moment to address an issue dropped earlier.

"You're the girl that got me arrested in San Diego!" he said, pointing at Clara.

"Um, no I'm not," she said unconvincingly from her position standing behind Jun.

"Oh yes you are, I remember you well."

"How did she get you arrested?" Jun asked.

"She said he kidnapped her digimon partner." Curtis answered.

"It was an honest mistake, anyone would've said the same!"

"Wait, wait, wait, exactly what are you guys talking about?" Tai said, his natural leadership instincts forcing him to try to inject some order into the conflict.

"Her digimon jumped into my limo after a concert I did in San Diego a while back, wanting a ride to my after party. She told me she was one of those lone digimon you hear about, you know the ones with the abusive partners. I thought she was cool, so I took her along. Long story short, she," Terence pointed at Clara, "has me arrested because she told the cops I had kidnapped her digimon."

Curtis did a poor job of trying to hide his snickers.

Terence ignored him. "It was real bad PR. Took forever to straighten out, and _she_ never even apologized for the whole mess."

"Well, I didn't know exactly what happened at the time. By the time Marta told me the truth we had been home for weeks."

"The truth?" Terence asked, "You mean she never told you what happened?"

Clara cleared her throat. "Well, Marta has always liked a good joke…"

"A good joke? Joke?! When I get my hands on that little friggin troublemaker I'll-"

"You'll do nothing!" Clara shouted. "Now, I apologize for what she did, but if you lay one finger on Marta, so help me God, I'll-"

"Okay, both of you shut up!" Kuri shouted over them both, "She's sorry and you got screwed, deal with it. We have much more important things going on now."

Rosa clapped. "I'm liking this girl more by the minute." She said.

Terence and Clara ignored them and glared at each other.

At that moment, all of their digimon came out in one large group. Apparently they had also taken the assembly as a time to become better acquainted. They were all talking amongst themselves with Veemon at the head of the group. He was using exaggerated gestures as he conversed with a Salamon.

"There she is." Terence said, pointing at the puppy-like Salamon. "Lying little…" His voice trailed off

Tai ignored him and turned to Clara. "You're the first person I've known, besides my sister, to have a Salamon as their digimon partner."

"Yes, there aren't many of us, for some reason." Clara said.

"Why are we all standing here?" Peko said as the digimon walked up to their partners. "Lets go eat. I'm starving!"

Clara bent down and picked up Marta, who noticed Terence from her partner's arms.

"Oh crap." She muttered.

"'Oh crap' is right, little Miss." Clara said sternly. "I believe you owe Mr. Dumars here an apology."

She turned Marta towards Terence and waited impatiently.

Terence couldn't hide the shock from his face. Hadn't they been arguing vehemently just seconds ago?

Marta made a show of breathing heavily and scowling before finally speaking.

"Okay, fine. I'm sorry I made you look like a digimon kidnapper, T. I guess that was wrong after you took me to that party. That thing was great! It took me forever to ditch Clara though. She would never let me go to anything like that-"

Clara loudly cleared her throat.

"Yeah well, sorry 'bout that." Marta finished.

Terence looked from Marta to Clara for a moment. "It's cool." He said.

Clara smiled. "Can we go eat now?" she asked.

"Sure." Terence said, his expression still a bit confused.

The group started to walk down the hall with Peko and Kuri in the lead. Terence hung near the back of the group, close to Davis and Rosa.

"What just happened?" he asked.

"I think she must like you or something." Rosa said. "Usually she would rip someone's head off for threatening Marta."

"Not just Marta," said Gotsumon, walking beside Rosa. "Any of us. Remember the time she jumped in front of that semi that almost hit me?"

"Yeah, the two windshields she broke with those rocks cost her parents a lot of money."

Davis looked impressed. "Man, maybe she really does like you."

Terence looked down the hall at Clara. The buxom digidestied definitely had curves in all the right places and he had always liked a girl with spirit.

"Hmm." was all he said in response.

* * *

Like everything else in the digital realm, the dining hall was huge. It contained three different sections: one for vegetarians and the health minded, one with a variety of ethnic foods for those who wanted a taste of home, and one called "Digitamamon's Diner special," which had whatever delectable dish Digitamamon had cooked up for the day.

Just about everyone had chosen to eat at Digitamamon's section on this day. Tai and Davis had said hello when they saw him and Digitamamon had been so happy to see familiar faces that gave them both especially large helpings of his Digistew and toasted sandwiches. Everyone sat as a group in a large corner booth. The booth had booster sections that could be pulled up so rookie level digimon could sit at the table, as well.

They all now sat eating, mixing in a compliment here and there on how good the food was when they weren't chewing. Terence had slyly chosen to sit next to Clara and was trying to determine if she was really "feeling" him or not, as he had put it to Davis, while Tai was in his usual spot next to Jun. Curtis was the first to break the amicable silence with actual conversation.

"Does anyone here know why there are so many Gennais?"

Everyone, human and digimon, looked up from their plates in thought.

Jun was the first to answer. "I thought it was obvious."

Davis looked annoyed at her statement. "Well, enlighten the rest of us, sis."

"I think it's pretty clear Gennai split himself into all his personalities. Enn is his fighting, more forceful side. Nai, his knowledge and technical expertise. And Gen is his peaceful, good intentioned side." She paused, thinking. "I think the one that talked to us represented his wisdom. If Gennai's as old as they say he is, that's probably his strongest trait."

"So he split?" Veemon asked. "How did he do that?"

"With a really big knife." Sparks joked.

Pings laughed heartily.

"That part I don't know." Jun admitted.

"I was thinking," Curtis said. "In TK's _Chronicles_ it says that Gennai said he was a digimon." No one noticed Davis bristle upon hearing TK's name. "Maybe splitting is his special ability or something."

"That's an interesting theory, Curtis." Tai said. "Maybe we could ask him next time we see him."

Curtis shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. I also wonder what level he is, if he's a level at all. Mega most likely-"

Terence interrupted his brother. "Okay Curtis, okay. We'll find out later." He looked at the rest of the table. "Curtis always does this. Once he gets something on his mind…" He shook his head. "He's probably been thinking about nothing else since the assembly."

"I like that." Rosa said. "You question things instead of just letting them pass by. My grandfather always said you should always ask why things are the way they are. It's the sign of someone that's very wise."

"Thanks." Curtis said shyly, blushing as much as his Mahogany skin would allow.

"Anyone know what they're doing between now and the ceremony tonight?" Davis asked the table. The blank looks he got were answer enough. He continued. "Because I was thinking, maybe we could go down to the lake Gennai was talking about and hang out for a while."

"Lake?" Tai and Jun said in unison.

"Yeah, if you two had been listening to Gennai, instead of talking to each other, you would've heard him say that the ceremony would be held down at the lake behind the mansion tonight." Davis said.

"Oh," Jun said, realizing she hadn't actually seen the back of the mansion yet.

"Maybe we could go check it out. Go for a swim or something."

"Cool with me," Rosa said. "I was wondering what I was going to do with all those swimsuits in my closet."

Clara agreed. "Oh yeah, I've got this cute two piece that you've got to see." She said to Rosa.

Kuri glanced up at the ceiling in annoyance. Girls.

Terence smiled and winked at Davis.

After downing the last of his sandwich, Tai was the first to get up from the table, his proactive side taking over. "What are we waiting for then?" He said, grinning at the others. "I'll see you guys on the water." He then rushed out of the dining hall with Agumon running behind.

Jun and Davis got up next and left with the same fervor, followed closely by Sparks and Veemon.

Everyone at the table looked confused by their hasty departures, save for Kuri.

"They're racing." She said nonchalantly, and went back to finishing her meal.

* * *

**Later**

The lake had been a refreshing change of pace for all of them. Lazily floating on its surface and intermittently taking time to casually talk and get to know each other on the shore, had been quite a therapeutic remedy to this first hectic day. Davis now sat on his bed, hastily putting on a pair of shoes. Between going to the lake, a couple quick games of 33 in the mansion's basement gym, a late dinner at 8:00, and a shower, he now found himself hurrying not to be late to the ceremony. Terence walked into his room and smiled at his quick pace.

"I wouldn't worry about catching up with us." He said. "Tai's still working with his hair in the bathroom. Looks like it could be a drawn out affair."

Davis laughed. "Probably."

"So, what did you think of her?" Terence asked.

"Um, who?" Davis asked.

"Clara, you know, at the lake today. Was she hot or what?"

"Yeah, I guess. She did have some big, um," Davis stumbled as he searched his mind for an appropriate description of the attactive girl, "assets."

"Tell me about it." Terence said, a dreamy quality in his voice. "The other girls looked good too. Your sister has a nice little athletic build working. I think she looked even better when the water let her hair down. And Kuri, damn, that girl should be a model or something."

Knowing her, she probably thinks she's the ugliest girl here, Davis thought.

"What about Rosa?" Said Curtis from the door, as usual, listening in on the conversation.

"She's _thirteen_ bro. I'm not commenting on jailbait."

"I think she looked good."

"Well, that's great Curtis, seeing how you can say that, being 14 and all." Terence said. "Seriously though, we lucked out, hooking up with a group of girls like that."

"This is your favorite subject isn't it?" Davis asked, amused.

"What? Girls? Definitely. I find that there's no better inspiration for writing music."

"Please," Curtis said. "You're just horny."

Terence faked gasping. "How can you say that?"

"You don't need girls. You once wrote a song a song dedicated to mangoes that made top 20."

"Okay, touché. But mangoes are damn good fruits."

Curtis turned to Davis. "He's a pretty talented writer." He said. "I learned what I know about writing from him."

"Makes me proud when it comes to those near college-level research and thesis papers you do." Terence said with a satisfied look, before frowning, "I never told you to write for rap on the side, though. You could've at least picked a legitimate form of music."

"Not this again. Every time you say that, it shows how close minded-"

Tai walked into the room before Curtis could fully launch into his diatribe.

"Are we going to the ceremony or what?"

"About time," Davis said, getting up from the bed. "The digimon have been waiting downstairs forever."

* * *

After meeting the girls and their digimon in the main hall, the sixteen of them walked the short wooded distance to the lake behind the mansion. Tai kept looking at Jun in surprise during the trek, primarily because she'd decided to keep her hair down instead of restoring it back to its usual spiky appearance. She told him it was because she didn't feel like working with it much tonight. To tell the truth, Tai wasn't all that opposed. Jun looked particularly cute with her hair down.

The group arrived at their destination shortly. In contrast to its bright azure hue from earlier in the day, the lake now seemed black, its surface shimmering silver under the light of hundreds of small blue torches erected around its sandy shore. On the beach closest to the approaching group, a small wooden stage had been erected. There had been a dock in the same area, earlier. On either side of the stage were two small straw huts. Sizable groups of digidestined had already gathered and were sitting on the grass closest to the stage.

"What time is it?" Tai asked Davis.

"8:53."

"I guess we should sit and wait then." Agumon said.

They did just that for a while, making conversation as the crowd around them became larger. Before long, three figures walked towards them from the forest. Jun recognized them as Gennai, Willis, and Keyan. Gennai walked to the middle of the stage with Willis and Keyan at his sides. The crowd grew silent and waited for him to speak.

"Hello again digidestined." He greeted. "The main thrust of this ceremony is to arm you with the tools you'll need to become what I dream you can be, true Digital Knights."

"Digital Knights," Kuri repeated under her breath to Davis. "Kick-ass. I like that. It has an enforcement ring to it."

"I'm going to try to keep this as short and simple as possible, since all of your sessions start tomorrow morning. The first order of business, raise your digivices above your head."

Everyone in the crowd obliged. Tai frowned as he saw many of the kids in the audience sneaking glances at his old style digivice. Apparently, it was yet something else they revered about his OD status.

"Willis." Gennai said.

Immediately Willis pulled a laptop from a bag over his shoulder and began typing furiously on it. The computer soon began to emit a luminous glow. From the glow, single beams of light shot out to each of the raised digivices. Everyone stared in awe as they watched their digivices begin to glow and change right before their eyes. The white and colored plastic slowly morphed into a shiny steel gray. The screens changed from grayshade LCD to full color and doubled in size. They all began to change form, morphing into the same squareish shape that better matched Tai's. And lastly, small speaker and mic holes formed on their top right and left corners, respectively. With these transformations complete, the digivices lost their glow and beeped, signaling their proper initiation.

Everyone slowly brought their hands down and stared at the new and improved digivices. Each one showed a revolving 3d image of its owner's partner digimon on its screen.

"Damn," Terence said. "These things are all about business." He turned his around in his hand, examining it from all angles.

"Is this platinum? It feels like platinum." Clara said. "Yeah, I'm gonna go with platinum."

While Rosa chuckled at her cousin's girlish affinity for precious metals, Jun looked at Tai with a small bit of concern. How did he feel about the digivice he'd had for the past ten years suddenly being changed?

For his part, the Digidestined of Courage looked positively giddy. He fingered all of the buttons on his digivice, trying to discover its capabilities.

"Whoa, it has Tetris!" He exclaimed suddenly, before regaining his composure. "Not that that's important or anything."

"I don't remember adding that feature," said Gennai, before turning to Willis, who only grinned and shrugged.

Gennai smiled good-naturedly and addressed the crowd again. "I'm very happy that you all seem to be enjoying your reformatted digivices. But we still have work to do yet. Now comes the interesting part. The spirit of the digital world has selected helpful traits within you all that can act as your crests, or in this case, shields. I'm going to go into the hut on my right, Willis and Keyan will be in the one on my left. When I call out your name, report to my hut to receive your shield, then go to Keyan's to receive your academy uniforms and badges. Make sure to bring your D-terminals also."

With that, Gennai and his assistants departed for their specified shelters.

Everyone talked with each other about their digivices and what they suspected their strongest traits were as they waited for Gennai to begin.

Unlike the rest, Kuri began to worry incessantly. She didn't see how she could have one positive trait that could be applied to her shield. While everyone else was smiling and talking, their infectious enthusiasm washing over her like a foreboding wave, Kuri was morbidly imagining Gennai telling her the she was unfit to be a Knight and asking for her to leave at once.

"Adkins, Tom!" a voice rang out.

A young, sandy blonde haired boy nervously walked toward Gennai's hut. He was smiling nonetheless.

His smile annoyed Kuri. He probably believed he had some trait, some innate quality that was actually worth being on his badge and shield. Meanwhile, here she was, the only one at this damn lake that wasn't smiling like an idiot, the only one worried about finding out what notable quality was really contained within her.

Kuri jerked when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Jun looking at her with concern, Davis standing just behind her.

"I know what you're thinking, Kuri." Jun said. "And I need you to remember what we've told you, or you're going to worry yourself sick about nothing at all. You'll see."

As Jun stepped aside to talk with Rosa, Davis walked up to Kuri.

"I don't know what that was all about." He said. "But if you want to talk about something-"

"No, I don't." Kuri spat. "Just let me get my shield of vindictiveness or hatred or cruelty, or whatever it is, in peace, please."

Davis then realized what Jun was talking about. He couldn't understand why Kuri thought of herself in such a manner. Sure, she had something of a forceful personality, but she still usually got along well with most people. Something must have happened to her, he determined, something in her past that made Kuri think of herself this way, no matter what.

"Look, Kuri," Davis began, "You can't keep thinking the worst of yourself like this."

"You don't understand." Kuri said. "You don't understand at all."

She then walked away from him and disappeared into the crowd, easily becoming lost amidst the meager torchlight and dancing shadows.

"Dumars, Curtis!"

"Whoa, I'm up already?" Curtis said after hearing Gennai call his name. "Wish me luck guys." He and Taps set out on the walk to the tent.

"Good luck!" Clara called after him.

A couple minutes later Terence's name was called.

"No luck needed here." He said as he left. "When I come back, my shield's gonna say 'Badassery.'"

"Get out of here." Clara told him with a playful push.

He laughed and departed with Pings.

Davis stared into the crowd, worried about Kuri. Jun walked up behind him.

"She'll be fine," she said. "There's something she's not telling us right now. But I'm sure she will when she's ready."

Davis sighed. "At least Gennai won't actually give her a bad shield."

"Yeah." Jun agreed.

Just then, a Kenyan digidestined walked past them, loudly telling his friends, "I got Insolence. This is so cool." He beamed at the silver and black object in his hand with pride.

"I hope." Jun added with a bit less surety.

"Meditation!"

Jun and Davis turned toward the interrupting shout to see Curtis running towards them. "I got Meditation!" he said. "Gennai said it's because I like to think about things." He was breathing hard. Apparently he had run all the way back to tell them.

"Oh, and we also got these new D-terminals." He said, raising a black rectangular object in his hand. It was surprisingly smaller and thinner than its older model. A silver, linked, chain hung from one end of it. Curtis opened it. Inside was the normal keypad and screen on one side, but added to the inside of the opposite panel was a laminated piece of paper with Curtis' name, birthday, photo ID, and a seal proclaiming him a Digital Knight in training. "The new D-terminals also work as our badges." He said.

"That's practical." Tai said, inspecting the new piece of technology. "But why make it so small?"

"Because we're supposed to wear them like this-" Curtis paused as Gennai called out "Fagan, Charles!" before continuing. "See, you hang it around your neck with the chain."

He then pulled his shield out of his pocket. It was shaped similar to a normal police badge and seemed to be made of bright, white silver. Emblazoned on the front of it was the word "Meditation" in large black letters with a symbol below it that resembled a very simple angular silhouette of a person in thought. Above it, in small letters were the words "Digital Knight." At the very bottom of the shield, in even smaller letters, was the word "Trainee."

"Then you take the shield and place it on the closed badge." Curtis did this as he spoke. As soon as the shield touched the badge an intense light surrounded it, making a bright outline around the silver object. As the outline faded, it revealed that the shield was perfectly melded into the D-terminal. In fact, to someone that didn't know better, the terminal seemed to be nothing more than a backing for the shield.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Curtis said, after finishing.

"Very." Rosa said, her awe apparent in her voice. She wore a slight smile as she glanced up at Curtis, as well.

Terence walked over to the group at that point.. "I see Curtis already showed you everything." He said, already wearing his badge and shield together around his neck.

"Inspiration?" Curtis said, reading it.

"Yep," Terence said with a proud smile. "Kinda expected something like this, though."

"Here," he said, handing Curtis half of the stack of black cloth he held in his arms. The material shimmered blue wherever the lights from the torches glinted off of it. "Keyan said you left so fast that you forgot your uniform."

"Heh, yeah." Curtis said sheepishly. "I couldn't wait to tell these guys."

Taps rolled his eyes. "I tried to tell him." He said. "But he took off so fast."

Curtis raised his uniform for all them to see. In one hand he held a long sleeved shirt consisting entirely of a shiny black material, reminiscent of sports uniforms, save for the upper left corner, where the symbol from Curtis' shield was etched into it in a deep blue. The collar was raised slightly to come halfway up and around the neck. In the other hand, Curtis held up the pants portion of the uniform. They were completely black also, except for a small silver buckle in the middle of the waist with "DK" engraved on it in striking fashion.

Jun looked at the outfit closely, then at Curtis. "Seems like it's slightly form fitting."

"Yeah, it is." Curtis said. "Keyan says they're all exactly tailored to the specific sizes of the people who'll be wearing them. They have to fit tightly because of the activities we're going to be involved in."

"She also said that there's a pair of black shoes in all our closets we're supposed to wear with these." Terence added.

Clara said. "I hope mine has a bare midriff."

Jun and Rosa both gave her skeptical glances.

"All my workout clothes do." She said defensively. "It's more comfortable to me."

Terence turned to Curtis and Tai and smiled. Both shook their heads in response.

"Kamiya, Tai!"

Tai looked up. It was amazing how they all heard only their own names while ignoring the others.

"We're up Agumon." He said to his digimon, who was on the ground practicing his poker skills with Sparks. He got up and the two of them began walking towards Gennai's hut.

"He is so getting 'Courage." Jun said.

* * *

Kuri stood on the lakeshore, a good distance away from the rest of the crowd. Peko hovered behind her quietly, watching her with worry. Kuri cringed when she heard Tai's name, knowing she wouldn't be far behind, and bent down to pick up a smooth stone from the ground. Forcefully, she threw it and watched as the projectile skipped across the surface of the lake. She sighed. It was like waiting for a death sentence or something.

She looked back across the crowd to where she supposed Davis was, and felt a twinge of regret about what she'd said to him.

_But why should I be surprised?_ She thought. _It's what I do best, hurt people, push them away._

She threw another stone, this time with the force of anger behind it. It skipped much further than the first. Kuri sighed and hung her head. Waiting for the inevitable. For lack of a better description, it sucked.

And it came sooner than she expected.

"Katsura, Kuri!"

The last note of her name hung on the air for a moment before Kuri slowly began to walk back toward the crowd in silent resignation. As much as she figured she wouldn't like it, a badge was still a badge.

When she finally had made her way back through the crowd and arrived at Gennai's hut, Kuri nervously stood near the entrance, not quite able to summon the nerve to step inside.

"Come in. Sit down." The older being beckoned from inside.

With a deep breath, she did so, and took in the simple surroundings of the hut's interior. There were a couple of torches, Gennai seated at a wooden desk, and a chair made of straw and bamboo facing said desk.

She sat in the chair and cringed slightly as Gennai reached into a black box on his desk and searched for her shield.

He smiled at her. "Worried?"

"You could say that." Kuri answered.

"Well don't be," Gennai said. "The shield you got is a very good one."

Kuri's curiosity piqued as he produced a small silver object from the box and handed it to her.

She read its inscription three times before saying it out loud.

"Compassion?" She asked in surprise.

Gennai nodded.

"This can't be right," She said with a shake of her head. "This can't be my shield."

"Oh, it's never wrong." Gennai assured. "That is your shield."

"But…how?"

"That, you will have to discover for yourself."

"I-I don't understand."

"I'm sorry Kuri, but I don't really have time to spare to talk about this right now. If you want to discuss this at a later time I can-"

"No, that's okay." She said, getting up while still gazing at the shield in bewilderment. "I'll try to figure this out myself."

Gennai smiled again. "Very well then," he said, extending a hand. "Congratulations Ms. Katsura."

She tore her eyes away from the object long enough to take his hand and shake it before leaving the hut, somewhat dazed.

"Do you like it?" Peko asked tentatively as they walked the short distance to the second makeshift shelter.

"I'm...not sure." Kuri answered honestly.

She stared at her shield. It really perplexed her that of all the qualities and people there were here, she was the one to get Compassion. The symbol on it roughly resembled a parent holding a child.

A slight smirk appeared on her face. "But, yeah. I guess so."

After visiting the second hut and receiving her badge/D-terminal and uniforms, Kuri walked back to her friends, rather than returning to her lone spot on the edge of the lake. She couldn't help but grin when she saw Jun and Davis' expectant faces. They ran up to her.

"So, what was it?" Jun asked.

Kuri handed her the shield and raptly studied her reaction.

A broad grin gradually overtook Jun's face as she read the word inscribed on the silver object. "Compassion!" She read in excitement, pulling the girl into a hug. "Exactly what I expected."

Kuri gave her a look of skeptical disbelief as they broke apart. "I'd like to call BS on that, but knowing you, you're probably telling the truth."

"Way to go, Kuri." Davis said, placing a hand on the newly christened Compassionate Knight's shoulder. "I'm happy for you."

"So am I." Kuri admitted. "I don't know why I got it, but I'm glad I did."

Davis looked at Kuri admirably. Their eyes met for a moment and she turned away diffidently.

"So um, what badges did everyone else get?" Kuri asked.

"Well, Curtis got Meditation, Terence, Inspiration, and of course, Tai got Courage." Jun told her. "All in all, a good haul so far."

They then walked back to the rest of the group, where everyone congratulated Kuri on receiving the shield of Compassion.

"Man," Rosa said. "Besides Courage, that's probably the best one I've seen tonight."

"They're all equally good." Jun reminded her.

"Yeah, sure."

They all sat down and discussed their uniforms and badges while waiting for Gennai to cycle down to the M's. When he finally called out, "Motomiya, Davis." Davis got up impatiently and half dragged Veemon to the hut. Soon after, he called for Jun also. After a few minutes they both came back together.

"So?" Tai asked when they returned.

"Insight." Jun said, showing him the shield with what seemed to be a picture of an eye on it.

"Can't get much more precise than that." Tai said, taking her shield momentarily and looking upon it with pride.

"Mine is Perseverance." Davis said, holding up his badge, on which was engraved a silhouette of a figure struggling uphill. He attached it to his badge and hung it around his neck, all the while holding a grin that it seemed would be permanently plastered to his face.

"I guess it can." Kuri said to Tai with a smug smile.

They sat and talked for a while longer until Clara (Sanchez) and Rosa (Ruiz) got their shields of Protection and Will respectively.

Rosa was especially proud of hers.

"Mama always says no one can tell me anything. Now my strong will is gonna be of some good use, instead of getting me in trouble all the time." She said.

Clara just looked at hers, turning it over and over in her hand, her face a storm of consternation.

"From what I've heard, that's the perfect badge for you." Terence said.

"It is…" she admitted quietly, "but a shield like this is a lot to live up to." Clara paused and looked alarmed. "Wait, what have you heard? Who's been telling you things about me?" She glanced at Rosa.

"Don't look at me." Her cousin laughed, unable to keep a straight face. "I didn't tell anything they wouldn't already know after spending five minutes with you."

As the last digidestined was called to Gennai's hut, Kuri looked around the rapidly thinning crowd. "I think we can leave now, guys." She said.

"Good." Curtis said. "'Cause I'm beat."

"What time is it?" Tai asked.

"Ten thirty." Davis answered.

"Yeah, it's time for me to head back." Tai said, looking over the session schedule he'd printed out earlier. "I have Digital Combat first thing in the morning."

"We all do," Terence said, stifling a yawn. "Half of the Academy has it in the morning, half in the afternoon. We're all in the morning half."

"Then let's go." Tai said. "I get the feeling that tomorrow is gonna be an even longer day than this one was."

They all set out on the short walk back to the mansion.

* * *

Later that night, Tai lay wide-awake in his bed, staring at the wall. He had been trying to sleep for the last two hours, but found it impossible. Not with the shouts coming from up and down he halls of the boys' wing. Many of his hallmates had decided to start a late night LAN game of Digital Strike, a game invented recently which put the player in the role of a gun-toting vigilante lost in the digital world. Apparently, they were now embroiled in some mission that required them all to scream at their monitors. Tai got up, stepped over a snoring Agumon in his own miniature bed, put on a T-Shirt and left the room, too tired to care if he was wearing pajama pants or boxers (Luckily, it was the former). He grabbed a blanket from the hall closet and a pillow from the downstairs couch before exiting into the main halls. The shouts, gunshots, and cries of anguish were even louder out there.

"I don't know how those guys can sleep through all this." He said, speaking of his roommates.

Tai had been a remarkably light sleeper ever since his first visit to the digital world. Back then, he had taken it upon himself to be the first one up to meet any danger that might have befallen them at night. Thus, he had conditioned himself to sleep with "one ear open." Now, Tai found that, try as he might, he couldn't rid himself of this tendency.

He walked to the end of the hall, went through the big double doors there, and then entered the main Rec. room, a huge room filled with beanbags, lounging chairs, and all kinds of board and arcade games that served as the main barrier between the boys and girls wings. Tai yawned. It was quiet here, really quiet. Some moonlight filtered into the room from a floor-to-ceiling window to his left. Tai turned to the window and gasped at the view. He could see the entire lake from its vantage point, along with most of the surrounding forest. Above it, there were stars shining brightly in the sky, and a large crescent moon that glowed magnificently on the mountains in the background. Tai grabbed a small, two-cushion futon and dragged it to the window. He threw his pillow down on it and wrapped his blankets around himself before lying down. No sooner had he slipped into that strange plane between consciousness and sleep than he heard the doors to the girls' wing open.

Jun entered the Rec room cautiously. She had been trying to sleep ever since they'd returned from the badge ceremony but something kept gnawing at the back of her mind. It was what Tai had told her that morning, back in the real world. It seemed like forever ago. He had told her that he was sorry. At first she didn't understand what he meant, but as she lay in her bed, trying unsuccessfully to go to sleep, it became painfully clear. He was telling her that he didn't want to pursue a relationship with her, or at least an open one. In all honest they had practically been in a relationship for the past year or so. Jun supposed Tai was trying to let her down gently because he still wanted to remain friends. At first she didn't want to believe it. She tried to tell herself she was jumping to conclusions, that she hadn't actually heard that from Tai, but when she turned over in her bed and saw her new shield of Insight sitting on her nightstand, she knew that there was probably some merit to her thoughts.

That's what brought Jun here. She had found that nothing helped her think clearly like a looking out upon a scenic view. Remembering the window in the Rec. room she'd seen earlier, she'd snuck out of her room and crept down the hall to arrive here.

Jun looked toward the window. Someone had put a couch there. Apparently she wasn't the only one here that saw the value in looking out over a picturesque landscape. Thinking whoever had been using the couch had long left, Jun walked up behind it, pondering whether to move it out of the way or actually sit in it. She looked down to see a familiar pair of eyes looking back at her.

"Jun?"

"T-Tai?" she stammered.

"What are you doing here?" They both asked each other at the same time.

"Couldn't sleep." They once again said in unison.

Tai sat up groggily and motioned for Jun to sit next to him.

Jun shook her head. "No, I didn't mean to disturb you." She said.

"Nonsense." He said. "Sit down."

Jun did so reluctantly and sat as far away from Tai as the small couch would allow.

Tai noticed her strange behavior and did his best to ignore her midriff exposing pajama top and matching gym shorts. He looked from Jun to the window and back again. Jun had told him she liked views a long time ago and he'd never forgotten it. She said they helped her think. As he recalled, it was the primary reason she had convinced Davis to settle on their current apartment. Tai smiled. He should have expected to see her here.

"What were you coming to think about?" He asked, taking a guess.

Jun looked at him in surprise. How had he known that was what she was here to do?

"You told me once that you liked to look at scenic views to help you think."

Jun barely remembered that. "That was a long time ago." She said, "I'm very surprised you remembered."

Tai smiled. "I always remember those kinds of things about you, even if I don't show it sometimes. I can't help but to."

Jun looked confused. Why was he being so forthcoming with his feelings if he wanted them to remain just friends?

Tai prodded her again. "So, what did you come here to think about? Or do you just not want to tell me?"

Jun was silent for a moment. She wondered if she could open herself up to him; wear her heart on her sleeve this one last time. After all, she had been crushed twice for doing that in her relatively young life. She looked at Tai, patiently waiting for her answer. He'd always been there for her. He wouldn't abandon her also, would he?

_To hell with it,_ she thought, _I need answers._

"Actually," she began shakily. "I came here to think about…you." _There. She said it._

Tai eyes mildly widened. "Really? Why?"

"I-I wanted to figure out what you meant this morning. When you said you were sorry…" She broke off.

Tai reached out for her hand. She jerked away for a split second, but the instincts of her heart quickly overcame her doubts and she allowed him to hold it.

Tai was now growing really concerned about her behavior. "Jun, I'm not sure what you think I meant, but it can't be right."

"Then tell me. What did you mean?" She asked quietly.

"I meant," Tai began. He took a deep breath, recomposing his thoughts from the night before. "That I'm sorry for the way I've treated you over the past few years. I know I've been jerking you around, making you think some things, and taking them away. And you've stuck with me by my side, as my best friend, and more." He paused. Jun was now listening raptly, looking right at him, her wide eyes a mix of vulnerable curiosity that sent pangs through his chest.

"Jun, honestly I've been attracted to you since that day four years ago, when I found you on that bench crying because Jim was leaving for America."

Jun allowed herself a small smile. Jim had never really been all that into her, but as usual, she fawned over him like a lovesick puppy. She was genuinely crushed when he left her for a more promising career in California. He had hardly even cared. But what could've turned out to be one of the worst days of Jun's life ended up being one of the best. That was when she and Tai met, truly got to know each other, for the first time. He had spent the entire day with her, sharing his own love life's trials and tribulations with her while listening to hers.

"At first the age difference was the barrier. You were graduating; I still had a couple years left. Stuff like that. It all seems so dumb now. But then there was her."

Jun nodded. _Sora._

Tai sighed. "I don't know how you stuck with me through that mess. I didn't know what I was doing then. I don't know if I even really liked her that much, at least not in the way I thought I did. I'm sure that, at one point I just didn't want to lose her to Matt. My mind's been scrambled the last couple years, really. But last night, you straightened it out. You showed me what I always wanted, hell, what I always needed. That one kiss…"

Their eyes locked, communicating more than words ever could.

"I'm sorry Jun. After Sora I was just scared to put my heart on the line."

"I know the feeling."

"But I want to do it now, Jun. Hell, I think I've wanted to for the past four years. I could be cliché and say I was too blind to acknowledge it, but that just wouldn't be true. I noticed you Jun. Every word, every hug, every tear, every smile…especially the smiles…but I was just too damn scared to do anything about it."

Tai didn't really know where these words were coming from. They were just flowing from him so easily now that he found he couldn't stop. He couldn't afford to let this opportunity pass, like so many others.

"My heart is still here Jun, a little worse for wear maybe, but still here. And I want to give it to you. I only need you to promise that if you'll hold it you won't let go."

Jun's eyes watered as she moved closer to Tai. This was real. She could feel it. This wasn't Matt. This wasn't Jim. This was pure.

"On one condition," she said. "That you take mine and do the same."

Tai didn't answer; he didn't need to.

They pulled each other into a forceful hug and remained that way for a while, releasing so many pent up feelings in silence. The wind outside whispering as it flowed around the mansion was the only audible noise in the air.

When they finally released one another, Jun made to kiss him on the cheek once again. This time Tai turned toward her, meaning to do the same. They were both surprised when their lips came in contact with each other. Neither pulled away. This was meant to happen, and both knew exactly what to do. Lips that had long desired to touch came together with none of the timidity one would expect of a first kiss, instead caressing and exploring each other with a fervor that had been restrained for too long. And when the kiss finally wound down, Jun softly bit Tai's lower lip as they broke apart, informing him without words that she wanted him to return very soon.

Tai, only too eager to oblige her desire, said, "I could go for another one of those."

His arms found her waist and hers wrapped around his neck as they joined again, this time much deeper, much more passionate, and for much longer. She leaned back and pulled him over her as their breathing quickened and they physically delved into one another, drawing each other closer while their joining turned into something much more meaningful than a simple kiss. The two had so much love, so much passion, stored up within them from over the years, that the torrent of emotions that were running through them was turning their impromptu make-out session into quite the torrid affair.

Tai broke away for a moment to take a breath, and almost laughed when Jun, apparently perturbed by the momentary respite, lunged forward, drawing their lips together yet again and reducing Tai's thoughts to nothing but a few random bursts of light. He tasted her, smelled her, felt her, consumed her, and almost wished that he could live in the moment forever. He couldn't deny that she was good at this. Damn good. So good, in fact, he could only hope that he was returning the favor. A low moan of pleasure that escaped from Jun's throat told him that he probably was. And the way her body felt against him, the way her svelte form felt, secured within his arms as he leaned over her possessively, the way she fervently pulled him tightly to her, on top of her, drove him to a precipice of lustful desire that he knew they weren't quite ready for. At least not yet.

Tai reluctantly broke their joining, rising a few inches away from her and searching the depths of her gaze for a reaction. He was surprised by the unbridled passion that he found staring back at him; longing, angry even, that he'd broken their rapidly escalating kiss. The expression quickly changed, however, as a flash of understanding came over Jun and she smiled slightly. Her hands remained clasped around his neck and her eyes twinkled with wonderment as she took him in. Both shared a chuckle, and then she slowly pulled him back to her, this time allowing him to re-capture her lips in a much more measured manner

They continued to share their affection for a while longer, then gradually slowed down with a few lighter, tender, kisses, before eventually returning to a seated position. Jun leaned against Tai's chest and nuzzled into him with a contented sigh. He spread his blanket over the both of them, thinking she obviously had to be a little cold, and reclined the couch back a bit as they both looked out the window in silence. That was the quirk with Tai and Jun; they knew each other so well that there was no immediate need for meaningless talk as they basked in the afterglow of their first real kiss.

After a while, however, Jun did break the silence.

"Why couldn't you sleep, Tai?"

"What?"

"Well, you know why I couldn't sleep, but why couldn't you?"

Tai told her about the guys playing computer games in his hall and how his conditioning in the digital world prevented him from sleeping well around noise.

Jun timidly held one of Tai's hands in both of hers and played with his fingers.

"You were such a good leader for them, Tai." She said, sitting up to look him in the eye. "That's why I'm not too worried about what we're doing here now. The way I see it, between you and my brother, there's no way we can fail."

"Yeah, I suppose. You are the one with the shield of Insight."

Jun smiled at his modesty and lay back down, listening to his gradually slowing heartbeat. She felt so comfortable, so safe here. Soon she felt the familiar sensation of Tai stroking his fingers through her hair.

"Do you like it?" she asked.

"Hmmm?"

"My hair. I'm thinking about keeping it this way."

Tai fingered its smooth texture. "Yeah, I love it, to tell you the truth."

"I know it doesn't go past my shoulders like Kuri's, but-"

"Doesn't have to." Tai said. "That length's my favorite. Don't change it."

Tai was telling the truth. He had always appreciated how a visible neck accentuated the female form. It was partly what originally drew him to Jun, and Sora for that matter. He still hadn't forgiven the latter for letting her hair grow out.

Jun giggled. "Okay," she said. "Keep in mind though, this is the only fashion tip I'll ever take from you."

"Fine by me." Tai said, smiling.

The wind's soft whistle returned for a few minutes before Tai took his turn breaking the silence.

"So, what does this make us, Jun?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know, you and me. Us."

"Well, the kissing is new. I like that. Everything else we've kinda done before."

"I know, I know." Tai said with a small smile, remembering all the times they'd hugged and held one another over the course of their friendship. "But seriously, I don't want to just call you 'friend' anymore, you know."

Jun's heart swelled upon hearing this. Anyone with half a brain would know they were now in a relationship. However indirectly, Tai was asking for a formal forging of their new romantic connection. His insecurities, brought on by past experience, much like hers, required this final step. To Jun, this was confirmation that he wouldn't be pretending this didn't happen tomorrow morning.

"Well, um traditionally, this would be described as a boyfriend, girlfriend type thing, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah," Tai said, an airy quality to his voice. "I like that."

Jun turned slightly to look upon Tai's face. To tell the truth, he had never really had a girlfriend before. He really hadn't ever been in a real relationship. Oh sure, there were a few well-publicized dates he went on to keep up appearances. Girls he didn't really care about, who, in turn, were only interested in his status as the former leader of the ODs. Jun got an earful about how much Tai hated the 'dating game' all the time. He always insisted that dating was fake; that it could never work because the guy and girl didn't really know each other and only familiarized themselves with one other under the pressuring pretense of creating a relationship. He always held on to the somewhat naive notion that love could only be found between friends who slowly grew closer together. It was partly this naivety that fueled him to face constant rejection from Sora. He couldn't understand how she could go for Matt, a person she had only known for a short while compared to him.

_Naïve or not,_ Jun thought_, here I sit, his best friend for years, in his arms, praying that we can stay this way forever._ She smiled. He may have actually been on to something, there.

She lay back down, pressing close to him, and allowed the rhythmic sounds of his breathing to lull her into a tranquil state.

They stayed like that for a while, finding comfort in each other's company, watching the moon rise higher into the sky. Soon enough, Tai noticed Jun's breathing become a lot heavier. He looked down to see that she was fast asleep.

At first he thought about waking her so they could both return to their own rooms, but really, there was no part of him that actually wanted to do that. He gladly resigned to sleeping here with Jun for the night. He leaned down and gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead, the euphoria of realizing that she was actually his still washing over him like the best kind of drug.

"Eight o' clock." Tai whispered to himself, setting his internal clock for when they should wake-up, another trait he acquired from his first trip to the digital world. He then closed his eyes and soon after joined his new…girlfriend –damn, that sounded _perfect_- in fitful slumber.

_To be continued..._

* * *

Well that's the psuedo second chapter. The next one should be posted in a matter of days, after I make a few revisions to it. I decided to speed up the Jun/Tai romance because as the action heavy chapters start to kick in, I can't have them giving each other flirtatious glances in between punches. I'll have Davis and Kuri for that. : - )

As always, please review.


	3. First Day

Wow, I'm finally back. Man, sorry for this long interval between chapters but I ran into some computer trouble. You see, my internal modem stopped working properly so I decided to try and install an external one. That one didn't work properly either. In fact it decided to one up the first one and crash my whole system. Anyway, long story short, after a few days I finally put the old one back in and miraculously, it started working again. God, I can't wait to get back to college. This 56k drama can really drag you down.

So, here I am, back to the Digital Knights finally. This chapter was originally joined with the last, so it continues in the vein of highlighting Tai and Jun. Also, it pretty much finishes up the setting up of the story so that we can get on with the plot.

(Note to cyberwolf: I understand your reservations about Davis' shield and originally, I thought about giving him the shield of will also. But the fact is, as this story progresses, you may find that this makes his character appear a little too powerful or intimidating when compared to the others. Don't worry. Miracles will have its role.)

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. (In other words, about 35% percent of this story isn't mine. ; - ) )

* * *

**First Day**

Tai woke up with a start and looked around the Rec. room. It had become filled with early morning sunlight. He started to get up but felt something heavy on his chest. Jun was still there, looking positively angelic in her sleep. Tai hated having to wake her.

"Jun," he said, gently shaking her shoulder. "Jun, wake up."

"Hmm?" she said, slowly opening her eyes and stretching.

"First day of school." Tai said with a smile.

"Ohmygod," Jun's eyes popped open. "Tai, are we late?"

"Somebody would've woken us up if we were." Tai said. "If my clock's working right, it's eight. We should still have an hour to get ready."

"This wouldn't be the same clock that made you almost miss coming here yesterday, would it?"

Tai smiled sheepishly. "No. I tried going the alarm clock route then. Not for me."

Jun sat up and looked around the room. "We better get going before people do start coming through here." She said. She started to pull the sheets off of her when she realized she was still wearing her skimpy pajamas. "Damn," she muttered. "If some guy sees me like this."

"Take the blanket," Tai said, still leaning back on the couch and admiring her. "I don't need it."

"Thanks Tai," she said, swiftly cloaking herself in the sheet. Jun leaned down and planted a quick kiss on his lips. "For everything." With that, she hurried towards the girls' double doors and disappeared through them.

Tai got up and stretched. He pushed the couch back to where he originally found it before heading back to his own room in an elated stupor.

When he arrived he found Terence standing downstairs dressed to the nine in their new uniforms. Tai had to admit they looked pretty damn good. The completely black uniform, with Terence's red symbol of Inspiration on the left shoulder, combined with the DK buckle, and the Badge and Shield hanging by a linked chain around his neck made for a very formidable appearance indeed.

"Hey Tai," he said. "Where have you been?"

"Uh, breakfast," Tai lied.

Terence shook his head. "Man, you and Davis are crazy. You're probably the only ones in the whole academy that got up early enough to go."

He adjusted the collar on his uniform, trying to make it stay precisely a quarter length up his neck.

"So what do you think of this thing?" He asked Tai. "Frankly it's a little too Star trekkie for me, I mean, without the colors and all."

"Uh, it looks good." Tai said, his mind elsewhere. If Davis had really gone to breakfast, then he had to have passed he and Jun on the couch.

Tai bolted for the stairs. There was no telling what Davis might've been thinking.

Terence shrugged and continued to work with his collar.

Tai gently knocked on Davis' closed bedroom door when reached the second floor.

"Yeah?" Came a voice from within.

"Davis, it's Tai."

There was no answer for a while. Tai was about to knock again when the door suddenly opened.

"What do you want?" Davis asked, obviously angry about something.

Tai noticed that he was only wearing the pants portion of his uniform. Davis was as athletically fit as Tai and right now, every one of his sinewy muscles was tensed and seemed ready to pounce at a second's notice. Though Tai was a bit taller than Davis, he still didn't want to start anything physical.

"Look, Davis, I know what you're mad about-"

"You damn well should, Tai. How could you guys not tell me? How could you not trust me? I'm not like you, Tai. I actually wanted you and my sister to be together. I thought you belonged that way. What did you think I would do?"

"Davis, you don't understand."

"What's not to understand? You didn't tell me because you didn't trust me, or because you just didn't care." Davis sobered somewhat. "You're just like the rest of them."

Tai was growing irritated at this point. "Davis, we didn't tell you because, before last night, there was nothing to tell."

Davis looked at him skeptically.

"It's the truth." Tai said, his hands raised defensively in the air. "And if you hadn't found out already, I'd be telling you right now anyway."

A shadow of Davis' trademark grin returned. "Seriously? You're telling me the truth?"

"Honest to God." Tai said, one hand over his heart.

Davis became serious again. "What about Sora then?"

"I'm not sure I ever really thought she was the girl for me. I made myself think that so I could compete with Matt anyway. There's just something right about me being with Jun. Honestly, there always has been."

Davis just stood and looked at Tai, silently appraising him. Tai looked back, hoping for his approval.

Finally Davis walked up to him and held out a hand. Tai gratefully took it with a smile and pulled Davis into a brotherly hug.

"You know," Davis said as he released him. "If you hurt her, I'll kill you."

"I wouldn't expect any less." Tai said back.

"Well, you better get ready for the session." Davis said. "It's already eight thirty."

"Eight thirty?" Tai exclaimed. He silently cursed his internal clock. "I better get moving then." He turned away from Davis' door before pausing.

"Davis," he said.

"Yeah?"

"More and more lately, I find myself wishing Kari had chosen you."

Davis was visibly touched. "T-Thanks Tai." He said.

Tai nodded and went to his room to change.

* * *

As they walked out of the mansion together, Terence couldn't help but to constantly whisper to his brother and Davis how good all the girls in the Academy looked in their form fitting uniforms. Although they agreed with him, Davis and Curtis grew annoyed at how many times he mentioned it on the relatively short walk. Upon arriving at the session, Davis split from them to talk to Kuri and Rosa. Curtis meanwhile, tried to strike up conversation with Clara. Unfortunately, Terence decided to follow him.

Tai and Jun were well ahead of the main group, walking together and talking in hushed tones. Jun now wore a small yellow clip in her hair. Much like Kari's, it kept a lock of her hair just in front of her left ear.

Tai was just about to complement her on it when the hair on the back of his neck prickled. He felt as if there were many eyes upon him. When he looked around, his suspicions were easily confirmed.

"Jun why are all the girls looking at me?" Tai asked.

They were standing in the field in front of the mansion, in uniform with half the academy, waiting for Sensei Enn to arrive.

Jun laughed. "News travels like wildfire amongst our wing, I guess. I only told my roommates about us."

Tai turned around and saw Clara whispering something to Terence and Curtis. They were looking towards he and Jun and smiling.

"Yeah, it's spreading even faster out here." Tai said.

"You're not mad, are you?" Jun asked him.

"Of course not," He assured her. "I just get a little uncomfortable when I know there are a bunch of people talking about me."

"He's always been paranoid like that." Agumon said from the ground. "Crazy if you ask me."

Tai looked at him irately.

"That's for kicking my bed to wake me up this morning." Agumon said crossly. He exchanged a high five with Sparks.

Jun gave Sparks a stern look.

"And that's uh, for something, you'll probably do sooner or later." He said, cowering.

Agumon shook his head in pity. "That was horrible." He whispered to Sparks.

Tai moved behind Jun and held her around the waist, resting his head on her shoulder. Jun giggled.

"And how is this supposed to make people stop talking about us?"

"I don't know, it seemed like a good idea a few seconds ago." He answered, nuzzling her neck. It felt so good to be able to share his affection for Jun publicly.

Davis, Kuri, and Rosa watched them from a small distance away.

Rosa cooed, "They are so cute together."

Davis partly smiled, glad that his sister was happy.

Kuri just watched them in silence, contemplating.

On the ground, Veemon was telling Gotsumon and Peko that he and Gatomon did things like that all the time. He was then upset when Peko wouldn't stop laughing.

"How would you know?" he asked her angrily.

"Kari and Kuri are best friends, dummy." Peko said. "I talk to Gatomon all the time. She has not once mentioned you."

"That's because ours is a secret affair."

This time, Gotsumon joined in on the laughing.

Veemon scowled at the both of them.

"COMPOSE YOURSELVES!"

The shout boomed over the entire field. Everyone stopped talking and stood straight as Sensei Enn walked onto the field, followed by Instructors Chan, Lee, Ogremon, and Ninjamon.

Enn was wearing his characteristically dark attire. It was somewhat perplexing to Davis how someone who looked so much like Gennai could keep up such a menacing appearance.

"The first sign of a true digital warrior is the ability to compose himself and remain still and calm at all times. Your restlessness alarms me. It is a glaring weakness."

He paced back and forth through the crowd for a few minutes of silence, searching each face with his dark, intimidating eyes, before stopping at Tai.

Tai stared right back at Enn, completely matching his intensity.

Jun backed away slightly and watched the both of them as they took part in what she thought was a senseless show of dominance. Enn remained remarkably still and cold in his stance. Tai did the same, his uniform giving away the tautness of his muscles in their stare down.

Enn broke the gaze with a smirk.

"He was wise in choosing you," he said, moving on.

Jun moved closer to Tai and watched Enn curiously.

"This man is trippin' seriously." Terence whispered to Curtis and Clara.

"What was that Mr. Dumars?" Enn shouted over the crowd.

"What? I didn't say anything." Curtis said. Terence smiled.

Enn quickly rushed to where they stood and began to stare at Curtis in the same fashion as he did Tai. Curtis withered under his intense gaze.

Almost immediately Terence and Clara stepped between them.

"Leave him alone." Clara said.

"You presume to give me orders, Ms. Sanchez?" Sensei Enn said, a hidden threat in his voice.

"As long as you keep picking on people who have done nothing to you." She said with the same undertone.

For a split second, Enn seemed surprised at her lack of fear. He glanced at her shield and gave a menacing smile in recognition.

"Ah, this would be your element, wouldn't it?"

He moved on, scanning the crowd for a couple minutes more, before stepping in front of them all and addressing them as one.

"This morning, I wager you put on your uniforms and came here, completely unaware of the power you all wielded."

They all looked at one another in confusion. Then back at the sensei.

"You confusion tells me this is so. The uniforms you all wear are not simply exhibitions of fashion. They are conduits for special abilities that the governments of your world toiled with us for a long time to create."

"You," Enn pointed to a random girl in the crowd. "Step forward."

A short Russian girl, about fifteen or so, uneasily stepped away from the crowd in front of him. By her side was a floramon, who looked just as timid as her partner.

"Tell your digimon to perform an attack."

The girl just stood there.

"I said, tell her to perform an attack." Sensei Enn repeated forcefully.

"You, um, you should ask her to do it herself. Rose is her own person, I-I don't control her." The girl said, her voice shaky.

Sensei Enn turned away from her and closed his eyes in frustration.

"What is your first name, girl?" he asked.

"N-Nadia."

"And tell me, what is your shield?"

"I-Independence sir."

Sensei Enn looked upwards, toward the sky. "Why does he test me so, giving me these insolent students to try my patience?"

A young boy in the crowd cleared his throat and raised his hand.

Sensei Enn looked at him.

"Um, sir, I think I'm the only one here with the shield of Insolence."

Several snickers were heard in the crowd.

"You," Enn said, pointing at the boy, "Quiet, for the rest of the session."

"That hardly seems fair. I was just providing pertinent information-"

He stopped when he saw Enn watching him, a wicked scowl etched into his face.

"Was he really expecting a kid with the shield of Insolence to obey him?" Jun whispered to Tai.

Enn glanced in her direction, but decided against saying anything. He turned back to Nadia and Rose.

"Okay…Rose." He said. "Perform an attack. Here." He pointed to the ground beside him.

Rose looked to Nadia, who nodded in approval.

"Stamen rope!" she shouted, shooting twin strands from her hands, snatching a stray leaf on the ground and pulling it back.

"Good." Enn said. "Now you, Nadia, do the same."

Nadia looked at him as if he'd just lost his mind.

Enn looked at her impatiently. "Simply stretch out your arms and perform the same maneuver."

"Are you nuts?" She said. "I'm not a digimon."

"I can see that Ms. Voltaire. Please don't question my sanity again. Now, perform the attack."

"I-I can't." Nadia said, looking bewildered.

Clara was about to speak up on her behalf when Curtis held a hand up to stop her.

"I've been wondering about this for a while." He whispered. "I think I know what Sensei Enn's getting at."

Enn circled around his student. "Have you ever tried?"

Nadia shook her head.

"Then how do you know you can't?"

She didn't answer.

"Go on." Enn urged. "Try it."

Feeling dumb, Nadia held her arms out in front of her and feebly said. "Stamen Rope." Nothing happened.

She looked at Enn expectantly.

"What do you want? An apology? That weak effort was hardly worth any of our time." He said disdainfully. "Try again."

Nadia just stared at him fiercely, growing more agitated with his insensitive behavior.

Enn's female assistant, Krista, chose this moment to step forward.

"Let me speak with her, Sensei." She said.

"Very well, then."

She walked over to Nadia and stooped down to her height.

"You can do this, you just need to take it seriously."

"Take what seriously?" Nadia hissed. "He's obviously a freaking nut."

"Normally, I would agree with you. But in this capacity he is being quite sane. He's just a poor instructor." She smiled "That's why Xian and I are here."

"So you're saying I can perform a digimon attack?" Nadia asked, non-believing.

"Yes, you simply need to concentrate, visualize what you're doing, and try with conviction. You have been given very special abilities, it's up to you to discover them."

Krista stood up, apparently finished giving her instruction.

Nadia watched her as she walked away, took a deep breath and steeled herself when she saw Sensei Enn returning to her side.

"Now, if you're done being coddled and having your ego stroked, perhaps you can try per-"

"STAMEN ROPE!" Nadia shouted violently to interrupt him, arms raised. She and all of the other students in the field were astonished when two golden strands shot out from her sleeves and streaked across the field. They wrapped around a good-sized rock in the distance and quickly pulled it back, dropping it at her feet.

Even Sensei Enn seemed surprised at the force and effectiveness of her attack.

"Holy-" Tai said. "Did you see that?"

Jun nodded, shocked.

"Finally," Enn said, quickly returning to form. "You may return to your peers."

Nadia did so slowly, staring at her hands the whole time. Where in the world had that come from?

"All of you are capable of this, if you can simply focus. The uniforms we have given you all act as sieves for the spectrum of digital energy that is the bond between a digimon and his or her partner. Just like a digimon's evolution is invariably connected to your digivices, crests, and shields, so too, are you connected to them. I'm sure many of you have felt called or pulled when your digimon had foolishly gotten itself in trouble. You went to aid them without understanding why you were doing so. Obviously, it was the bond. We have discovered that this bond was energy. Unharnessed, unfocused energy that needed something to center it, give it a purpose. Therefore, with much labor, we were able to create devices which could take this energy and apply it to humans at its most basic root, their digimon's specific level and attacks. Hardly a worthy use of such a massive amount of power, in my opinion. But nevertheless, the best we could do."

Enn looked somewhat disgusted at this fact.

"It took us years to perfect and maintain them, and even longer to figure out how to specialize them to certain humans and digimon so that they could work to their maximum potential."

At this point, Kuri decided to speak up.

"So what you're saying is, these suits are like the personification of the human-digimon bond?"

"Yes, of course that's what I'm saying. Haven't you been listening?"

She nodded in comprehension, ignoring his condescending tone.

"And whatever they can do is infused into the suit so that we can also do it?"

"Yes."

"BS. There's no way I can fly like Peko."

Enn looked from Kuri to the unique looking patamon at her side.

"You dismiss this as if you just tried."

"I did." Kuri said matter-of-factly before adding under her breath, "Hell, I've tried my whole life, if only to get away."

Only Davis heard this. Not wanting to upset her again, he acted as if he hadn't.

"Frankly, I think you're lying-"

"And frankly, I don't care what you th-"

"BUT, there is an amount of truth to what you speak." Enn added before she could finish. Was there no end to the insubordinance of these students? "A digimon's power of flight is completely dependent on the amount of energy its select digivolved form and level has to that capacity."

"Meaning?"

"In simple terms. A digimon does not fly because it has wings. Any fool can see this. One simply needs to look at how woefully undersized most digimon's wings are when compared to the rest of their body to understand."

Enn paused, evaluating them.

"Now then, can anyone here give me a reasonable explanation why WarGreymon can fly?"

A lot of people looked at Tai and Agumon, who both shrugged simultaneously.

"Because he has the energy to do so?" Curtis asked.

"At least one of you listens."

"Wait," one kid spoke from the midst of them, "Are you saying the digimon who can fly are more powerful than digimon of the same level who can't?"

"Only if you count flight as a power. Most use it as a useless exhibition of acrobatics anyway."

"None of this answers why Kuri can't fly." Davis said.

"She can't fly, simply because the energy for flight only has enough power to transmute to your uniforms at the Champion level and above. Since none of you will be digivolving to champion until the next quarter, this is a moot issue anyway."

"We won't?" Another kid in the crowd exclaimed. "Why?"

"Because you are all undisciplined. You need to learn how to use your abilities to their fullest at each level. For this quarter, we will concentrate on Rookie."

For the first time in a while, no questions were thrown at Enn when he paused speaking. Everyone was too busy contemplating what he'd just said.

"Now, I'm sure you'd all like to become acquainted with your newfound abilities so…"

Sensei Enn raised his hands and behind him and extensive target range materialized from the ground in a flash of light.

"You have half an hour for free practice, then we will work on both digimon and humans learning to perform attacks without articulating them with words. Also, so that you don't further embarrass yourselves, the uniforms are constructed so that all your attacks will originate in your hands, no matter where your digimon actually fires them from. So, no spitting, or trying to fire lasers from your eyes or anything foolish like that." Enn dismissed them with a wave and went to converse with his assistants.

Jun looked around the crowd. Everyone seemed nervous about what to do next.

"Tai, I don't think anyone's going to use their-"

"Pepper breath!" Tai shouted, stretching his arm toward one of the boards in the distance with a target drawn on it. A small fireball erupted from his hand and blazed across the field before impacting with the wooden obstacle. It erupted in a shower of sparks and wood splinters.

"Kick-ass." Tai and Agumon said in unison.

All the other students, having witnessed Tai's feat, tried their own hands at performing their digimon's attacks.

"Boom Bubble!" Kuri shouted, amidst the chaos of nearly a hundred other attacks being thrown around her.

She watched her boom bubble attack race across the field, the only signs of it being the grass swaying around its path and leaves kicking up in its forceful wind. It connected with a target and completely blew it away in a shower of splinters resembling Tai's.

Jun tried her attack next. "Sparkling Thunder!" She yelled. Arcs of electricity shot from her hand directly to the ground in front of her and streaked unseen across the field. They resurfaced just in front of one of the many targets and set it ablaze in an intense electric light until it imploded upon itself.

Tai was impressed. "So cliché," he said to her. "Beautiful and deadly."

Jun blushed momentarily before throwing another attack.

After watching yet another target implode upon itself in satisfaction, Jun had to cover her ears when a wicked siren like noise swept over her and out onto the field. She glanced in the direction it had come from and saw an apologetic looking Clara.

"Sorry!" She shouted over the din of attacks. "I guess the Puppy Howling attack isn't too precise!"

Davis and Rosa looked on as Kuri threw another Boom Bubble.

"So what are we supposed to do?" Rosa asked. "Not all digimon attacks involve shooting things."

Kuri pointed to a section of the target range off to the side full of wooded humanoid figures, punching bags, body bags and other contraptions just begging to be hit.

"I think you're supposed to go over there." She said. "I'll be over there in a second to do Peko's Slamming Attack.

"Come on Davis!" Veemon shouted, running towards it. "Let's see what you can do."

Davis, Rosa, and Gotsumon followed behind him. Terence caught up with them halfway.

"If you ask me, these suits support non-projectile attack discrimination." He said jokingly.

Rosa chuckled. "Seriously, though, isn't this crazy? I never thought I'd be able to do Gotsumon's attacks."

When they arrived at the hands-on training grounds the three of them immediately launched into whatever was near them, their digimon looking on admirably and giving pointers. Soon, the other digidestined who wanted to try their body attacks came over to join them.

Rosa started them off by trying a couple of rock fist attacks on the punching bags. When she finished both the bags were spilling large quantities of sand onto the ground.

"Slide attack!" Terence shouted, running and jumping forward, fists first, onto the ground. He slid forward into two of the figures and uprooted them from the ground. He laughed as he rolled to a stop and got up from the ground. "That was great! Come on Davis, let's see what you got!"

Davis steeled himself. "Okay, here goes nothing." He said.

"Vee-Headbutt!" He shouted, running towards one of the figures. He jumped and slammed his head into its torso. Veemon winced as he watched his partner fall to the ground in a crumpled heap.

"Ay!" Rosa yelled, running to Davis, "What happened?"

Davis slowly rolled on the ground, groaning in agony.

"He used his head." Kuri said, entering the training area and quickly rushing over. She knelt with Rosa next to Davis and touched one of his arms. "You dolt, all the attacks are supposed to work though your hands."

"Screw…" Davis groaned at the maddening pain, his vision obscured by bursts of color. "…you"

Kuri stifled a chuckle. "Davis, stop moving around. We need to see how bad it is." She said.

Davis kept writhing from the searing ache in his forehead and groaning until he felt a comforting touch on his head. The stars he saw in his vision slowly faded away and his pain gradually disappeared. Davis opened his eyes to see that Kuri had a hand placed on his head.

"I don't see anything. It can't be all that bad Davis." She said, removing it.

"How'd you do that?" Davis asked in awe. He rubbed his head where, a moment ago, there had been intense pain. "How'd you make it go away?"

Kuri looked at him as if he were crazy.

"What're you talking about? I didn't do anything."

Rosa put her hand on his head next. "Are you sure that hit didn't scramble your brain or something?"

"No, look at her shield." Terence said before Davis could answer. He pointed at Kuri. "It's glowing."

Kuri looked down at her shield and was astonished that, in fact it was shining a deep purple. She held it in her hand and stared at it. The glow seemed to be steadily dissipating.

"Compassion." A voice said.

Everyone looked up to see Curtis had entered the training grounds and was standing behind them.

"I bet these shields work a lot like the OD's crests. Weird things happen when we display the qualities inscribed on them."

"So I-I was being compassionate?"

"Of course you were," Davis said, sitting up. "And thanks for it, 'cause that did _not_ feel good."

"But I was just doing what anyone else would've done. Standard response." Kuri argued. "How was that compassionate?"

"Well, why did you touch his head?" Rosa asked. "How could you have possibly helped him by doing that?"

Kuri shrugged. "I dunno, maybe-"

"You were trying to ease his pain. The human touch is often soothing in the most abject situations." Curtis explained. "You wanted him to feel better."

Terence seemed impressed at the knowledge his brother was expounding.

"Sounds like compassion to me." Rosa said to Kuri while Curtis and Terence helped Davis to his feet.

"Yeah, maybe." Kuri conceded.

"Curtis, why aren't you practicing your attacks?" Rosa asked.

"Deleting Virus and Waking dream aren't the most executable attacks at the moment."

Taps looked offended. "Well don't blame me." He said. "I didn't get to chose what kind of attacks I'd get to perform."

"Don't worry about it, Taps. I'm betting Sensei Enn is going to teach us a lot of new techniques over the next quarter."

"If one of us doesn't kill him first." Terence added.

For the rest of their allotted half hour, the five of them, minus Curtis, practiced their body attacks. After a while Jun, Tai and Clara, came and joined them to try out their Claw Attack, Body Attack, and Petty Punch, respectively. They stopped when Sensei Enn summoned everyone back to the training field they'd started the session started in. It was a good thing, too, considering they were running out of equipment to destroy.

The class was full of smiles as everyone talked animatedly to each other about the attacks they performed.

Of course, with Sensei Enn, that didn't last long.

"Silence!" he bellowed. "You sound like excited children."

"Some of us are-" someone in the crowd began to say before Enn glared in their direction.

"I see no reason for any of you to be excited. You have only discovered the tip of the iceberg regarding your abilities. You still have many deficiencies in the way you use your attacks, first and foremost being that none of you can form even a simple attack without first saying its name."

He stopped and looked at the class. No one protested.

"It's an inability to express your thoughts forcefully that makes you do this. Most of your digimon have the same problem. In fact, a long time ago, digimon had at least five or six attacks for each of their levels. But after many generations of digimon who only knew to shout their most powerful attacks, many of the abilities were been lost. We now know these as the 'forgotten attacks.' If you're lucky maybe a few of you will re-discover some of these, though I doubt it. Right now, this is beside the point. You first need to grasp the basics of unannounced attacks. There will be times in the near future where giving your opponent a warning as to what attack you're about to throw at him may result in your certain death."

Some of the younger kids gasped. Tai simply nodded.

"There will also be times when some of you are in positions that render you incapable of speech. What will you do then?"

No one answered. It was now quiet enough to hear a pin drop.

"As I thought. That is why for the remainder of this session, and the entirety of our next one, Xian, Krista, and I will train you in performing and perfecting attacks without articulating them."

At that point, Enn split the class into three groups, each with an instructor, and they worked on their attacks for the rest of the session.

* * *

Most of the students had done quite well at materializing their attacks without first saying them. To everyone's surprise, it was the digimon who had a hard time doing it. Old habits proved very hard to break for them. Sensei Enn seemed chiefly incensed that the digimon were doing so badly when compared to their human partners. Marta in particular had a hard time creating her attacks through pure thought because of her habit of muttering obscenities about her last unsuccessful attempt in the middle of her current one. Enn dismissed all the students when it was time for the session to end and forced the digimon to remain until they all showed at least some improvement. Though some of their digimon protested, none of the digidestined really objected to this, as they were all more than ready to get away from the overbearing Sensei Enn. The Odaiba digidestined and their new friends were no exception.

After refreshing showers and changing into their other uniforms, the group reconvened in the Dining Hall for lunch.

"Okay, who has Laws of the Digital World next?" Tai asked the table while looking over a copy of his schedule.

Curtis, Kuri, and Clara raised their hands

"Cool." He said. "Although I am a little disappointed."

He glanced at Jun, sitting next to him with his arm draped around her shoulder. She was busy looking over her own schedule.

"So, that means I have Digital History with Terence, Rosa, and Davis?" The three she mentioned nodded.

"Yeah." Tai said dejectedly.

Jun gave him a surreptitious kiss on the cheek. "Don't worry, you'll make it."

Tai groaned. For all intents and purposes, this was his first real romantic relationship and thus far he hadn't been able to enjoy it like he wanted to.

His obvious disappointment heartened Jun a bit. A small part of her subconscious still had the nagging suspicion that Tai was only with her because Sora wasn't available to pine after in this world. She leaned toward him and whispered into his ear.

"And there will be plenty of time for us tonight."

Tai couldn't help but allow a small smile at that.

Kuri looked at the two of them in mock disgust. "Can't you guys break it up for two seconds? I know you just got together and all, but some of us are trying to eat."

Tai cocked an eyebrow at her. "Funny, and here I thought you had the shield of Compassion."

"You shouldn't say that, Tai." Rosa said. "Her shield has done more than any of ours has yet." She told him about the incident at the training grounds.

"That's weird." Jun said when she finished. "You think all our shields heal others?"

"Depends," said a voice approaching their table. All their heads turned to look upon the old, weathered face of the wise Gennai. "Some shields heal, others empower, and others uncover truths and secrets. It's all based on what traits they're associated with." Gennai smiled as they soaked in the information. "Ah, how I love the curiosity of youth." He said. "I'm sure you have more questions, mind if I sit down?"

"No, of course not," Tai said, getting up and pulling a chair from another table to their booth.

Gennai thanked Tai and sat down before continuing. "So, what's on your minds?"

Tai was the first to speak. "Gennai, what's up with this Willis kid? Why isn't Izzy here?"

"Because he refused to come."

"So you asked him then? He knows about all this?"

"Yes and no. I simply asked him if he'd like to help with some groundbreaking technological happenings in the digital world. He said he didn't currently have time for it."

"Izzy said that?" Tai said in awe. "Jun, I guess you were right."

Jun tapped her shield. "How could you have doubted me?"

"Yeah, what was I thinking?" Tai said sarcastically. "Gennai are you sure about Willis? I mean, he has to be really smart to replace Izzy."

"Oh, he is, he is." Gennai assured. "In fact, I think he's more well-suited for this task than Izzy would have been."

"How so?"

"Well, Izzy is more interested in gaining knowledge, hence his crest. Willis, meanwhile, is more of a creative genius. He doesn't retain things as well as Izzy, but the knowledge he does keep he puts to good use. It was his creativity that helped so greatly in constructing this place."

"That's interesting. My next session is Laws. Maybe I'll get a chance to talk to him."

"You should. I think you two would get along well."

Curtis awkwardly broke in. "Um Gennai, who is Keyan? You said she's training to be a guardian. Does that mean she's a digimon, like you?"

"No, she's one hundred percent human. She has a rather unique digimon partner that makes her quite powerful when bonded. She is also a very meek and non-violent person. Thus, guardianship seems to be the preferred position for her. A kind of, last line of defense, if you will."

"Oh," Curtis slowly nodded. "What about all the you's here? Jun said you split yourself along your personalities. Is that true?"

"That shield of Insight is well-earned, Jun." Gennai said. Jun beamed. "Yes I did split myself along my personalities. I found that it was the only way I could maintain, oversee, and instruct at this academy without overtaxing myself."

"I don't know if you should've gone so far as to create Sensei Enn." Terence muttered.

"Yes, that personality alarms even me. Though it could be worse, I suppose."

Curtis continued his barrage of questions. "So, is splitting one of your natural digimon abilities then?"

"Goodness no. Both times you have seen me do this have been the result of data manipulation."

"What's that?"

"Now, I can't tell you that. I'd be ruining your Laws of the Digital World lessons."

"Then what abilities do you have, Gennai? We saw Sensei Enn raise a target range out of nowhere earlier."

"Did you? Well, I assure you, raising that range was likely the product of Willis' invention and not any special abilities on Enn's part."

"Hmm." Curtis said, finally seeming to have run out of questions.

"I wonder if perhaps the shield of Curiosity would've been more appropriate for you than Meditation." Gennai said.

A redheaded English digidestined who had been raptly listening to their conversation in the next booth, interrupted. "But I have the shield of Curiosity, Gennai. I'm the one here most suited for it, aren't I?"

Gennai sighed. "Don't worry Jonathan, I was only kidding." He gave the others a look that told them he'd dealt with this particular digidestined's trait more often than he would have liked.

"Oh," Jonathan said. "Okay."

"Have you guys met?" Gennai asked, gesturing to the table.

Jonathan eagerly shook his head no and waited to be introduced.

"Well, this is Tai, Jun, Kuri, Davis, Curtis, Rosa, Terence, and Clara." Gennai said, introducing the booth clockwise from his left.

"Guys, this is Jonathan. He has the distinction of being the youngest digidestined at the academy."

"Just turned thirteen day before yesterday." Jonathan said, sticking his hand out.

Everyone looked at him warily; he couldn't possibly be expecting them all to shake his hand, could he?

Jonathan pulled his hand back, ignoring the slight.

"So, you four are the Odaiba digidestined, right?" He asked, nodding towards Tai, Jun, Kuri and Davis.

They nodded unsurely.

"Wow, it must be great to be from where it all started. What's it like there? Lots of tourists at Highton View, I expect. Me and my mate Razor, that's my partner digimon," he gestured to a Gizamon in his booth busily munching away on his lunch. "We never get to talk much about digimon in the part of England I'm from. Everyone's really spooked by 'em. Local bookstore was practically forced to burn or throw away all their copies of TK's Chronicles. I barely nicked one in time."

"Where are you from, Jonathan?" Jun asked, the only one who even cared to make polite conversation with the somewhat overzealous digidestined.

"Probably not a place you've heard of," he said. "It's one of the Roots gates communities just outside Manchester."

"Roots who?" Davis asked.

"Roots gate. Unfortunately these types of communities are springing up all over the Western world." Gennai answered. "They're largely self sufficient small scale cities, built on the principles of returning humanity to its 'roots' and shunning the modern, technological age lifestyle, i.e. anything to do with digimon."

"You can't be serious." Kuri said.

"Yeah, that does seem a bit outlandish." Jun added.

Clara looked at them in surprise. "You guys have really never heard of the Roots Gates?"

The four Japanese digidestined shook their heads simultaneously.

"Now that's weird." Rosa said. "I thought everyone knew about them."

"There's one down the street from my Florida condo." Terence said. "I've seen a few people who live there, the ones they let leave to get supplies and stuff. They seem so lifeless and boring." He turned to Jonathan. "How in the world did you come out of one of those places? Much less live there while being a digidestined."

"Wasn't easy. Me and Razor have had to do a lot of sneaking around these past few years." Jonathan fingered his badge. "I hope things change when I'm finally a Knight. Maybe they'll see the benefits of digimon then."

"People only see what they want to see." Jun said matter-of-factly. "I hope things do get better for you Jonathan, but don't be surprised if no one changes their opinion. Most people have a tendency to hold on to their beliefs, no matter what the evidence is to the contrary. Sometimes this is a good thing, sometimes not." She looked pointedly at Kuri. "But it is a fact of life."

"Yeah, that's true." Curtis said. "I've heard that a lot of people in the Roots Gate communities are digidestineds who just don't want to accept it. They leave their digimon on the sides of roads or in alleys and things like that."

"Speaking of which, where are your digimon? I've been kind of hoping to meet Agumon and Veemon for a while now." Jonathan said.

"Sensei Enn thought they needed extra training time." Tai told him. "Have you had Digital Combat yet?" He asked, before going into further detail.

"No, its my next class though. I must say, I'm quite nervous. Most of my mates here were in his class this morning. Seeing how they haven't shown up for lunch yet I suppose they're still out there training also. That Sensei Enn certainly doesn't seem to be much of an inviting fellow."

"He isn't. But don't worry about him. You're going to learn some really cool things in your session. The fun will outweigh anything Sensei Enn throws at you."

"Really?" Jonathan's curiosity grew. "Like what?"

"That, you will have to find that out in your session," Gennai said, "Which is only minutes away now."

Kuri checked her watch. "He's right. It's almost time for our afternoon sessions. What the hell is Enn doing with our digimon out there? They have to eat too."

"Not to worry. I had some of Digitamamon's servants pack a picnic lunch for them. If Enn isn't being overly sadistic today they should be waiting for you at your next session at this very moment." After saying this, Gennai got up from his chair, signaling the end of their conversation. "I hope to speak again with you all soon. In the meantime, remain diligent in your training. And, I can't stress this enough, remember to have fun."

"Yeah, sure." Tai said, getting up from the booth as Gennai walked away. "We'll try."

Jun got up behind him and picked up her laptop bag from where they were stacked on the floor. She turned to head for the door when she felt something around her waist holding her back.

"Tai, we're going to be late for our sessions." She complained.

A pitiful whimper was all she got in response.

She turned around smiling. "That's cute. Now let me go before I tell Gennai you're impeding my studies."

Tai did so with a sigh. "Tonight, right?" he asked.

"I promise."

They shared a quick kiss before Jun hurried to catch up with Terence, Rosa, and her brother.

Tai solemnly reached down for his laptop and joined his classmates, patiently waiting for him at the door.

"Sad." Kuri muttered to Curtis when he reached them. "He was once a great leader, up to yesterday in fact. Now he just falls to pieces when he can't follow Jun around."

"Well you're just on a roll today, aren't you?" Tai said irately as he passed them.

* * *

'Laws of the Digital World' was held inside a spacious lecture room that seated well over a hundred students. Instead of individual desks there were several rows of long tables that arced around the stage at the bottom forefront of the room. The tables extended in length as they ascended to the top rear of the room where the main entrance was. Tai looked around until he spotted Agumon seated near the bottom.

"Come on," he said to the group. "Our digimon are down there."

As a group they descended the steps in the center until they reached them.

"Hey Tai! I finally did it!" Agumon said when he saw them. "Just when we were about to leave, I formed a Pepper Breath without saying it!"

"Really?" Tai said. "That's great Agumon. I knew you could do it."

"It really was great." Peko said. "He singed part of Sensei Enn's robe!"

"I told you, that was an accident."

"Yeah, sure. Accident or otherwise, it was still great."

"Did the rest of you do your attacks?" Curtis asked them.

"I did my Boom Bubble a few times." Peko said. "And Marta did her howling thing when she finally calmed down."

"What about you, Taps?"

"You were right Curtis." Taps said. "My deleting dream and waking virus attacks aren't the most useful here. Well, not in physical combat anyway. Sensei Enn said we should talk to Professor Nai about perhaps finding out if there are some other, forgotten attacks I can perform." The little Tapirmon seemed utterly depressed as he said this.

"Don't worry Taps." Curtis assured. "I'm sure you'll have some great attacks in your arsenal."

Taps only seemed slightly encouraged.

Willis then walked into the room from a door behind the stage with his two digimon partners and began setting up his laptop and a few other things on a small table off to the side.

"There's the wonder kid." Kuri said, nodding towards him. She turned to Tai. "Are you going to talk to him?"

"Yeah, probably after class." He said.

"He sure does carry a lot of stuff around." Clara said, watching Willis tinker with the menagerie of devices on the table before him. "I bet he has to be smart just to keep up with them all."

"Yeah," Curtis said. "I wonder what it all is."

"Don't think too hard about that." Clara said. "You'll miss the session."

Curtis smirked. "You guys are already getting to know me too well."

Tai sat down and opened a small flip up compartment on the table in front of him. Inside there were a couple of electrical outlets and network connections.

After pulling his laptop out of its bag he told the other guys. "I think we're supposed to hook up our equipment with these."

They all began to do so.

Some more students entered the lecture room and sat at the table directly behind them. Tai looked up at them momentarily before turning back to his computer.

"Well, if it isn't king of all that he surveys, Tai Kamiya." One of them said.

Tai turned back around. "Excuse me?" he said.

"Oh I'm sorry if I disturbed you, Mr. Kamiya." A black haired, pale skinned kid said. "Far be it for me to upset a living legend."

A couple other guys and a girl next to him snickered malevolently.

Tai shook his head and said, "Ignore him." He directed this at Kuri, who already seemed ready to start a full-fledged confrontation. She narrowed her eyes at him but slowly went back to setting up her computer. Satisfied that she would remain under control, Tai turned back to his antagonist. Probably just another digimon battler like countless others who had confronted him on the streets of Odaiba. Tai couldn't fathom why Gennai would bring one of those jerks in.

"Do you have a problem?"

"No, Mr. Kamiya, you do." He said with a confident smile. "Because today you have met your equal."

"Is that so?" Tai gave him a once over, sizing him up. He was about the same height as Tai though a little bit skinnier.

"Yes. My name is Jason Smith, and I am the bearer of the shield of Valor." He paused, apparently in an attempt to make the moment more dramatic.

"And?" Tai said.

"As I guessed. You're just as dense as the rumors say. Valor is simply another way of saying courage. In other words, by order of our most dominant trait, I stand as the only person here capable of usurping the role of leadership from you."

Kuri, having had enough, stood up. "What the hell are you talking about? Tai could wipe the floor with you."

Jason looked at her condescendingly. "Compassion, huh?"

He put his arm around the broad shoulders of a rather built Italian digidestined with oily, slicked back hair, sitting next to him. "Guess what? My friend Tony here has the shield of Benevolence. Looks like Gennai may have run out of traits, but he certainly wasn't short on synonyms."

Tony stared at Kuri. A small smile crept into his face.

Kuri had seen that look from guys before. She gave him an expression of disgust.

"Next to him are Helga, bearer of Intuition, and Ahmed, bearer of Persistence."

Tai looked at the Icelandic and Middle Eastern digidestined in surprise.

"That's right, Tai." Jason said smugly. "Synonyms for Insight and Perseverance. I observed you at the ceremony last night. Accordingly I chose allies that would match evenly with the infamous Odaiba Digidestined. They now think as I do. Unbound by the endless media hype concerning you and your friends. They know what's at stake here. And they see you for what you are. Especially after your friend ran into that training mannequin in Combat earlier this morning." He guffawed slightly before continuing.

"The way the other students talk about you and that buffoon. They've already bequeathed leadership upon you two, as if you both didn't obviously stumble your way to victories against Myotismon. I can see the game for what it is. The slate is clean. Gennai wants the best of the best and he's brought us all here to find out who that is."

"You certainly like to talk." Clara said, cutting him off. "Why? You would have been better off not giving yourself away."

"Consider this a friendly warning," Jason said, "that Frost and I will be here every step of the way through our training here. And when it's all over, we plan to finish on top."

Tai looked at Jason's partner digimon for the first time. It looked exactly like Agumon except entirely covered in white. A SnowAgumon. Tai had seen a few before, and normally this one would have intrigued him, but now he just found this new twist irritating.

"Agumon and I will be here too."

Jason laughed. It sounded forced and unnatural. "The least you could have done was named your partner digimon by now."

"He's an original." Tai said, unfazed. "You should know as well as anyone else that names aren't necessary for them."

Jason glared at him, perturbed.

"And ambitious as you are," Tai added. "You should also know that ambition alone can't make up for experience."

Jason was about to respond when the doors at the top of the room burst open and a very flustered looking Professor Nai walked in.

"I'm sorry I'm late." He said, hurrying down the steps to the stage.

Jason sat down reluctantly. Tai and Kuri followed suit.

"Jackass." Kuri muttered as she began tooling with her computer again.

"Um, if you'll just make sure your laptops are set up properly and give me a moment to speak with my assistant here, we'll get started." Nai said when he reached the stage. He walked over to Willis and whispered with him for a moment.

Tai stared at Jason's reflection on his monitor. If this had only been a few years earlier he would've dropped him where he stood. But years of dealing with overanxious fans and Jun's personality rubbing off on him lent Tai the patience to deal with idiots like Jason.

Jason noticed Tai watching him through the monitor and winked at him.

Tai emitted a low, guttural, growl and angrily clenched his fists.

_What if Jun were here?_ He thought. _What would she do? What would she want me to do?_ Tai kept repeating variances of this in his head. It was a habit he'd started using a couple years ago to help him focus in tense or adverse situations. The effect it had was immediate. He was just able to stand looking at that prick without smashing his laptop over his head.

"Okay sorry about that." Nai said, walking to the forefront of the stage. "Just had to iron a few things over so this class runs smoothly. Now, let's get started. If you'll all take out your digivices, we're going to spend this session learning more about them."

The class did as he said, placing the small silver devices on the tables in front of them.

"Now, just plug them into the device ports on the left side of your laptops and allow the automatic interface program to start."

Everyone did so and watched as their monitors displayed a full screen representation of their digivice screens.

"This is your main digivice interface screen. When you start this up you can perform maintenance on your digivice's digimon monitor, evolution select, and walkie-talkie features."

Nai smiled slightly. "And yes, you can also reach the games Willis installed into them with this."

A large white screen slowly began to lower behind him.

"Now, if you'll all look up here, we're going to use Willis' digivice as a guide for what we do. Make sure to follow closely with your own."

He gave them instructions to open the program that monitored digimon. All of their computers displayed the screens they'd seen earlier at the badge ceremony, with their partner digimon slowly spinning on the screen.

"This function is more of a health thing." Nai explained. "It keeps track of your digimon's energy levels and possible injuries in specific parts of their bodies. Since when you're suited, pains from such injuries or a lack of energy may be passed on to you, this is a very important function to keep track of."

On the screen, two digimon were rotating, Tai recognized them as Willis' Terriermon and Lopmon.

"Okay," Nai said, "On to more complicated functions. Everyone exit this program by using the back button on the bottom of your screen. By the way, when your digivice isn't interfaced with your laptop you can use its touch-screen to access these functions."

The screen behind him showed a picture of a generic digivice with tabs across the top that read; Communication, Detect, Digital, Discover, Entertainment, Evolution, Monitor.

"Now select the tab that reads, evolution." He waited for Willis' screen to do this. "Your screen should look like this, several orbs of a specific colors appreciating in size, with a large pulsing white one at the end."

Tai saw that this was mostly true. His screen showed three orange spheres arranged vertically, increasing in size as they went up. At the top of them was a luminous white one that was undulating between normal and bright. Yet, on closer inspection, Tai saw that Willis screen also displayed a small dark golden sphere in the corner. Tai peeked at Kuri's screen and saw that hers showed the same thing as his, except her spheres were deep purple. She had no golden one either.

"Each one of these orbs represents a digivolving level," Nai said. "Specifically Fresh, In-Training, Rookie, and the glowing white one is Champion, which as of now, you cannot reach because of certain checks we have installed."

"When you reach battle where digivolving is necessary, you'll find that it's as easy as pressing one of these orbs on your touch-screen for the desired level you want your digimon to reach. In times where the energy for these digivolutions isn't available, all orbs above your digimon's current level will be darkened. Of course, not all levels will be open to you. Honestly, only a few of you can even hope to make Mega, but that's for another day in another class."

Tai was surprised how easy to understand everything was so far. He had been thinking that this class would be a lot like a technical conversation with Izzy; Him absentmindedly nodding his head while hoping Professor Nai would just shut up soon.

"Now that that's over, let's work with something fun. Exit the evolution tab and remove your digivices from their ports."

There were sounds of clicking around the room as everyone did this.

"We're now going to work with the walkie-talkie function of your digivices. If you look at them, you'll notice that they are displaying the tabbed window we were at moments ago on their own screens. Now I want you to touch the tab that says communication."

Tai did so, thankful that the screens on these new digivices were considerably larger than their older counterparts.

"Communiqué?" A computerized female voice emanating from his digivice said.

Tai could hear the same thing echoing around the room as everyone else pressed their tabs. He barely had time to process this before Nai shouted. "Quick! Name the shield of someone in here you'd like to speak to into the mic on top of the digivice."

Thinking quickly, Tai raised his and said, "Compassion."

Kuri followed his lead and said "Courage" into hers.

"Please hold." Kuri's digivice said. She looked at Tai, bewildered.

Tai stared at his digivice, wondering if it had malfunctioned somehow.

"You have twenty three pending communiqués." It said. "Please select which you wish to respond to."

On his screen, various trait symbols appeared until they filled it up and a scroll bar materialized on the right side. Tai glanced around the room and saw that many students were looking back at him.

"It never ends." He muttered.

"Well, aren't you popular." Jason said, peering at his digivice. He looked around the room also. "Like lambs to the slaughter, they are."

"That's enough from you," Kuri said. "It's not Tai's fault no one wants to talk to you. He can't help that you're an insufferable assho-"

"Compassion." Tai spoke into his digivice before Kuri could finish. He pressed the corresponding symbol on the screen.

"Connection completed." Both their digivices said at once.

"Kuri," Tai's voice came through her digivice. "Calm down."

Expecting a protest, Tai was surprised when she just smiled apologetically and said, "Sorry."

"Um, yeah, well, isn't this cool?" Tai said, hearing his voice from two different sources.

"It's not bad." She said. "Though it is just another way for people to bother me."

Tai looked up and saw Curtis and Clara conversing with one another and laughing. Curtis had found some kind of program that electronically changed the tone of his voice. Right now, he sounded an awful lot like a smurf.

"You all learn fast." Nai said. "My first class needed a few hints before they found the voice alteration programs. You can experiment more with these later though. Right now I want to move on to your main communication devices, your D-Terminals, otherwise known as your badges."

Everyone pulled their badges from around their necks and sat them on the tables.

Tai smiled as he did so. This class wasn't so bad, besides the jerk seated behind him. In fact, he found it quite interesting.

* * *

Jun grunted angrily as she traipsed through the forest behind Counselor Gen with the rest of her History class. Davis, beside her with Veemon, had been complaining for the last hour or so. Terence and Rosa, walking just behind them, had joined in with him in the last twenty minutes. Counselor Gen was somewhere well ahead of them, animatedly talking about the Light and its inherent beauty or some other crap like that.

Jun thought of it as crap mainly because instead of staying in the nice, cool classroom and telling them this, Gen had decided that visual aids were necessary and had dragged them all into this godforsaken hot, humid forest. And he was so damn smug and happy about it. Jun supposed that was what really got under Davis' skin.

"Can't stand that nut." Davis grumbled. "We took, what, maybe a half page of notes about that ABC and ENIAC stuff before he dragged us all out here?" He tripped over an exposed root and stumbled forward before regaining his balance. "God, I can't stand this guy. I think I'd rather be back with Sensei Enn than here."

"Tell us how you really feel Davis." Jun said wryly.

"Don't start with me Jun." He said, waving a finger at her. "This is not the time." After a few seconds he tripped again, this time falling to the ground. "Argh, This sucks!" he shouted in frustration.

Jun looked back at Terence and Rosa, who, along with Pings and Gotsumon, were having a hard time holding in their laughter. She winked at them.

"Davis, if you wanted to sit and take a rest, I'm sure you could've just asked Counselor Gen."

Davis made a swipe for Jun's legs and she leapt just out of his reach, giggling.

Terence and Rosa were now laughing hysterically. Davis switched tactics and pulled the both of them to the ground instead.

"Yeah, laugh it up now." He said smugly.

His smile faded quickly when he saw Rosa lunging for him.

"Idiot!" she said, repeatedly hitting him over the back of his head as he shielded himself with his arms.

"Yeah, give him a couple for me." Terence said as he got up from the ground.

He looked around the grove of trees they were in. "Hey, where'd the class go?" he asked.

Jun looked around also. "Dammit." She said. "This session just gets better and better, doesn't it?"

Rosa got up, kicking Davis as she did so. She gestured forward. "Well, we were walking that way, that's probably where they went."

"But the Academy is back that way." Davis said from the ground, pointing in the opposite direction. "That's where I want to go."

"No." Jun said. "We need to catch back up with the class. Come on." She started in the direction Rosa had pointed.

"And people call _me_ Tai Jr." Davis grumbled as he got up and grudgingly followed behind them.

* * *

"Remember, I want that assignment when we meet back here on Wednesday." Professor Nai said as most of his class was exiting the lecture room.

"I can't believe this." Clara complained. "If I wanted homework, I could've just waited for my next semester at MCU."

"It's not so bad." Curtis said. "All we have to do is write down a few operational sequences for running some of our Terminal programs. It's easy, really."

"Yeah, I guess it is, considering you're helping me."

Curtis groaned. "I am?"

"Hell yes. I'm not doing this alone."

Tai finished stuffing the last of his equipment into his bag and looked at the table behind him. Thankfully, Jason and his cronies had decided to leave already. Shouldering his bag, he walked up to the stage where a few students, including Curtis, had Professor Nai surrounded.

Nai looked over the crowd and saw Tai walking towards him. "Hey Tai, got a question?"

"Uh, no." Tai said, somewhat embarrassed that Nai ignored the students around him to address him. "Actually, I wanted to talk to Willis."

"Oh," Nai looked perplexed for a moment before saying, "He's right up there then."

Willis looked up when he heard his name and saw Tai ascending the stage steps and walking towards him.

"Hi." He said meekly when Tai reached him.

"Hey, Willis right?" Tai said holding out a hand. "I'm Tai-"

"Kamiya, I know." Willis said, shaking it. "It's great to finally meet you."

"Same here." Tai said. "Also this is my digimon partner –"

"Agumon," Willis finished for him again. "And this is Terriermon and Lopmon."

They all exchanged pleasantries before Tai said, "How in the world did you get two digimon partners?"

"Twins," Willis said with a grin. "I guess you could say I got a two for one deal. Got 'em about thirteen years ago now."

"Wow, that must've been something, having two digimon to look after all that time."

Willis sobered. "Well, not exactly. I had to go awhile without Lopmon here."

"Why?"

"Well, somehow she contracted an internet virus about ten years ago that completely warped and changed her. Really, it was my fault, you see. I kind of created it while trying to make a digimon."

"Whoa," Tai said, realizing just how smart Willis probably was. "I mean, Man, I'm sorry. But she's okay now?"

"Yeah, just like what often happened in you guys' case, fate intervened on my behalf. Quite literally actually."

"Really."

"Yeah," Willis lifted his digivice and showed Tai his evolution screen. He pointed to the darkened gold sphere. "I got the digimental of fate."

"Ah, I was wondering what that was."

"Pulled me out of quite a pickle by digivolving Terriermon to Rapidmon and helping him to rid Lopmon of the virus. It only works on him, though."

Lopmon looked offended.

"Of course, she can't stand that fact." Willis whispered with a wink.

Tai smiled.

"Tai, holding a conversation with a genius." Kuri said, walking up beside him. "Well wonders never cease."

She, Curtis and Clara had decided to join Tai on stage to talk with Willis.

They all exchanged greetings with the American digidestined.

"So, what exactly brought you here Willis?" Curtis asked when they finished.

"I don't know really. Somehow Gennai found out I had a knack at creating and modifying digital fields."

"Well, you did create a digimon." Tai said. "Or tried to anyway, I think he would know about that."

Curtis, Clara, and Kuri at him with amazement.

"Long story," Tai said to them before turning back to Willis.

"Yeah, I guess." Will said. "Whatever it was, here I am."

"So how does this work exactly? Do you aid Professor Nai or does he aid you?" Curtis asked.

"We both kinda help each other out, really" Willis answered. "Professor Nai has the knowledge and I have the technical expertise."

"So he shouldn't have a problem finding a couple of forgotten attacks for Taps?"

Willis glanced at his Tapirmon. "Probably not. If he can study his data well enough to find them. It might take a little while though."

Suddenly, Willis' laptop emitted a loud shrieking noise

He turned around quickly and looked at its screen. "Um, Professor," he said. "We have a situation."

Nai walked over and looked at the computer also.

"Pack up." He said. "We'll work on this in the upstairs lab."

Tai tried sneaking a glance at the screen but in the brief second he saw it all he could make out were a bunch of indecipherable symbols.

Willis folded it closed and tucked it under his arm.

"You guys will have to excuse me." He said. "Duty calls."

"What's going on?" Curtis asked.

"I'm not sure yet," Willis replied. "But it's probably nothing we can't handle."

He quickly rushed out of the lecture room with his digimon and Professor Nai following just behind him.

"Weird." Clara said.

"Yeah," Tai agreed. "Let's go find the others. I'm in the mood for a little relaxation at this point."

* * *

Jun, Davis, Terence, and Rosa all sat on stumps in a small clearing in the woods.

"Well, way to go Jun." Davis said. "You've gotten us completely lost."

Jun looked at the ground in front of her. "But they were just here. You can still see footprint patterns in the grass." She scanned the area. "Where could they have gone that fast?"

"Don't know and don't care." Terrence said from his position, sprawled on his back across a rather large stump. "I like this a lot more that wandering aimlessly around the forest."

"I'm with him." Sparks said. "If we sit here…well, that means we're not walking."

"Stirring speech there." Pings said mockingly.

Sparks stuck his tongue out at him.

"I blame this on Davis," Rosa said. "If he wasn't so clumsy, we wouldn't have lost them."

"Yeah, well maybe if you weren't wailing on me instead of actually watching them, we'd know which way they went."

"I wouldn't have been er, wailing, on you if you hadn't pulled me to the ground."

"Well, I wouldn't have pulled you to the ground if you hadn't been laughing-"

"Stop it guys. The blame game isn't going to get us anywhere." Jun said. "I say we just retrace our steps and go back to the academy the way we came."

"Oh, I get it." Davis said. "We're going to do what I said we should do an hour ago, only because you and Rosa failed so miserably at doing exactly the opposite."

Jun rolled her eyes and didn't respond. "Come on guys, let's go back to the academy." She said.

Terence got up slowly and reluctantly. "Does this mean that in another hour we'll follow my idea to sit down and wait for someone to come and find us?"

"Not likely," Rosa said

"Damn." Terence and Sparks said in unison.

No sooner had the group started moving than there was a bright flash of light overhead accompanied by a loud bang. Everyone looked up to see a strange object falling from the sky. At first it tumbled end over end, silently becoming larger in size. Then it began to scream.

Davis was the first to react. He ran towards the object trying to estimate the trajectory of its fall. As it fell closer he could tell that it was a digimon, an Otamamon in fact. At the last moment Davis dove forward through the air, hands outstretched. He caught the digimon safely in his arms before tumbling to a stop.

Jun ran up to him.

"Davis, are you okay?" She asked.

He got up groggily. "Yeah, but I don't know about this little guy." Opening his arms, he revealed the little Otamamon, who had apparently fainted sometime during his drop.

"Is he okay, Davis?" Veemon asked, looking up, straining to see the tadpole-like digimon.

"I don't know Veemon, he's unconscious."

Rosa and Terence walked over and had a look also.

"We need to get him to the Academy." Terence said. "He might need some kind of medical attention."

"Where did he come from?" Rosa said, peering upwards at the sky.

Davis responded, "I don't know, he'll have to tell us that when he wakes up. Either way, I'd feel a lot better at the Academy right now." He turned to Jun. "Want to hold him?" He asked, hoping her natural maternal instincts would take over.

"Sure," she said, gently scooping the otamamon into her arms. She looked at her brother thoughtfully for a moment. "Lead the way, Davis."

Davis smirked as he rose from the ground and began backtracking along their path. _Jun following him?_ _Unbelievable._

# # #

"Tai, should we go out there? What if we all get lost too?" Curtis asked.

Tai stared out of the Rec. room window determinedly. Minutes earlier, Gennai had told them that Jun, Davis, Rosa, and Terence were missing from their Digital History class' excursion into the outlying woods around the Academy grounds. A very apologetic Counselor Gen had accompanied him. Sorry or not, Gennai had been exceptionally angry with him and quite forthcoming with his objections to Gen's careless teaching manners. Apparently, Gennai was upset by the fact that he had taken his class so far away from the academy. The two of them left to get Nai and Enn with promises to search for the four digidestined as soon as they did. He also told the rest of the students in the area not to leave the Academy until Willis performed some scans of the grounds and gave them an all clear.

Of course, Tai had never been one for waiting. He looked at Curtis thoughtfully. "That's your brother out there too, you know."

"I know, but wouldn't it be safer if we waited for Gennai?"

"Yeah, it probably would be safer." Kuri said. "But I don't see Gennai here, do you?"

"He's probably still chewing out Gen for losing them. He seemed really pissed about that." Clara said.

"That's what gets me," Tai said. "The only reason he would be so angry is if there was something dangerous out there."

"Well, what if there is? That's why Gennai said we all have to wait until Willis finishes his scans of the area."

"Curtis," Tai said. "If you don't want to go you don't have to, but I am. Jun needs me."

Curtis seemed taken aback for a moment. "No," He said. "If you're going, I'm coming with you. I want to find my brother."

"Then let's go." Tai said.

The four of them and their digimon headed downstairs and for the front door. They stopped halfway down the main hall when the door suddenly creaked open.

The silhouette of four digidestined and their partner digimon filled the doorway.

Curtis recognized his brother first and ran towards him, closely followed by Taps and the rest of the group. When he reached them he hugged Terence, who looked fairly appalled at his show of affection, but returned the gesture nonetheless.

After hugging Rosa in greeting, Clara fussed over her appearance and began picking grass from her air and brushing dust from her uniform. Rosa complained unconvincingly.

"What kind of new friendship is this supposed to be if you go disappearing for hours at a time?" Kuri asked as she walked straight to Davis and surprisingly gave him a quick hug also. Davis was caught off guard by her show of concern, though she immediately followed it up by asking, "And where the hell have you all been?"

Tai walked up to Jun and saw that she was holding something in her arms. His curiosity barely overcame the side of him that was irritated that it prevented him from holding her at the moment.

"What's this?" He asked, awkwardly standing in front of her.

"A digimon. It fell out of nowhere while we were out in the forest, lost." She answered.

Tai gently placed a hand on her arm as he looked at the otamamom.

"Is he okay?"

"I think," Jun said. "He passed out during the fall and for the last half hour or so he's been mumbling in his sleep."

At that moment, Counselor Gen, Nai, Keyan, and a very angry Gennai came down the main staircase at the end of the hall.

"Gen, you really outdid yourself with this one." Gennai said. "Not only did you lose four of them in your class, but then you allow the other four to go out there trying to find them. This is inexcusable. And where in the world is Enn? Just like him to disappear at a time like this."

When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Gennai looked up and saw the eight digidestined standing there watching them.

"You're safe!" He exclaimed, rushing to them. "What happened? Are you alright? Everyone's accounted for?"

"Yeah, Gennai." Davis said, "We're okay. Except for this little guy." He pointed towards Jun.

"An Otamamon?" Gennai asked. "But where did he come from?"

"Maybe you can tell us." Terence said. "Because we all think he came out of nowhere, really."

"Yeah, he kind of just fell out of the sky." Rosa said.

"Peculiar," Gennai mused, a finger to his chin. "Well, since you all seem to be fine I want you to go get cleaned up and changed. Meet me in the Rec. room before dinner and I may be able to explain what happened." He turned to Gen. "Can I trust you to take the otamamon to the third floor infirmary while Nai and I do some research into this?"

"Of course, of course," Gen said with a smile, "I'll take him right away." He walked up to Jun with his hands outstretched.

She looked at him with some scrutiny before gently turning the small digimon over to him. He cradled it in his arms before turning and heading back towards the staircase.

"Don't worry,' He said, his back turned to them. "He'll be good as new in no time."

Gennai shook his head as he watched Gen walk away. "I can't believe how careless he is. He must be one of my more repressed personalities." He said to the gathered digidestined. "At least I hope so."

With that, he and Nai also headed up the staircase with promises to see them later.

As soon as they were gone, Jun embraced Tai fiercely.

"I missed you." She said.

"Yeah, me too," Tai said, caught a little off guard. "I was worried about you, you know."

"I know." She said smiling. "Most of my motivation to get back was so you wouldn't come out looking for me."

"You barely made it." Kuri told her. "Rambo here was charging into that forest whether you wanted him to or not."

"I know he was." Jun said, pulling back from their embrace just enough to see Tai's face. "He always has."

Kuri groaned. "Here they go again." She said. "Come on guys, leave them to each other. I can't wait to get out of this uniform, anyway."

"Hmmm," Terence said suggestively.

Curtis cuffed him over the back of his head. Pings and Taps laughed.

"It was just a joke." Terence mumbled angrily as they walked to the staircase.

Tai watched them depart with a smirk and small shake of his head. "Alone at last," He said with some relief once they were out of earshot.

"Um, not exactly," Jun said. She looked down at the floor, where Sparks and Agumon were standing, watching them.

"What do you two want?' Tai asked.

"We want to know what the deal is here," Sparks said. "Did you two finally really get together?"

"Or are you just flirting like usual?" Agumon said.

Jun and Tai turned scarlet.

"Were we always that obvious?" Jun whispered to Tai.

"Possibly. I've never known how to be subtle, myself."

Sparks and Agumon looked up at them, tapping their feet impatiently.

"Um, well, we're together now, guys." Tai said. He turned to Jun. "Like we always should have been."

The two drifted away, lost in each other's gaze.

Sparks looked at Agumon. "See? I told you it was real. You owe me five bucks." He said.

Agumon nodded, not really caring about the money. He couldn't believe it. Had Tai finally found a measure of happiness for himself?

"Okay." He said with a smile. "Come on, the money's upstairs, in our room."

* * *

After changing, the eight digidestined and digimon met in the Rec. room as Gennai had asked. Tai and Jun sat on their small couch, idly talking softly with one another. Curtis and Clara sat on adjacent beanbags in a corner across the room. They were both looking at their terminals. Curtis was talking in an explanatory manner while Clara was sporadically throwing her hands up in frustration.

In the middle of the room, where the arcade was located, Rosa had challenged Terence to a rather hotly contested game on one of those Dancing arcade machines that that required the players to step on footpads in accordance with directional arrows on the screen. They were both exceptionally good at the game. Rosa from experience, Terence from his musical background in choreographed dance. It seemed there wouldn't be a loser anytime soon.

Davis and Kuri were sitting near them, their laptops linked on a small table between them. Kuri was telling Davis what they'd learned in Laws while also discussing Digital Combat and possible fighting strategies as they blasted their way through another level of Digital Strike.

Next to them, Peko and Sparks had organized all the digimon into two separate games of poker, which they were both winning decisively. Agumon and Veemon were complaining loudly, accusing them of cheating and anything else that would make their losing seem less embarrassing.

The rest of the academy digidestined and digimon in the room were slowly filing out, heading downstairs to dinner. When most of them had cleared out, Clara decided that she and Curtis could take a break from their laws assignment. Curtis gave in reluctantly. After all, this was all simple to him. He was actually having fun.

Across the room they heard Rosa shriek in frustration. They both walked over to the arcade to see what she and Terence were up to.

"No one has ever gone this far with me." She said stepping quickly with the on screen instructions. "Why won't you just lose?"

Terence laughed. "Looks like you met your match, doesn't it?" He was casually keeping up with her, even having time to add his own arm and head movements.

Curtis grinned when he saw them. "If there's anything Terence works on as much as his singing," He said to Clara, "it's his dancing. No way he's going to lose."

"Wanna bet?" Clara said, sauntering up behind the two of them.

Terence saw her reflection on the glass of the arcade machine.

"Hey Clara," he said. "Looks like I'm giving your cousin here a run for her money."

"Oh yeah." Clara said, slowly walking up behind him. "You sure are."

She looked at his reflection seductively, winking and making a show of slowly licking her lips.

Terence faltered and missed a couple steps.

Clara then slipped a finger into her mouth ever so slightly and then trailed it down her neck to the top of her ample bosom. She gave him a pouty stare.

At this point Terence missed an entire sequence of steps. He was stomping absentmindedly on the foot keys, watching the screen but only paying attention to Clara's reflection.

"Ha!" Rosa shouted triumphantly, pointing at the screen. "I win, you lose!"

"Huh?"

"I won!"

Terence looked at the screen and saw that his side said Game Over.

"Oh. Yeah, you did." He said. "Darn." His attention still hadn't fully returned from Clara's little exhibition.

Clara congratulated Rosa. "Good job cuz. No way he was going to beat you."

Curtis walked up to Terence. "That was sad, man."

"What? It's just a game."

"I'm not talking about the game." Curtis said. "You got played, bad."

Terence looked at Rosa and Clara giving each other a high five and understood.

"I did, didn't I?" He said. "She used my weakness against me. But that's okay, I'll get her back." He smiled devilishly.

* * *

Davis and Kuri were enjoying their time playing Digital Strike and talking about how the day had gone and what they thought of different aspects of the academy. Kuri had just finished telling Davis about Jason Smith and his anti Tai vendetta when they heard a shout and a loud crash. They turned to see that Sparks had turned over the table where he, Veemon, Pings, and Marta had been playing poker.

"No way you could've won that hand!" He shouted at Marta.

"Well, maybe you shouldn't have been bluffing." She said calmly. "I mean, it was so obvious."

"Having trouble over there, Sparks?" Peko said from her table with a smile. She had a huge pile of chips stacked in front of her.

Sparks looked absolutely enraged.

"Sparks, chill." Davis said. "If Jun weren't so um, occupied, you know you'd be in a lot of trouble."

Sparks grumbled something and set about helping the other digimon turn the table back over.

"It's amazing how often he does that." Davis told Kuri.

She smiled. "What? Gets you killed?"

Davis looked back at his laptop. "Dammit, deleted by a Tyrannomon." He said. "Can you wait for me to reload?"

She nodded. "Yeah, but hurry up. I think I'm being tracked by a group of Ogremon."

Davis looked at Kuri as his loading bar slowly progressed. There was something different about her. Something had already changed in her since they arrived here. No, scratch that, since she had gotten her shield. She seemed a little less depressed about herself now, and a little more social, for her standards anyway.

Kuri glanced up at Davis briefly and saw him looking back at her.

"What?" She asked.

"Uh, nothing." Davis said sheepishly. "Oh, look. I'm finally loaded."

He suddenly became engrossed in his keyboard.

Kuri looked at him curiously before turning back to her own.

* * *

"Tai, you should just ignore this Jason guy. He's just trying to egg you on. You know, throw you off."

Tai and Jun were sitting much as they were last night, she leaning back into his arms as he ran his fingers through her hair. Tai had just finished telling her about what they'd learned in his Laws class and meeting Jason.

"I know. But he just gets under my skin. And what about the rest of them? The other guys with him who basically have the same shields as us?"

"But they're not the same, Tai." Jun said. "Intuition is definitely not the same as insight anyway. One is the innate ability to read more into situations than what's on the surface. The other is just the ability to get feelings about things, hunches really."

Tai smiled at how defensive Jun was about someone possibly having the same shield as her.

"You're right of course." He said, kissing her on the forehead. "I'm just letting that jackass get to me."

Gennai walked into the room then, sighing heavily. When he saw that everyone was there he asked for them to gather around him. They all sat on beanbags in the corner where Curtis and Clara had been doing their Laws assignment earlier.

"Is the otamamon okay, Gennai?" Jun asked first.

"Yes." He said. "He is awake, but he's in some shock. You see, he has no idea how he got here."

"He doesn't?" Davis said. "Well, that's not unusual. I mean, whatever knocked him up into the air like that could've given him a touch of amnesia right?"

"No it's not like that, Davis." Gennai said. "He remembers what happened. He just doesn't know how it happened."

"He doesn't know what hit him?"

"Davis, only a few hours ago that otamamon was in the digital world. Now he's here, and he has no idea how that happened."

"But how is that possible?" Tai asked. "I thought the security here prevented anyone from going or coming to this dimension without your permission."

"That is my concern, Tai." Gennai said. "There is a random anomaly I had not anticipated that may be responsible for this."

"What is it?"

"Reconfiguration flares." Willis said, walking into the room with his digimon. "I'm sorry I'm late Gennai."

"Quite understandable." Gennai said dismissively.

Willis was followed closely by Keyan. The two sat down on either side of Gennai. Willis nodded to Tai, who returned the gesture.

"What are reconfiguration flares?" Curtis asked.

"An obvious consequence of building this place that I'm ashamed to say we hadn't foreseen." Willis said. "You see, this digital realm isn't an entirely natural creation. It is its own digital dimension, but it stood blank and void before we got here. Everything you see here was created by us. Problem is, you can't create something from nothing. The way we solved this was to take data from the wasteland and reconfigure it."

"The wasteland?" Curtis asked. "What's that?"

"It is a place where lost data from the digital world gathers when it has lost its viability or connections." Keyan said.

All the students looked at her in surprise. It was the first time any of them had heard her string so many words together.

"That's right." Willis said. "Apparently some of me is rubbing off onto her." Keyan smiled at him. "Really," he continued "It's kind of like a limbo for the severed file extensions of the digital world. I'm sure you've all heard that the digital world is alive, constantly reconfiguring itself?"

Everyone nodded.

"Well, every time it does that, it loses some incompatible data that goes to wasteland. Think of the wasteland as a kind of disk defragmenter that keeps the digital world clean and functioning properly. Anyway, what we did, with the help of some of the world's foremost computer programmers, was create a basic magnetic framework for this world. We call it magnetic because it was built to attract the specific digital material it needed to specific parts of its structure. In this way the fragmented data from the wasteland that was once things such as rocks, trees, and air was siphoned here and allowed to be attracted to where to where it could reformatted into what it once was. It was a great plan, simply brilliant really. Except for one thing, that is."

"What?"

"When the data was finally laid out, it began to change itself. It began to reform as simple things such as huge boulders and gusts of wind. The environment here was too stable you see. It the wasteland, data is constantly being stirred and added to. Here it was simply reformed and laid. This gave it time to sit and be acted upon by its own, natural forces. Soon enough this unmoving data began to be attracted to others of its type to from large groups of its specific elements. For a long while slabs of wood and other simple materials would appear out of thin air. Then, more complex structures, like metals and water, began to form. Finally, when all the data had run its course, all of this ended. The data had gone as far as it could, or so I thought. Water, to me, was the most complex form that digital data could attain on its own. It seems I was wrong."

"Wait a second," Terence said. "Are you telling us that this data managed to restructure itself into an actual digimon? Isn't that a little farfetched?"

"Of course it is." Willis said. "Digimon data can only be restructured in primary village as far as we know. It wasn't the otamamon that was reconfigured, but the gate he was pulled through."

"Oh."

"Digital gates are the most complex naturally occurring phenomena of the digital world. I simply underestimated the strength of the attraction between the wasteland data and assumed it wouldn't create them."

Gennai cut him off. "And now, you see, the problem is that it can and will. For this reason, until we solve this, I will allow no one to venture beyond the academy's main grounds and woods into the surrounding outer forest. We can't have students going missing and getting pulled into unknown dimensions."

"Excuse me Gennai," Kuri said, "But what's the point of that? What prevents one of those gates from popping up right here in front of us?"

Willis quickly pulled out his laptop and began typing on it. After a few seconds he turned it to face her. On its screen was a diagram of the digital realm. There was a small structure in the middle that Kuri could discern was the academy and the lake, surrounding them was the woods, then the even wilder outer forest and mountains. Around all of it were large concentric bubbles.

"So, what's this supposed to tell me?" She asked.

"The stabilization fields." Willis said. "The bubble like objects. They're what keep anomalies such reconfiguration Flares from appearing here."

"Why are there two around the campus and grounds? Why not just one?" Rosa asked as she leaned over Kuri's shoulder.

"The inner one, around the Academy structure itself, is very powerful. Not only does it prevent anomalies, but we also use it to create a field that prevents digivolving and digimon attacks within the Academy walls. Of course, the fact that this mansion is built entirely from materials brought in from the real world and not reformatted wasteland data helps in this. The outer one, around the grounds, is only an anomaly prevention device. This is why you can hold your Digital combat sessions outside."

"What's the third one?" Clara asked. "The one around everything."

"The third one?" Willis asked. "There shouldn't be a third one on there." He turned the laptop to face him. "Oh," he said with a smirk. "that was our original plan, back when we were still a bit naive about what we could do."

He turned the computer back toward them, the third bubble now gone.

"We thought that we would be able to make the second field large enough to encompass the entire realm. Little did we know how much of, excuse my language, a bitch- this thing would be to run. These stabilization fields take a lot of energy, server space, and manpower. We're lucky we can do what we are, even on our massive resources." When he stopped, no one said anything for a few moments.

"Okay, so what happens to the otamamon?" Davis asked. "When does he get to go back home?"

"He doesn't." Gennai answered. "Not until we are done at the academy."

"What?" Davis asked. "What about his friends and family?"

"To them, he'll only be gone for two weeks, just like yours."

"But…why?"

"Because this academy is the best weapon your world has against some of the worst evil it has ever seen. All aspects of what and where it is must remain secret. We cannot allow that otamamon to go back and accidentally let vital information slip into the wrong hands. Now, due to the continuing incompetence of Counselor Gen, he has been conscious for far too long and knows far too much. He must stay."

Gennai's firm tone quieted any further protest from Davis.

Tai spoke up next. "Gennai all this secrecy, precision, training, and new technology. I remember when you grabbed eight kids aged twelve and under and threw them on their own into an unfamiliar land to find their own way. The world was in danger then too, I recall." He said evenly. "Gennai, what aren't you telling us now? What's so different? What makes this time around so much more dangerous? More serious?"

Gennai looked at Tai a long while before responding. "Because the fairytales are over, Tai. This time there are no prophecies to guide us. There are no guarantees that we'll make it out of this intact and okay. There is only our own fortitude and preparedness. There is only us. We are the only ones that stand between the safety of our worlds and their destruction. People have died for this cause. And undoubtedly still more will. I, for one, will not let their deaths have been in vain and I certainly will not leave such stakes to chance."

Gennai motioned, and with that, he, Keyan, and Willis got up to leave.

"You all should hurry to dinner before the dining hall closes for the night." Gennai said as they headed out the door.

Everyone was quiet after they left. The rowdiness of their games, just minutes earlier, seemed like light years away. They were all, digimon and human alike, shocked. Some of the weight of what they were actually doing here had finally hit them.

Kuri broke the stunned silence in her characteristic manner. "As foreboding as that sounded and all," she said, "I'm still hungry. If anyone's going to eat, I suggest we get going now."

She got up to leave. Slowly, everyone else followed her lead, save for Jun.

Tai noticed her not moving and silently motioned for everyone else to go on without him. When they left he sat down next to her.

"Jun," He said, gently touching her shoulder. She jumped slightly. Tai noticed she was trembling a bit. "Jun, what's wrong?"

She looked at him. "I don't know," She said. "There was just something not right about all that. They told us so much. But something was wrong. It's weird. I know, but I don't know."

"I understand Jun. Your shield tells me all I need to know."

Tai opened his arms and she melted into them.

"Are you hungry?" Tai asked.

Jun shook her head.

"Yeah, me neither." He lied.

He held her there as she latched on to him for security.

"There's something not right, Tai. I can feel it."

_To be continued..._

* * *

Okay, that's it for this time around. As usual, please review. I'll try to update ASAP. (I have a bit to write though.) : - (


	4. A Friendship Forged

Finally! Here's the 4th chapter. I think the next one will be quicker and easier to write, as its mainly action oriented. This one focuses on further exploring the budding relationship between Davis and Kuri.

* * *

**A Friendship Forged**

Kari looked over the letter Tai had left her for the third time in the past hour. It had been over two days since he'd left and now she was beginning to become really worried. The letter was just so vague. In it, Tai said that he was going away for a while in order to clear his head and "put some things in order," whatever that meant. In no part did it mention how long he would be gone; however, there was a substantial amount of cash left inside the envelope with her name on it. This really concerned Kari. She received her own royalties from her status as an OD and really didn't need any extra money from Tai. He knew this, but still decided to leave her so much, "just in case." Kari sighed and closed the letter again. She tuned to look at Gatomon, seated on the table beside her.

"I just don't know, Gatomon. It's not like Tai to be gone this long without telling me something more than this."

"I'm sure he's fine, Kari." Gatomon said. "You know he likes to go for long drives to think and stuff. Maybe he just left on a really long one this time."

"Yeah," Kari said, unconvinced. "Maybe."

Just then, there was a knock at the door. Kari got up to answer it.

"That's probably TK." She said as she crossed the living room. "I called him over to talk about what we should do."

When she reached the door, Kari looked through the peephole and saw not only TK standing outside, but Matt and Sora also. She opened the door with a small smile.

"Hey guys." She said, stepping aside.

"Hi, Kari." Sora greeted as they walked in. "How are you?"

"I'm okay, considering." Kari said. "This is all just so unlike Tai, you know."

"Are you kidding?" Matt said. "This is just like him. He can't have something he wants, so he runs off to gain attention for himself. It's typical, if you ask me."

"Matt," Sora admonished. "that's enough. Do you mean to tell me you aren't concerned for Tai at all?"

"I would be." Matt said. "If I thought he was in some kind of trouble or something, but he's not, most likely."

"Matt," TK said, "I can see where you're coming from, but Tai generally treats his sister much differently than he does you. What's typical for you isn't exactly on par for Kari."

He placed an arm around Kari and led her to the living room sofa, where they all sat down.

"So much is going against me right now," Kari said. "I'm glad I have you TK, to help me get through this."

The two shared a tender hug.

"What else is going against you, Kari?" Sora asked

"Huh?" Kari said, breaking from the embrace.

"You said so much was going against you. More than just Tai?"

"Yeah," Kari said solemnly. "I think Kuri might be mad at me or something."

"Why?"

"I don't know, really, but I've been trying to call her the past couple of days and she's not answering her cell. I haven't seen her in any of our usual spots, the park, the Green Room…she's not answering my emails either…"

"Well, why don't you just go over to her place and see what's up?" Matt asked.

"I would, but her parents…They're different. Maybe I will in a while, but I just don't think I can take that right now."

"That may be a mixed blessing." Sora said cautiously. "I mean, Kuri isn't the most tactful person around. I don't know if her kind of attitude is exactly what you need at the moment."

Kari looked at Sora with some astonishment. Did she realize that this was her best friend she was talking about? Sora barely knew Kuri. In fact, she might've spoken a total of two sentences to her. And yet, here she was telling Kari about how their being separated was actually good for her. Kari decided to let the comment slide for the moment. Sora was her fiend also, after all, and it felt good to have friends with her at a time like this. She didn't want to do anything to offend them. She decided to let her silence show her disagreement.

"Well," Matt said, noticing some slight tension in the air. "In any case, wherever he is, I'm betting Tai is just peachy right now. He'll be back soon enough, you'll see."

* * *

He could hear him, stalking loudly in the grass behind him, stopping and starting abruptly, unsure when exactly to make his move. There was a pause. Suddenly, his pace quickened, his steps more focused, his breathing quicker. Tai braced for the inevitable crash as his opponent rushed at him full speed. At the last moment he dropped to the ground and struck out with a swift leg sweep. He heard his adversary yell in surprise as he flipped head over heels and landed roughly on his back. Silence descended upon the field again.

"And that, Davis," Tai said, standing up, "Is why you should never blindly rush someone, well, me anyway, from behind."

Davis looked up at Tai angrily from his position on the ground. His vision was swimming.

"I hate you." He muttered, rubbing his head.

Tai laughed and helped him up.

They were in the field in front of the academy, practicing their skills at unarmed combat. To the side, Jun and Kuri were watching them half-interested while talking with one another. Across the field, on the mansion's front steps were Clara and Curtis. As usual, Curtis was writing lyrics in his notepad while intermittently helping Clara through yet another Laws assignment. Across the porch from them were Terence and Rosa. The former was practicing his vocal skills by singing along to instrumentals played by the latter on her laptop. None of their digimon were there at the moment, as they had all decided to spend this lazy Saturday afternoon behind the mansion, at the lake.

It was just over two months ago now, that they all had first arrived here. The time had passed faster than many of them had expected. Their training managed to keep them in a constant cycle of busyness that never broke.

In digital combat with Sensei Enn they were all well past the point of forming attacks without saying them. At about the two-week point, many of them were discovering many different ways to vary their attacks. Tai had become especially adept throwing three pepper breaths concurrently in a manner in which they spun around each other as they sped toward their target, causing a much wider range of destruction. Agumon, not to be outdone, had found a way to concentrate one fireball in front of his face until it became large and almost white hot in intensity, before firing it away. Needless to say, this attack completely decimated whatever it hit. It took Tai several tries and a few singed hands before he could even approach Agumon's mastery of this maneuver.

The rest of the students at the Academy showed similar marked improvement in their ability to throw attacks. Kuri had become so good a disguising her boom bubbles that Sensei Enn had forced her to start shouting a warning to the class before she threw them. Of course, this only came after she "accidentally" hit him a couple of times.

Even Curtis got in on the act after Professor Nai presented he and Taps with two forgotten attacks that they could perform called Solid Steam and Awakening Light in their second week of training. In the first, a stream of steam was shot forward form the hands (Or the mouth, in Taps' case), which seemed virtually harmless, until it impacted with its target. At that point it exploded in a rush of plasmic energy that crushed anything in its immediate path. It was a very loud and very effective attack. Awakening Light was quite different from its explosive contemporary. It was essentially a beam of light that picked up anything it hit and threw it back a good twenty feet. The addition of these two abilities boosted Curtis and Taps' morale greatly. It also made them the most versatile of the students at the Academy, with four very different attacks at their disposal.

Overall, the only real strenuous aspects to the students of Digital Combat were the calisthenics and physical ordeals Krista and Xian put them through on many occasions. They always insisted that that the students wouldn't always be wearing their suits and their digimon wouldn't always be there. It was practically their motto. In contrast to the start of the year, most of the students now held bigger grudges against them than Sensei Enn.

Tai and Davis decided to take a break from the practice and walked over to Kuri and Jun. Jun handed them both water bottles from a cooler next to her.

"Having fun?" She asked.

"No." Davis said petulantly as he took one.

Tai winked at her.

Jun smiled. "Davis, if you just worked on you stealth abilities more often, everyone wouldn't hear you from a mile away."

"You sound just like Ms. Lee." Davis said. "No wonder everyone says you're her favorite. Why wouldn't she like a carbon copy of herself?"

"She may show me some favor," Jun said indignantly, "because I actually listen to her and do what she says."

Davis rolled his eyes.

"Instead of being like you," Jun continued. "Always complaining and trying out things your own way. You aren't going to get anywhere if you don't start learning to listen-"

"Now you sound like Mom." Davis said. "You're really on a roll now."

"Fine," Jun said in frustration. "If you won't listen I'll just have to show you."

She grabbed Tai by the arm and began dragging him out into the field.

"Hey, what are you doing?" He protested.

"I'm showing Davis how much better I am at stealth than him. Maybe then he'll see the value of listening to Ms. Lee."

Tai sighed. "So what am I supposed to do? Just let you sneak up and nail me over the back of the head or something?"

This further irritated Jun. "I don't need you to do anything." She said. "Just treat this the same way as if I were Davis."

"Uh, Okay." Tai said. "But you've seen what happens to Davis. Don't say you weren't warned."

"I won't have to, sweetie." She patted him on the cheek and began to walk away from him. "We'll start on the count of twenty."

Tai shrugged. Girlfriend or not, he wasn't about to just let her sucker punch him to prove a point.

Kuri watched their exchange from her vantage point next to Davis.

"What was that all about, Davis?" She asked. "You know she's better at stealth attacks than you."

"Yeah, I do." He said with a smirk. "It's only natural since she's a lot lighter than me. I just want to see Tai get flipped for once."

Kuri smiled. "Davis, manipulating people? Well, you're just full of surprises aren't you?"

He looked at her proudly. "Yeah, I guess I am." He said, mockingly puffing his chest out.

Kuri chuckled before looking back out onto the field. "Uh-oh, here they go." She said. "This should be good."

Tai closed his eyes and focused his senses once again. He listened to everything, the steady breeze gently sweeping across the field, leaves rustling from the forest in the distance. He thought he heard footsteps for a moment but determined that it was only birds landing in the grass near him. Right now, an annoying feature Willis had added to the realm. Tai focused again, hearing nothing unusual. He heard nothing for a few minutes more. And still nothing yet a few minutes after that. He felt no vibrations in the ground, no telltale signs of heavy breathing.

Tai opened his eyes and quickly turned around.

"Jun would you stop playing around and-" He began, before realizing no one was there.

Suddenly, Tai felt his legs being swept out from under him. The world around him began to rotate 90 degrees as the ground rushed towards him. Tai hit the ground with a thump and grimaced as he saw in his vision nothing but the clear, blue sky overhead. He tried to get up but was forced back down by a certain brown haired beauty jumping on his torso.

"Ha, I told you I was good." Jun said, straddling Tai's waist while holding his shoulders down with her hands.

"Ouch, you weren't kidding."

Jun heard something that sounded like applause in the distance. She turned to see Davis and Kuri clapping happily for her effort.

"That bastard." Tai said, propped on his elbows and looking towards them also.

"Hey, that's my brother you're talking about." Jun said, playfully pushing him back to the ground.

Tai put his hands around hers and pulled them apart so that she fell completely on top of him.

She lifted her head slightly and laughed.

"You are such a sore loser Tai."

Tai reached up a brushed a few stray strands of hair away from her face to better see her smile.

"Mmm, if this is the end result of my losing to you, we should practice together more often."

Jun's heart rate quickened. The adrenaline still pumping through her, combined with their proximity to one another, was absolutely intoxicating.

"Maybe." She said, quickly leaning down and enveloping Tai's lips with her own.

Tai responded by pressing as fervently upward and holding her around the waist. They were so passionately involved with one another that neither heard the groans of protest from Davis and Kuri in the distance.

It was a loud crack and flash of light overhead that finally broke the two up. Tai instinctively rolled Jun away from the sound and they both began coughing as acrid smoke descended upon them. They got up quickly and stumbled out of the foul-odored cloud.

"Another anomaly? A flare?" Jun asked, shaken.

"No." Tai said, looking towards the mansion. "Clara."

Across the field Clara sat with a horrified look as she frantically pushed buttons on her laptop. "Sorry!" She yelled. "That wasn't what was supposed to happen!"

"Really?" Kuri shouted back sarcastically. "Cause I could've sworn Professor Nai said our last assignment was 'blow up Tai and Jun."

Clara scowled at her while Curtis looked over her shoulder at her computer.

"Damn, Clara," He exclaimed. "You missed like twenty lines of code here." He pointed towards the top of the screen.

Clara threw her arms up in frustration. "I can't do this stuff. Nai tells us to make digital starlets, and I almost blow my friends up. I'm just not cut out for all this computer crap."

Terence snickered loudly from his end of the porch.

Clara stared at him angrily. Over the last couple months, the two of them had built something of an adversarial friendship.

"Ignore him," Curtis said. "We can fix this. Here, let's just review the file on creating digital light."

Clara reluctantly agreed. She hated that dumb class.

In stark contrast to Digital Combat, Laws of the Digital World had progressed very slowly for the Academy students. Professor Nai found that many of the younger students needed schooling in some basic mathematic and computational functions before they could participate in a lot of the complicated field altering programs that Nai planned to teach to them. This caused the class to turn into a sort of review for most of the older students. Only every so often did they learn new skills or abilities. Currently they were working on starlets, what Nai termed the most simplistic digital hallucinations to create. Starlets were essentially pea-sized points of light that could be made through the use of the students' laptops, which were attuned to the Digital Realm. Creating them was currently the most fun assignment Nai had given in the year. And just like any other Laws assignment, Clara was just about the last student in the Academy to get it right.

After a few minutes of reviewing the file, Clara was relieved when the four Odaiba digidestined walked up to the porch. She quickly closed her laptop and smiled in appreciation at their interruption.

Curtis shook his head.

"Clara, you're first student I've seen whose starlet exploded." Tai said as they walked up the front steps. He was still trying to brush the offensive odor from his clothes. "How do you manage to do these things?"

"I dunno. Bad luck." She answered dismissively. "Come on, let's go get lunch or something, I'm starving."

She rushed up the steps and entered the mansion, expecting everyone else to follow.

Instead they all stood outside and stared accusingly at Curtis.

He looked back at them indignantly. "What, you want me to apologize for having things to do outside of helping Clara with her laws homework?"

"Of course not," Terence responded. "I guess I'll just have to hope that if one day, one of her 'mishaps' happens to splatter me across some wall, Pings will avenge my untimely and humiliating death."

"Ha, ha," Rosa said sardonically. She walked up to Curtis and whispered something into his ear. He smiled slightly while looking at his brother.

Terence frowned at them and adjusted his trademark sunglasses. "Say what you want about me, but when it's one of you that almost gets blown up next time…"

Davis watched them with some interest. They were certainly different, his new group of companions here at the academy. He felt like he'd known them for much more than two months now. They all got along pretty well, and certainly treated each other as if they were longtime friends. He allowed his gaze to pass over Tai and Jun and settle on Kuri.

She interested him the most. In private, Jun had started called her 'his project' lately. Davis was spending a lot of his free time with her now. The way he saw it, he still had a promise to keep. The night before they came here he'd told her that he would show her that she really was a good person inside and he still planned to do so. But things were progressing a little differently than he anticipated. It seemed that when Kuri had received her shield, she was put on a path of personal self-discovery that had him simply tailing along for the ride. Instead of driving the car, Davis was now paving the road. He didn't mind, whatever eventually got her where she needed to be.

One if the large oak front doors of the mansion opened and Clara poked her head out.

"What are you all doing?" She asked. "No one's bringing any food out here."

"We're coming cuz." Rosa said. She cut her eyes at Terence, who smiled innocently.

The group ascended the steps and headed down the main hall toward the dining room doors.

Out of nowhere, a very effervescent Jonathan suddenly accosted them, waving a piece of paper in his hand.

"Have you seen it yet? What do you think it is?" He asked, obviously excited about something on the paper.

"Whoa, Johnny boy," Davis said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "What exactly are you talking about?"

"Our new schedules," the redhead said, handing Davis the paper. "Check out Friday."

Davis looked over the copy of Jonathan's schedule. It was pretty much the exact opposite of his own. Jonathan had Digital combat every afternoon instead of the mornings like Davis. He also had Digital Laws and History on the same days Davis did, except in the mornings. On Fridays, like everyone else, Jonathan didn't have Digital Combat and only went to Laws in the morning and History in the afternoon, whereas Davis and the rest of his group went to History in the morning and Laws in the afternoon. But according to the schedule Davis was reading, next Friday wouldn't go as usual. In the box under it the word COMBINE was typed in large print. Davis saw that it had no description under it. This annoyed him. The whole reason the schedules were issued every two weeks was so that students could read what they were covering in their upcoming sessions.

"What's the combine?" Davis asked Jonathan, handing the schedule to Kuri so she could pass it around the group.

"Dunno." Jonathan said. "No one does. I asked Gennai but he said that's exactly the way he wants it. He says only the brightest of us will figure it out."

"Figures," Tai said. "Every other day Gennai presents us with some new mysterious challenge."

"That's why, the way I see it, we should all keep an eye on Curtis. He has a knack for sorting these things out."

Curtis faltered at hearing this. "Um, I don't know if I'm really going to figure this one out." He said. "Unless I get lucky or something."

"Don't say that, Curtis." Rosa said. "You're good at this stuff. I'm sure you'll get it."

"You think?" Curtis said, his disposition brightening.

Terence gave the group a knowing smile.

"Anyway," Jonathan said. "I thought I should tell you all, since you most likely hadn't seen your schedules yet."

"Thanks Jonathan," Jun said, handing him his schedule back. "We hadn't."

"Quite welcome. Well, off I go. I've got a whole academy to inform." With a wave, he briskly walked past them and out the front doors.

Terence turned to Kuri. "Is he growing on you yet?" He asked.

"Um, kinda…" She responded. "I guess?"

"Yeah, me neither."

They walked into the dining hall discussing what they thought the combine could be and complaining about Gennai's cryptic mannerisms. All conversation ceased, though, when they opened the doors and saw Jason, Tony, Helga, and Ahmed standing before them. Jason stood at their lead, wearing his usual superior smirk.

"Nemesis." He greeted. It was what he'd started calling Tai whenever the two encountered one another, which was far too often for Tai's tastes.

"Dumbass." Kuri responded for him.

Jason scowled. "I'm sure you've heard about the combine next Friday. Likely you have no idea what it is."

"Neither do you." Davis said.

"One would think," Jason said. "But there are no mysteries to the superior mind, buffoon."

Davis stepped forward, fists clenched and eyes narrowed. "Say it again Jason."

Jason took a step back. "What?"

"Call me a buffoon again." Davis' voice was low, threatening. "And see what happens to you."

Jun moved to go to her brother and stop the confrontation from escalating further but Kuri reached him first.

"Davis," she said, "Back down."

"No, he needs to learn that there's a penalty for all the things he says."

"It's not your job to teach him. Now back down before you prove him right."

Davis looked at Kuri for a few tense moments before finally backing away from Jason. Kuri grabbed his arm and escorted him to a nearby booth.

Jun watched them with some concern.

Jason didn't say anything. That was the first time one of them had actually threatened him.

Ahmed, who usually stood in the background and kept quiet, stepped forward.

"If your friend allows anger to cloud his judgment after statements like that, he will never make it." He said, not as an insult, but as a matter of fact.

Jun nodded slightly in agreement.

The two groups went their separate ways, exchanging looks of contempt.

"Why is it the only time you act dumb is when someone says you are?" Kuri hissed as she sat down in the booth, opposite Davis. "You told me you've worked way too hard on controlling your temper for that."

Davis just stared at the table in front of him.

"Davis, what's the point of our little morning meetings if you won't talk about things that matter?"

Davis looked up at Kuri. The anger was gone from his eyes, now replaced by a mournful sadness. She was right. For the past five weeks or so, the two of them had been meeting every morning for breakfast. Sometimes they were joined by Tai and Jun, but usually it was just the two of them, in the mostly empty cafeteria discussing things about themselves and the Academy while becoming steadfast friends.

"Davis, I told you about my brother. Kari doesn't even really know about that." Kuri crossed her arms. "And now you're just going to sit there and not let me in. Obviously there's something more to this than you're telling me. You like to brag about how much you worked to improve your grades in school. You always insist so much on studying everything Counselor Gen gives us, even though you hate him. And lately, I'm finding out that having your intelligence insulted pretty much sends you off the deep end. I think I see a pattern developing. Would you mind telling me what in the world is going on?"

Davis just sat there. It was a sore subject, his intelligence. For too many years, too many people used it as the butt of jokes: As an amusing aside to their day. Hell, his own team of digidestined even did it. Everyone thought of him as the leader of the second group, but Davis knew the truth. They never listened to him. They barely even respected him, not until he was pulling their asses out of a fire anyway. That's why Davis buried himself in his studies, forced himself to learn things he really had no interest in. Davis supposed Jun probably knew the real reason for his newfound ambition in expanding his mental capabilities, but he never actually told her. He never actually told anybody. That was a line he just wasn't willing to cross at the moment.

"Nothing." He said. "Nothing at all."

Kuri looked at him angrily. "Oh, I see how it works now." She said. "I'm the project right? Not you. All these talks, all this friendship stuff, it's just BS. You think it's your job to show _me_ the light, to change _me_. The off chance that I could actually help you with something never occurred to you, did it?"

Davis stared forward, at a loss for words.

"I guess not." Kuri said. "But why should have I expected otherwise? Shield, badge, uniform, it doesn't matter. I'm still the same person I always was, right?"

She got up from the booth and began to walk away.

"Kuri, I-"

"Save it, Davis. Too little too late. We are what we are." She disappeared through the doors.

Jun watched Kuri leave from afar and cautiously approached her brother.

"Is everything okay, Davis?"

"No." He responded truthfully. "We're both pretty messed up aren't we?"

"I wouldn't say that. I mean, everyone here has their own problems." Jun took Kuri's vacated seat. "It's just that yours' make you two perfect friends for one another."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

She reached over and tousled his hair. "That's something you have to figure out on your own."

Davis looked up at her suspiciously. "Yeah well, however 'perfect' for each other we are, Kuri hates me right now."

A few seconds of silence followed.

"Because?" Jun asked

Davis shrugged. "Because she thinks I'm hiding something from her or something, I dunno."

"Davis, don't play dumb with me. She's mad because you won't tell why you got so upset back there, isn't she?"

Davis squirmed in his seat slightly. "Maybe."

"So, why didn't you tell her?"

"Jun, it's kind of a sore subject you know. I mean-"

"You've never even told me."

"Yeah. But you know, don't you-"

"That doesn't matter Davis. I've spent a lot more time with you than she has. I'd be a poor excuse for sister if I didn't."

Davis frowned. There was a time when Jun actually wouldn't have known. But that was long ago, back when they had something of a genuine dislike for one another. Times had really changed.

"But with Kuri, if you really want to get to know her, you have to do it honestly. A friendship can't be built on hypocrisy. You can't ask for her secrets and not give any in return."

Davis seemed frustrated at this. "Secrets? How about what's behind her low self-esteem? I mean, she still hasn't told me why she thinks of herself that way. The most she's said to me is that she misses her older brother a lot. Stuff she'd tell anyone."

"And how do you know that that's common knowledge? She never told me she even had a brother."

Davis raised an eyebrow.

"That isn't to say I didn't know. Just that she never actually told me."

"So what am I supposed to do?"

"If you want her to tell you the truth about herself then you have to confide in her also."

Davis sighed. "And if she doesn't?"

"If you do it right, that won't even matter."

Davis contemplated his sister for a moment.

"Tai is right Jun, you really do need to be some kind of shrink or something." He rose from the table and turned back toward the door.

"Not sticking around?" Jun asked

"Nah, I need to go think."

Jun watched him leave. She knew that Kuri's problems were simple, really, compared to what was bottled up inside her brother.

* * *

The rest of Saturday and most of Sunday passed without incident. Jason had apparently decided that for the time being, he was better off staying away from the Odaiba digidestined for a while. Instead, he and his allies indulged in some heavy combat practice in the basement gym. A mysterious occurrence since it was something they didn't do all that often.

The whole academy was abuzz with talk of the upcoming combine and what it could possibly be. Many students claimed to know, but when pressed for information they only hinted that it would be a surprise, which, of course, meant that they really had no idea what it was.

After an intense session of study with Curtis, Clara finally figured how to create a proper starlet. She debuted in a most interesting fashion, guiding it so that it hovered right behind Terence's head as they studied D-History in one of the main hall's enclaves, and then asking him to turn around. This would've presented a potential risk of blinding to most students, but as usual Terence had been wearing sunglasses indoors, so it really only served as reason for him to be shocked enough to fall from his chair to the floor. He laughed good-naturedly when it happened. He always did when Clara pulled these kinds of pranks on him. He'd just have to one up her later. Such was the nature of their friendship.

Unfortunately the relationship between Davis and Kuri grew even more strained over the rest of the weekend. Kuri had decided to stay in her room in order to avoid Davis and as a result, though she was trying to portray a visage of anger, she sunk into a mild depression. Davis wasn't much better. He knew he needed to talk to Kuri but he just didn't know how to go about it, and instead he tried to pretend that nothing was wrong. But more and more as the day progressed he was starting to find that he was really miserable without Kuri around. He was beginning to see just how close they'd grown over the past few weeks. Try as he might, he couldn't avoid the fact that he really did miss his friend.

"Come on Kuri! You haven't eaten anything all day. You need some sunlight and fresh air."

Peko hovered over her partner, watching her as she lay on her bed, looking lifelessly at the ceiling.

Kuri reached out and grabbed her digivice. She raised it in the air so she could see its clock function.

"Peko, it's almost eleven. Kitchen's closed and the sun's gone down."

She allowed her arm to flop back down at her side.

"Kuri, what's wrong? I haven't seen you act like this in a long time."

"Haven't felt like this in a long time."

Peko sighed in frustration. She flew down to the bed and grabbed Kuri's hand. "Come on!" She said, pulling fervently. "Get up!"

"Why?" Kuri said, solemnly rolling over and sending the little digimon flying across the room.

The following silence told Kuri that Peko was trying to think of a good reason.

Kuri delved once again into her own thoughts. Over the past two days, they kept coming back to one central theme. Had she changed? Had she ever figured out how to be something that, for all intents and purposes, was so unlike her? Could she be compassionate? She thought she was figuring it out, especially with Davis helping her out. He didn't know it, but over the span of just a few weeks he had become one of the best friends she'd ever had. She trusted him, allowing herself to discuss things with him that she didn't even tell Kari. He did have the digimental of Friendship after all. And before they came here, he promised her that he would help her bring out her more redeemable qualities. Although she acted apathetic to the whole thing at the time, secretly she had hoped he was right. And then when Gennai gave her her shield, she really began to think there was something to what he said. But all that changed yesterday. He didn't trust her. For all they had built together, she was still his project, his unfinished work. He was fine as long as she was telling him things that were important to her, but when he had the opportunity to do the same, he didn't think that she could actually help him.

"Jerk." She said out loud. Why didn't he believe she could help him? Had she not changed over their time here?

Peko returned to her side and just watched her worriedly.

Kuri sighed. Part of her knew that this was an exercise in futility, going over these scenarios of self-doubt. She knew that her own faults weren't entirely to blame for her anger at Davis. The truth was she felt rejected as a friend. And over the 17 years of her life, this was something she never before had to deal with. Kari was so open and accepting, and before her, Kuri never really had any close friends. It just didn't fit right with Kuri that there could be someone else whose opinion she so highly valued.

Kuri's room door slowly creaked open and Sparks poked his head inside.

"Spsst." He hissed at Peko.

The worried Patamon flew over to him on the floor.

"Got a little betting action going on." He said with a devious smile.

Peko groaned. "What is it this time?"

"I was just down the hall outside Rosa's room and I um, overheard her talking to some other student here on her digivice. She said that they're gonna try to sneak downstairs to the kitchen to get some of those cookies we smelled Digitamamon baking at dinner."

"What?" Peko exclaimed. "Why?"

"Well, you know Rosa, I think the other person dared her."

"Makes sense. So, what's the bet?"

"Five bucks says they get caught by Enn and end up having to do early calisthenics tomorrow."

Peko thought for a moment. "Okay," she said. "You're on."

Kuri sat up. "You have got to be kidding me."

"What? You wanna get it on this?" Sparks asked.

"No." She said disdainfully. "I'm going with her. I haven't eaten all day. Might as well go on this suicide mission."

She took her digivice and tucked it into the nightstand drawer next to her.

"So Nai can't track us." She said in answer to the two digimon's questioning looks. "Well, can't track us easily anyway."

She walked toward them and stepped over them to exit the room. The she headed down the hall for Rosa's door.

Sparks looked dumbfounded. "That wasn't supposed to happen."

"Oh yeah," Peko said. "Odds are definitely in my favor now."

* * *

Davis sat cross-legged on his bed staring at his laptop in exasperation. He was trying to do an assignment for D-History, but was finding it very hard to concentrate. He blankly stared at the screen. This was one of the more boring assignments Counselor Gen had given them. Every few classes he would give the students little projects to do, mostly to appease Gennai, who insisted upon it as opposed to Gen's usual eccentric teaching methods. The counselor certainly loved to teach, and did so with a fun fervor. Since they weren't allowed to venture into the woods anymore, the class had become many students' favorite. Davis wasn't among this group, however, as he still harbored a remarkable amount of disdain for Gen.

"This is so dumb." He muttered, idly punching different keys and then deleting whatever was typed on screen.

This assignment in particular was to create a timeline of events in the digital world and their correlation to advances in computer technology in the mid-1960's. All in all, it added up to a boring night of staring at a blank computer screen for Davis. He didn't have to actually do anything at the moment, as the assignment wasn't due for a few days. The only reason he sat there, absentmindedly tinkering with his laptop's word processing program was that he had nothing better to do. Normally he would've spent such idle time with Kuri, playing Digital Strike, doing homework assignments, maybe practicing a few combat techniques, or sometimes just talking. Now, he had the uneasy feeling that he may have burned his bridges with her beyond repair.

Davis wanted to be able to share his secrets with her, as apparently she had already done with him by broaching the subject of her brother. But he just couldn't see how he could reveal something to Kuri that he hadn't even told his own sister. Sure, technically he'd known Kuri for years, but they'd only become close friends in the last month or so. To Davis, the sharing of innermost thoughts was an end product of a carefully crafted friendship, not a tool for building one. Still, Jun did say that they were perfect for one another, which spoke volumes more than his own twisted jumble of thoughts and beliefs. Davis could see evidence that this was true. Kuri was really the first friend he had that didn't take him for granted. She seemed to understand that he had his good and bad days, like anyone else. But most of all, she never associated his behavior with his intelligence. She was just too smart for that. Davis could be as aloof and goofy around Kuri as he wanted and she had never, for any reason, assumed he was dumber because of it, at least not out loud, unlike her best friend back in Odaiba. Really, what got to Davis the most was that, over the course of their friendship, he had accepted that Kuri would be the one with the issues, the one who needed his help. Characteristically, Davis had disregarded his own needs and was caught completely off guard when the situation arose hat Kuri could help him. He had frozen. Why, of all things, did it have to be that though?

If Kuri had asked about the reason he stopped wearing goggles, he would've talked. If she had asked about how it felt to lose his best friend to a girl who perennially argued with him, he would've talked. Hell, she could have inquired about his personal preference in noodles and he would've given her a detailed answer. But no, she had to ask about the one subject he just couldn't bear to talk about, with anyone. And now she'd taken his rejection to discuss it with her as a personal slight.

Davis stopped toying with the keyboard and stared ahead in realization. If he could share this with her, find some way to cross that unspoken barrier, then there was the chance she could help him get past it. Help him control himself. Then she would truly know what good there was in her. She would be able to see the fruits of her own compassion. But was the risk worth the reward? Davis had put himself on the line like this before, back when he wanted the newly reformed Ken to become a part of his digidestined team. His knew it fell well within his personality to do it again.

Davis heard a loud thump in the hallway outside his door followed by some irritated mumbling. He trained an ear toward the voice, which sounded like it belonged to Curtis.

"Can't believe this…knew I was just kidding around…gotta stop her…Enn's gonna kill us both..."

Davis listened as his footsteps descended down the hall. He put his laptop on standby and jumped up from the bed. Whatever Curtis was up to, it was far more interesting than timelines. Quickly slipping on a pair of shoes, he disappeared into the darkened hallway and headed down the stairs at the end

"-just stay here Taps, and try to keep quiet you guys. I'll be back in a few minutes."

Davis paused when he heard Curtis again, and quickly moved forward when he heard the room door open and shut. He walked into the living room to discover Pings, Veemon and Agumon on the couch, pouring over books that Taps was plucking from the wall bookshelf.

"Hey Davis, what're you up to?" Veemon asked when he saw his partner.

"Uh, following Curtis." Davis answered truthfully. "What are you guys doing?"

"We're looking up stuff on playing od-" Veemon began, before being shushed by Agumon and Pings.

"Nothing important." Agumon answered for him. "You guys aren't the only ones here that have to study, you know."

"Yeah, um, Sensei Enn gives us reading assignments when you're not around." Pings added.

Davis looked at the three of them suspiciously before turning towards the door. He couldn't afford to dawdle any longer or he'd probably lose Curtis, if he hadn't already.

"Uh-huh, well you guys just stay out of trouble, okay." He said opening it and heading out.

"Of course we will," Agumon said. "We told you, we're just studyi-"

Davis closed the door before Agumon could finish his sentence. He looked both ways down the hall and paused when he saw the familiar outline of Curtis' afro making a beeline towards the door that led to the Rec. room. Davis silently crept down the hall after him. He didn't need too much stealth, as only half the academy was awake at the moment.

When he reached the Rec. room door, Davis opened it a sliver. It was very difficult to see anything since the room was noticeably darker than the dimly lit hall. Davis squinted and opened one eye, allowing it to become adjusted to the lack of light. He could make out Curtis (again, by his unmistakable afro) and two female figures in conversation. Curtis was moving animatedly, and by the hissing noise that drifted to Davis periodically, he could tell he was whispering rather loudly. The two female figures, both of whom looked familiar but remained ambiguous for the lack of light, seemed very calm by comparison. The shorter one seemed to be laughing, or trying to stifle a laugh. After a few more seconds of conversation, she summarily grabbed Curtis' arm and dragged him out of the door leading to the main staircase. The other girl followed them both slowly.

Davis tiptoed into the room quietly.

"What do they think they're doing?" He whispered to himself aloud. "Curtis was right. Enn is gonna kill them if he finds them off of this floor after hours."

He broke into a small trot. Maybe he could catch them before they got into some serious trouble.

Davis was just about to open the stairwell door when he heard more whispering. He put his ear to the door.

"Are they gone?" Someone asked in a British accent.

"Yes, I think so." Answered an equally Russian one. "What are they up to?"

"Dunno." Said the first voice. "Getting into a spot of trouble, I wager. Much like us."

Davis recognized the voices as belonging to Jonathan, and that blonde girl from his Combat sessions, Nadia. Having had enough of being in the dark, both figuratively and literally, Davis opened the door.

He heard a muffled gasp and heavy breathing when he did so. Davis glanced around the stairway landing and saw no one there. He walked up to the banister and looked down, seeing no one descending the steps in the candescent moonlight.

Davis was perplexed for a moment before he determined that they must be on the flight of stairs leading up to the third floor. A few steps to his left and his suspicions were easily confirmed.

"What are you two doing here?" He asked the two huddled figures, hunkering down and covering their mouths. "Are you guys-?"

Jonathan's eyes widened when he recognized Davis.

"Oh, no. This isn't what it looks like, mate." He said. "We weren't snogging or anything."

"You weren't _what_?" Davis whispered, scratching his head.

"Er- nothing. Hey, you can come up here if you want to know what we're doing."

Davis looked at him uneasily. "Um, I think I'll pass on this one."

"Don't be silly." Nadia said. "He already told you we weren't making out. We're actually trying to find out what the combine is."

"By sitting on the stairs? We're not even supposed to be on the third floor."

Jonathan shrugged. "Well, technically, we aren't. We're kind of halfway, aren't we?"

"And we're not just sitting on the stairs. We're listening."

Now Davis was growing really skeptical.

"Listening to what?" He asked. "The complete silence?"

"Come have a listen." Jonathan beckoned. "You'll see."

Davis cautiously ascended the steps to where they sat and balanced himself on his haunches.

"Okay, now what?"

"Shhh…" Nadia admonished. "Listen."

Despite his growing irritation Davis remained silent. Soon, he began to hear the faint sound of voices coming from the wall beside him. He looked at Jonathan and Nadia in surprise.

"It's a vent in the wall." Jonathan explained. "Goes up to one of their rooms on the third floor." He smiled. " Nadia's idea, really. I just happened along at the right time. Right now we're listening to Willis and Keyan talking, hoping the combine comes up as a topic of conversation."

Davis nodded. Though a bit unscrupulous, their plan was sound.

"Has it?" he asked.

Nadia shook her head. "No, but there's still time."

The three of them fell silent again and listened to the faint sound of conversation descending through the vent.

"Today was nice." Davis heard a feminine voice say. He deduced that it belonged to Keyan. "It was good to spend the day together."

"It was." Another voice said. It sounded like Willis. "I wish we could do so more often."

There was silence for a few seconds.

"But we cannot." A sigh. "These are the only times I regret my decision to be a guardian."

"You can't afford to do that Keyan. You can't doubt yourself. We need you more than anything. They need you."

"And I need _you._"

More silence, this time much longer than the first.

"Keyan," Willis said. "This won't solve anything."

"But it feels so right. How long must we continue this way?"

"As long as we are here, and you're a guardian."

There was a frustrated sigh.

"I did not ask for this Willis."

"I know."

"He came to me. He sought my aid."

"Same with me."

"Then why can we not be together?"

"Because a guardian leads a solitary life."

Silence again.

"When this is over, I will no longer be a guardian. We will have won, and I will return to my previous life. And I will be with you."

"I won't lie. I want to believe that."

"But you do not?"

"There's too much we don't know yet."

"Then what do you believe will happen when this is over?"

Silence. Willis seemed to be thinking.

"You are right, of course. We will win and we will be together."

"I am heartened by the opening of your eyes to the truth. It was inevitable."

"Whatever." Willis said, a hint of mirth in his voice. "Come here."

There was a rustling noise, followed by a final silence.

"Well that didn't tell us anything." Jonathan said.

"Are you kidding?" Nadia exclaimed. "Did you hear any of that? Willis and Keyan are together."

"But that isn't what I we wanted to find out."

"It's still something." Davis said, pulling his head away from the vent. He hadn't realized just how far forward he was leaning to hear their conversation. "I wouldn't have thought Willis and Keyan were really meant for one another, if you know what I mean."

"Yeah, I know." Nadia said. "She's always so serious and secretive in History, and Willis jokes around in Laws all the time. Frankly, they seem like opposites to me."

"Well you know what they say," Jonathan said. "Opposites attract."

"Yeah right." Davis said, a dark look on his face. "I don't think so."

"Um, mate, I don't think it's a matter of opinion. It's based on magnetic poles, you see-"

Jonathan was interrupted by a faint rumbling on the stairs below them.

Instinctively, Davis stood up and looked over the railing opposite the vent. He saw the forms of Curtis and one of the girls he was with rushing toward the Rec. room door.

"Could you guys quiet down." Davis hissed. "You're going to get us all caught."

The two turned quickly and peered up at him in surprise.

"Davis?" said the girl.

Davis immediately recognized her as Rosa. It was so obvious now, he couldn't believe he didn't identify her earlier.

"What are you two doing?" Jonathan asked, before whispering to Davis. "Now, I'll bet _they_ snuck out for a snog."

Davis shook his head. What the hell was Jonathan talking about? He brushed it aside.

"We, uh, went down to the kitchen for a snack." Rosa whispered. "It was Curtis' idea. He dared me."

"What?" Curtis exclaimed. Everyone shushed him at once.

"Oh sorry." He said, lowering his voice. "But I did not dare her. I was just joking around."

"A dare's a dare." Rosa said with a shrug. "You guys want some sugar cookies? Freshly made, compliments of Curtis."

Curtis slapped his forehead in exasperation before staring up the stairs in realization.

"Hey, and just what are you guys doing here?" He asked.

"We were trying to find out what the combine is." Jonathan said. "Until you two came thundering up the stairs, that is."

"Sorry." Rosa said. "But how is sitting on the stairs going to tell you what the combine is?"

"There's a vent here that leads up to Keyan or Willis' room." Nadia said. "If we're quiet, we can hear everything they say."

"Nadia? Is that you?" Rosa asked peering uselessly up the stairs. "Well, now I know there may actually be something to this."

"Come on, Curtis," she said as she began to ascend the stairs. "This, I gotta hear."

"Why me?" Curtis complained as he reluctantly followed her.

Davis thought of something as he watched them.

"Hey, wasn't there someone else with you?" He asked Curtis.

Curtis looked at him suspiciously. "Yeah, there was. But how did you know that?"

"I um." Davis cleared his throat. "I followed you when I saw you leaving the room."

Curtis smirked. "I knew I wasn't crazy." He said. "It felt like someone was following me. Guess you still gotta work on that stealth a bit, huh?"

Davis rolled his eyes, unseen in the darkness.

Suddenly Rosa squealed happily. Everyone shushed her.

"Sorry." She said. "Nadia just told me that Keyan and Willis are together. Is that true?"

"Yeah, looks like." Davis answered. "But keep it down, please, before they bring their 'togetherness' down here with Sensei Enn."

"Oh, that is so romantic." Rosa gushed. "They're like star crossed lovers, like in a movie." She began to imitate the voice of the man who commonly did movie trailers. "In a world, where their love was forbidden…"

Everyone snickered at her antics. Even Davis had to smile slightly.

Abruptly the stairs were flooded with the glow of light from the third floor. Everyone heard the unmistakable sound of Enn's darkly acidic tone as he conversed with someone.

"What you need is a little fresh air to clear your mind, Gen." He said. "I'm about to do a patrol of the grounds. Why don't you come with me and I'll attempt to assuage your unfounded, if not moronic, concerns?"

"Well alright." They heard Counselor Gen answer. "Perhaps you will listen to reason also."

Enn chuckled fiendishly.

There were a few telltale thumping sounds as they began to descend the steps.

"Move!" Davis hissed.

None of the young digidestined needed to be told twice. They all bolted from their positions and headed for the Rec. room door. Davis waited for them to safely abandon the stairs before bringing up the rear. At the last second he saw a figure slowly trudging up the steps from the first floor out of his peripheral vision. It was the other girl Curtis and Rosa had been with earlier. Davis quickly stopped on an inclined pivot and sprung away from the door towards the figure. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the hems of Enn and Gen's robes as they turned the bend in the staircase and began to descend toward him.

Davis leapt forward, taking all the steps to the girl in a single bound. She looked up at him in surprise when he did so.

"Davis?"

"Kuri?"

The second floor light turned on and briefly illuminated the two of them before Davis pulled Kuri further down into the shadows.

"Come on. Sensei Enn and Counselor Gen are coming down the stairs." He whispered.

"What?" Kuri said, alarmed. She barely had to strain to hear the sounds of talking overhead. "Damn it, let's go." She said, beginning to quickly descend the steps, her earlier differences with Davis apparently momentarily forgotten.

They walked out onto the first floor uncertainly. The hazy, moonlit glow just barely made anything discernible.

"Where to now?" Davis asked.

"What're you asking me for?" Kuri said. "I hardly know what's going on."

"I just figured that since you were just down here, maybe-"

"Oh, so now you want to listen to me huh?" Kuri spat. "Now my input is worth something to you?"

"No, I- Fine, forget it." Davis said, "Let's just go in the dining hall. They're not headed in that direction."

Kuri quickly grabbed Davis as he moved in that direction.

"Um, let's not." She said. "I don't think it's safe to go in there at the moment."

Davis raised an eyebrow at her, knowing she couldn't quite see him in the darkness.

"Then where should we go, the basement?" he asked.

"No, the door's too loud and heavy."

Davis started to make another suggestion.

"And no, we can't go out main door. It's on sensors."

Suddenly, the bottom of the main staircase fell under to glow of the first floor stair light.

"Crap. Now what?"

"Option four." Kuri said. She grabbed Davis' arm a guided him to the door that that opened to the hallway where the auditorium and Professor Nai's lecture hall were located. They went through the door and watched the bottom of the staircase through its small glass panel.

Enn and Gen stepped off the stairway moving their hands in a way that signaled they were involved in conversation. After dousing the stairwell lights they began to walk directly toward where Davis and Kuri stood.

"Damn!" Kuri exclaimed. "We have to move."

She and Davis took off at a sprint down the hallway. After checking the auditorium and lecture hall doors (both were locked) they continued to the end of the hall and seemed to be caught at a dead end.

"Well, this certainly the appropriate way to end a crappy weekend." Kuri said.

Davis looked at the ominous wall in front of them contemplatively.

"Sensei Enn said they were going out for a breath of fresh air."

"And?" Kuri said irately. "How does that help us?"

"They're not gonna get anywhere coming down this hall…unless."

Davis began to feel his way around the wall, poking and prodding in various places. Kuri just watched him with interest. Unexpectedly a good-sized, rectangular portion of the wall lifted to reveal a glass door that led to the outside of the mansion. Davis and Kuri went through it immediately, saving their surprise for later. As soon as they exited the wall lowered itself again. Davis could've sworn he heard the door at the other end of the hall opening just as it did so.

"Nice one." Kuri said between quick breaths. "That was close."

Davis looked at her appreciatively. Just about anyone else would've been shocked that he found a way out of that hallway. But with Kuri…it was almost like she expected it from him.

He surveyed the landscape around them. They had exited from the side of the mansion and were facing a couple hundred yards of field lined at its edges by the surrounding forest.

"We can't stay here." Kuri said. "They're coming."

"I know." Davis said. He turned his attention to the mansion and began scanning it for any escape routes. In short order, he found one.

"Look," He said pointing to a spot about twenty feet away from them. "There's a service ladder in the wall that leads to that ledge up there."

Kuri looked at the ladder uncertainly, as if contemplating whether she'd rather climb it or wait and be caught by Gen and Enn.

"Okay, let's do it." She said finally.

Davis let her lead the way and climbed up behind her. He just managed to roll himself onto the steeply sloped ledge it led to before the wall opened again and Enn and Gen exited the mansion. He listened intently as they both walked directly under the ledge, continuing their conversation from inside.

"I just think you're putting the students under an inordinate amount of stress and danger." Gen said.

Enn grunted. "I would expect you to want to train them as weaklings." He said. "Fortunately, not everyone shares your pansy attitude when it comes to training the future defenders of the world."

"I understand what we're doing here, Enn. But it doesn't mean you have to take such a hard line on everything."

"It's very simple, Gen. All these students came here as essentially children. They will leave here as men."

"And the girls?"

"Don't be stupid, you know what I mean."

Their conversation faded away as they walked down the side of the mansion and turned a corner.

"Wonder what that was about?" Davis asked. He looked over at this partner in crime when she didn't respond.

Kuri was sitting despondently, staring at the starry night sky.

"I think we can go back inside now." She finally said after a few moments of silence. She began to get up from her precarious position on the ledge and turned to climb down the ladder.

"Wait," Davis said, grabbing her arm.

Kuri stared at him, a hint of fury behind the distant, glazed look in her eyes.

"Please," Davis said, swallowing a lump in his throat he hadn't known was there. "Can we talk?"

"Don't think we have much to talk about, Davis." Kuri said simply. "We can go back now. We should."

"Please." Davis said again, his voice filled with desperation.

They looked at each other for a long time before Kuri gave in. She climbed back onto the ledge.

"Okay, talk."

"I, uh, well," Davis had absolutely no idea where to start.

"Impressive," Kuri said sarcastically. "But if this is what you had in mind, I'm afraid you're wasting my time."

She moved like she was about to climb down again.

"I'm sorry." Davis blurted.

"You're sorry." Kuri studied him. "For what?"

Davis sighed. "I'm sorry…for not being a good friend. You deserve better."

Kuri sat silently, waiting.

"I-I should've told why I acted like that yesterday. But not just because you're my friend." He paused. "And you _are_ my friend." He emphasized. "But also because I need help with this. And I believe, well, I believe you can help me."

Kuri looked at him incredulously.

"Honest, Kuri. I get the feeling that you know what it's like to hold something private inside for a long time because you think people will only use it to hurt you." Davis stopped suddenly. "I, uh, I mean, because you're afraid you might hurt them."

Kuri ignored the hasty edit of his phrasing.

"What are you talking about Davis?" She asked. "What will others use to hurt you?"

Davis groaned inwardly. This wasn't going as methodically as he wanted. Already he was standing at that ledge, considering passing the point of no return. He felt something soft touching his arm. Davis looked up and was confronted by a familiar pair of piercing jade eyes.

"Look, Davis, forget yesterday. Yesterday was stupid, a mistake." Kuri said. "Tell me what's going on with you, please. Because I think you need to tell someone."

It was like she had turned a complete 180 from her attitude just moments ago. There was something in her voice, sympathy, a heartfelt concern for his welfare. It was so acute that it immediately affected Davis emotionally. He could feel hot tears beneath his eyes, yearning to be shed. It was all he could do to hold them back. Just like when Jun was insightful, or Tai courageous, Davis was starting to see the real power in Kuri's compassion.

"Kuri, you're Kari's best friend. You talk to her all the time, about everything I imagine. Tell me, has she ever said, you know, has she ever said anything about me not being smart?"

Kuri looked down at her lap. It was obvious where this was going.

"Tell the truth."

"Sometimes." Kuri said simply. "Sometimes she said things about you being slow." Kuri spat the words as if they were poison. "But I didn't know you then, Davis. If I knew you like I do now, I would've never let her say things like that."

"So you don't agree with her now that you know me?"

"No." Kuri said solemnly. She looked up suddenly. "And you know what? No one that knows you does either. Tai and Jun don't, I don't, Ken doesn't-"

"Ken? How would you know what Ken thinks?"

"As far as I know, Ken has always defended you when Kari or Yolei insulted your intelligence when I was around. He's a good friend."

"Yeah, I guess. That makes one of them."

Kuri stared at Davis for a while. He just sat brooding as he looked out over the academy grounds.

"Davis, why are you making such a big deal out of what others may think of you?"

"Why not?" He answered quickly. "I mean, look at where it's gotten me. In my life I've only ever wanted one thing so bad that I would do anything to get it. And I lost it. And you know why, Kuri? Because it came down to what she thought of me. What they all thought of me. I could tell that none of them thought I was smart. I was never their leader, even though everyone else may think otherwise. Tai was a leader. Me? I was basically an idiot that they were forced to bring along-"

"Davis, shut-up, okay. I'm going to be blunt here, so bear with me. Do you know how perfect TK and Kari are for one another? The writings were on the wall from day one, and your perseverance," Kuri paused for emphasis, "is the only reason you were ever in the game. You wouldn't give up. I mean, Hope and Light, knowing each other since they were eight, having similar, angelic digimon…plus anyone could see that they've had deep feelings for one another for years. Everything added up to them being together. And yet it still took damn near seven years for them to finally do so. Seven years, Davis. I know it's hardly a consolation prize, but that was all because of you."

Davis grunted angrily. "You're right Kuri, it is hardly a consolation prize. Maybe Kari didn't fit together as well with me as she did with TK, but that doesn't mean we couldn't have worked on it. She didn't have to reject me because he was smarter. I was working on it. I was taking classes. My grades-"

"Davis, I know you're not dumb. Ken knows it, Tai knows it, Jun knows it…and you know it too. Stop looking for an excuse for your losing Kari and face the truth."

"What truth?!" Davis practically shouted. "That I improved myself for nothing? That after all these years, after all that studying, applying myself to things I can honestly say I didn't give a rat's ass about, everyone still saw me as the idiot goofball? Even Cody! Even freaking Cody! Mr. Prune Juice himself! Even he found time to laugh at me! Damn them all, Kuri. Sometimes I really wish I never knew any of them. That's the truth."

Davis propped his elbows on his knees and buried his face within his arms to hide the tears he could no longer stop.

Kuri responded to his tirade in a quiet, even keeled voice. "No, the truth is that Kari and TK were practically made for one another. They're happy. And you know what? They couldn't even share that happiness with the world because they were afraid of what you might do. Don't you even care about that? I know it hurts. But you blew a perfect opportunity to show everyone what a smart and evolved person you were. You could've congratulated them. Honestly, what's a better sign of intelligence than the ability to lie convincingly? I mean, it's almost like you cared more about losing Kari than her actual happiness."

Davis looked up suddenly, remembering something Tai had told him months ago.

_"Honestly, I'm not sure I really thought she was the girl for me. I made myself think that so I could compete with Matt..."_

He shook his head. There was no way he was only interested in Kari from a competitive standpoint. He had liked her even before TK had shown up all those years ago. But did an honest like for Kari necessarily mean that the competition between he and TK didn't blind him from seeing the obvious in that she and TK belonged together? Was Kuri right? Should he have just given in to the inevitable? Had his greatest strength actually acted as a weakness in this respect? Davis rubbed his head. It was swimming with new thoughts and ideas he had never considered before. But it the end, it all came back to one.

"How can so many people be meant for one another, and yet no one is meant for me?" He said quietly.

"I'm sure, not so long ago, Tai and Jun were asking themselves the same thing." Kuri said. "But look at them now. Sometimes, I bet a fresh perspective is all you need."

Davis sighed. Kuri scooted closer to him and placed an arm around his shoulder.

"You're going to be okay. You know that, right?"

Davis nodded blankly. He didn't really know if he believed that, but a small part of him told him that he had to eventually. Otherwise, what was the point of anything? They both sat silently for a while, watching the distant treetops undulating in the cool night breeze.

"Kuri...Thank-you." Davis finally said, his voice hoarse with emotion. "You were right. It felt good to finally share that with someone."

"Well, um, you're welcome." Kuri said, her voice's insecurity giving away the fact that she didn't do this kind of thing often.

The ever so slightest of smirks crept into the corners of Davis' mouth.

"Anything you want to get off of your chest?" he asked.

"No. Tonight was your night." Kuri answered quickly, concentrating even harder on the distant forest. "But…perhaps later…"

Davis smile grew even larger upon hearing those last two words.

"What?" Kuri asked after glancing at him.

"Nothing." He said, still smiling. "I guess I just feel a little better."

Kuri eyed him suspiciously. "That's good-"

They both froze, hearing Enn and Gen's voices coming from the opposite side of the mansion from which they had departed earlier.

"That digimon's nothing but an old fool." They heard Enn say as the two rounded the corner and came into view.

"You shouldn't say that about Digitamamon. He's been a great worker for us since we hired him."

"Good worker or not, he's obviously crazy. 'Someone ransacked his kitchen.' Honestly. There was not one thing out of place."

"I think he would know his own kitchen better than we do, Enn."

"I highly doubt that. Senile fool." Enn muttered.

"It's that kind of attitude that makes me doubt the validity of this combine on Friday."

"We've been through this already, Gen." Enn said impatiently. "The only way to truly gage the students' progress in combat training is to pit them against one another."

"Its barbarism," Gen said. "What if one of them gets seriously injured? And you're allowing them to use attacks against one another? It's insane."

"Hardly. The uniforms should provide ample protection from rookie level attacks. And, if not, we have a fully stocked and staffed infirmary."

"How comforting."

Enn sighed impatiently. "In any case, we need to ascertain which students here are superior fighters, and which need further training. I've arranged that combatants be very similar in size, age, and style. No one will enjoy a distinct advantage."

"I still think this is a horrible idea."

"Duly noted." Enn deadpanned. "Now, since I'm done with my rounds for now, why don't we go back inside?"

"Fine with me."

They began to walk toward the hidden door before Enn stopped Gen with his arm. "Wait," he said. "Someone's out here."

Davis and Kuri glanced at each other apprehensively.

Enn slowly backed away from the wall, eyes closed. He seemed to be concentrating on sound. Suddenly he opened his eyes and looked away from the two interloping digidestined.

Davis chanced leaning forward a bit to see what Enn was looking at. There were two figures exiting the forest from one of the trails that led down to the lake.

Enn's voice boomed over the expanse. "Kamiya! Motomiya! Come here at once!"

The two figures stopped suddenly, and slowly began to walk toward him.

"What are Tai and Jun doing out here?" Davis asked Kuri.

"Dunno," she answered. "This should be interesting though."

They waited quietly for the two to reach Sensei Enn.

"Care to explain yourselves?" Enn said when they did.

"We were down at the lake-" Tai began.

"That much is obvious, Kamiya."

"-visiting Tom-"

"Ugh, one of those annoying otamamon. How many are there now?"

"-uh, seven-"

"And why are you visiting him after hours?"

"We weren't at first."

"Yeah, we sat down to rest and well, kind of fell asleep." Jun added.

Kuri watched the exchange amusedly. "Fell asleep my ass." She whispered to Davis. "They were down there making out, most likely."

Davis nodded, trying not to smile, before suddenly letting out a small gasp.

"What?"

"I just figured out what snog means."

"What?"

Davis scratched the back of his neck. "Um, nothing."

Kuri shook her head and ignored his cryptic behavior.

"Well, you should try to get plenty of sleep tonight." Enn continued below. "Because you'll certainly be getting some early work in with me before tomorrow morning's Combat session."

Jun and Tai groaned simultaneously.

"You can report back to your floor now. I'll turn the alarm off momentarily." Enn produced a remote control from his pocket a pushed a couple buttons.

Davis watched his sister and her love round the corner of the mansion, heading for the back door.

"Well you certainly were strict with them." Gen said. "Couldn't you have been a little more understanding?"

Enn sighed. "Gen, if you and I weren't technically the same person I'd…"

"You'd what?"

"Forget it, let's go inside."

Enn walked to the wall and tapped a brick near the bottom with his shoe. Once again, the wall opened to reveal the glass door. Davis and Kuri didn't move until both had entered and the wall returned to its normal state.

"Man, did you hear that?" Kuri said.

"Yeah, Tai and Jun are gonna be feeling real sore tomorrow."

"Not that, I mean what they were talking about before. I think we now know what the combine is."

"Yeah," Davis said, reflecting on the earlier conversation between the opposing instructors. He started to smile. "I guess we do."

"Come on, let's go back in."

Davis watched Kuri as she got up and began to climb back down the ladder. She gave him one last look before descending.

"You know," she said. "For all that talk yesterday about Curtis figuring out what the combine was, it was you who found the secret door and the ladder to this hidden ledge; two things that allowed us to eavesdrop on Gen and Sensei Enn. Davis, that stuff wasn't just smart. It was brilliant."

Kuri ended this by gracing him with a rare, infectious smile.

For a fleeting moment, before she disappeared from view, Davis could've sworn he'd never before seen anything so beautiful.

After entering the psuedo door, the two quickly retraced their steps back to the second floor, where their earlier party of digidestined, plus Tai and Jun, were gathered to greet them.

"What happened to you guys?" Curtis asked first. "Did you get caught?"

""No," Kuri answered. "We were a little less obvious than those two." She pointed at Tai and Jun. "Fell asleep. Really, was that the best you could come up with?"

"What? You saw that? You were outside?" Tai said, turning red and mirroring Jun, who stood next to him.

Davis laughed. "Yeah, we were."

"But how did you both get outside?" Jonathan asked.

"Long story." Kuri answered quickly. "And not really the important part."

"What does that mean?" Rosa asked.

"It means, that we have a juicy bit of news that I know you're all just dying to hear." Davis said. "If you promise not to tell anyone else…"

* * *

Well, that's it for this chapter, which was devoted mostly to character development. Next up: The Combine. Who will be matched up against who? Check back to find out! Oh, and please review. I have so few (outside of the ever-faithful Cyberwolf and Anthony, of course)… It's just hard to continue this without feedback. Thanks!


	5. The First Combine Pt 1

Well, guys, here it is, finally. The next chapter. Much thanks to all of you who waited patiently. I just had a lot of stuff going on with moving back to college and my grandfather growing very ill. (He seems to be recovering now)

I actually cut this chapter in half because I'm not quite through with the last part and I want to change a lot of stuff in it. I won't lie and say it will be posted shortly because, hell, it could be a couple days or a couple weeks the way things are going right now. Also, if I've gotten some of the digimon attacks wrong, please forgive me and go with it. I haven't seen the show in forever and I've never seen any of seasons 03 or 04. Anyway, without further ado, chapter 5:

* * *

**The First Combine (Part One)**

Friday came far too slow for those who were still in the dark as to the nature of Sensei Enn's mysterious 'combine.' For those that did know what it was, namely the Odaiba digidestined and their close-knit group of friends, it came all too soon. Over the past week, they all worked religiously on their combat techniques and attack strategies on the outside lawn and in the basement gym. Soon, some of the other academy students joined them, and figuring that this added training had something to do with Enn's upcoming exercise, deftly emulated their actions, hoping to gird themselves properly also. In addition to these students were Jason and his group, who had actually begun their hard training before any of them. Tai often said that he had no doubt in his mind that Jason had used some sort of underhanded trickery to find out what the combine was. Just as often, Jun reminded him that they had done the same.

On the day of the combine, the tension in the air outside the mansion was unbelievable. The entire academy was there; every student, every instructor, and every digimon, including all the otamamon, who seemed to be getting pulled through digital gates at an increasingly frequent rate. Tai could feel his heart beating madly in his throat as he waited in uniform, on the front lawn with the rest of his group. There was no doubt in his mind that he could beat anyone that was matched up against him, but two things gnawed at the back of his psyche. The fact that his performance would be judged, and the fact that he could end up facing one of his friends, or worse. Jun, who had been maintaining a façade of complete calm, furtively slipped her hand into his and squeezed tightly. Tai looked at her and gave a nervous smile. He glanced around the rest of the group. Davis, Kuri, Rosa, and Curtis stood together talking amongst themselves. Most likely discussing fighting strategies. Next to them, Terence was allowing Clara to practice submission holds on him. Tai thought he seemed to be enjoying it all too much. Behind them stood Jonathan and Nadia, who were just looking around wide-eyed, like proverbial deer caught in headlights. All of their digimon were gathered in a big huddle and seemed to be psyching themselves up with rituals reminiscent of pre-game routines before sporting events.

Nai, Krista, and Gennai walked into the midst of the group, requesting that they organize into a large, single-file circle. Everyone complied, backing away from each other until Gennai signaled that they had obtained an acceptable circumference. Tai looked across the newly created expanse to the students on the other side. It was huge. For a moment, he had the thought that perhaps Enn would have them all fight in the middle of the circle, but surely that was impossible. Throwing attacks in the midst of all these people? That just seemed dangerous.

As if on cue to answer Tai's question, Enn walked into the center of the circle. Surveying all the students with his characteristic contempt, he began to speak.

"In many of your eyes I see fear. How inconsiderate of you to grace me with such weak emotion. I am deeply offended." Enn hung his head in mock shame, then raised it just a quickly with an unsettling smile and a villainous glint in his eye. "But alas, I have no time to be concerned with such trivial matters. For today is truly a glorious one. Today, we will see who amongst you has taken your lessons to heart, and which of you has foolishly let them go to waste. Today you shall be submitted to...my Combine."

Enn stopped talking for added emphasis, allowing his gaze to float over half the circle.

"Well, that was corny." Terence muttered to Clara.

Enn turned to him.

Terence, who had long ago ceased to be bothered by Enn's scare tactics, just stared back, arms crossed and smirking.

"Mr. Dumars, you will soon find that this is no joking matter. I'll make sure of that."

Enn walked on and continued to scan the rest of the students calmly.

"I think you set yourself up with that one." Clara whispered to Terence when Enn turned away from them. "Now, you're probably going to be pit against someone really good."

"You know me. I love a challenge." He answered with a shrug.

Enn clapped his hands together. "Now I'm sure you all are just eager to get started so let's get down to business, shall we?"

He began to pace around the circle. "This combine is a test of all of your combat and fighting skills to this point in your tenures here at the academy. The rules are simple. I will pair you off into twos. And you two will commence fighting one another."

A collective gasp rose up from all of the students.

Enn raised his voice. "Not all at once, mind you. Only two at a time, of course. And only half of you here will participate in this round. The other half will fight midway through the next quarter."

There was still a slight nervous murmuring amongst the students. Enn smiled indulgently at their insecurity.

"I'm looking for certain skills throughout these battles; decisiveness, quick thinking, physical proficiency, mastery of attacks, endurance, and of course, proper exhibition of your strongest traits."

Jun consciously fingered her shield.

"Now, with some assistance from Nai and Willis, I will show you the rules."

Enn looked over at the two and crossed his arms impatiently. They were both bent over Willis' laptop, discussing something.

Willis raised a finger. "Just a sec." He said, without looking up.

"Bet they're doing field manipulation," Davis said. "Willis' laptop takes a longer time processing that kind of stuff."

"Yeah," Curtis agreed, unsurprised at Davis' aptitude in the matter. Laws was the only class he actually liked, after all. "It's almost like it was made for something else…"

After a minute, Willis shouted, "Okay! It's a go!" and gave a thumbs up.

Immediately, the ground in front of the students around the perimeter of the circle started to rumble and crack. From the cracks shot several steady beams of light, which began to join with one another as the ground broke up even further. Eventually, they formed a universal cylindrical column that seemed to reach into the heavens above. The top of the cylinder quickly descended back down into view and came together to form a rounded top. Sensei Enn stood in the middle of all of this, thoroughly unimpressed with the spectacle.

"This," He explained, "Is a barrier, built to make sure none of you interfere with any of the battles today."

"And also to protect you from crazed violence inside." Gen added from his position outside the circle.

Enn gave him a threatening stare. "I call the area inside this barrier 'the arena.' Those who are inside of it and in battle will not be able to see those outside. An added feature to prevent your natural tendencies to cheat and look for the easy way out."

"Willis, if you would please continue with the next step." He beckoned.

Once again, Willis and Nai were bent over his computer, working silently.

"Sometime today, perhaps." Enn said after a few moments passed.

"Patience, Enn." Gennai admonished.

The sensei looked at Gennai irately, but remained silent.

Finally, after a few more minutes, numerous flashes of light began to surround Enn. As each faded away they revealed objects such as boulders, trees, and large, cubed blocks.

"Finally," Enn muttered. "And here are your obstacles, or shields, depending on whether you all are warriors or cowards."

"Now, I'll explain the rules. All of you who are chosen to fight will be required to step into this arena and face your opponent. The penalty for not doing so is the very reason you're here. You will be forced to forfeit any chance of receiving a license as a professional Digital Knight."

The murmurs among the crowd resumed.

"How do we know who wins?" Someone shouted. "What are we supposed to do, kill each other?!"

"Might as well." Gen responded.

"Counselor!" Gennai said sternly. "Compose yourself."

Gen crossed his arms and juvenilely sulked.

"Of course you aren't supposed to kill each other. How in the blue hell would that make any sense?" Enn shook his head disgustedly and reached into his robe pocket. From it he pulled a very small gold chain.

"Each of you will wear one of these bracelets on your upper arm."

He grabbed the bracelet with both hands and gave it two quick tugs.

"As you can see, they're very durable. But with the right persuasion…"

He gave it one last pull and it broke apart in a flash of light.

"…they can be compromised. It takes three good pulls to complete the unlocking sequence and break these bracelets. The entire point of your battles will be to disorient your opponent enough that you can."

Enn pulled another bracelet from his pocket and laid it on the ground along with the first one.

"Since you all are already familiar with the protective capabilities of your suits I don't want to see any holding back. Use your attacks and developed abilities to their fullest extents. These uniforms were designed to prevent permanent injury from rookie level attacks. I want you all to keep this in the forefront of your minds as you battle. Lastly, I will be noting the more interesting battles and a little inventiveness will go a long way in my grading. Use your brains for once."

Xian Chan stepped forward. "Also remember, anyone is allowed to remove the bracelets, digimon or human. I advise you to use your resources to your best advantage."

Sensei Enn cleared his throat and glared at his assistant, clearly perturbed that he was giving out such helpful hints. "Now with all this arbitrary nonsense out of the way, let us begin. Pierre LeBleau and Diana Hill, please step forward. You're both up first."

A tall, sandy haired, French man, and an Jamaican girl of similar proportions stepped forward and shimmered momentarily as they slowly crossed through the glowing barrier. They were both accompanied by a Betamon and a Palmon respectively.

"Pierre, Pierre," Terence mumbled to himself. "Which one is he again?"

"The one that no one remembers." Rosa answered. "He's always quiet and sticks to himself most of the time."

"Yeah, I hear he's the famous 25 year old we keep hearing about at the academy." Clara added. "It's just a rumor though, seeing how he never talks to anyone."

"What about the girl?" Terence asked. "You guys know anything about her?"

"Of course." Curtis said. "Her nickname's Didi. She's a good hairstylist."

Everyone looked at him curiously.

"What?" He shrugged. "I was thinking about asking her to braid my hair."

"Really?" Rosa said. She looked at his head in thought. "Cornrows might look cool on you…"

"You think? I mean, because if you like it-"

Davis began to sing. "And they called it puppy looove…"

Rosa flushed with color. "Shut up." She said, kicking a rock at him. She glanced nervously at Curtis, who was shyly looking in the other direction. "You suck, Davis." She added.

"Aren't they just adorable at that age?" Kuri joked.

"Oh yeah, so full of affection and rage all at the same time. It's cute in a freakish kind of way."

Seething, Rosa balled her hands into fists and tried to ignore them.

"Okay, that's enough guys." Tai said, though he was smiling. "We've got more serious matters on our hands right now."

"Yeah, look." Jun said. "I think they're about to start."

In the middle of the luminous column of light the four combatants walked toward one another and touched hands. Pierre and Diana were both wearing the gold bracelets on their upper arm, above their biceps. Sensei Enn said a few words to them before exiting the barrier on the other side. The combatants went to opposite sides of the makeshift arena and watched the sensei, as if waiting for some kind of signal. He raised his fist in the air and slowly looked back and forth between them.

"Ready!" He shouted sternly. He lowered his arm quickly and decisively. "Fight!"

Diana and Pierre jumped behind a tree and a rock respectively and took cautious peeks to ascertain each other's positions. Their digimon, meanwhile, acted with none of their partners' reservation, rushing toward one another and disappearing in a flurry of wrestling and attacks. Before long however, Diana and Pierre lost their initial timidity and began emulating their digimon by running out into the middle of the arena, throwing attacks, and sometimes getting close enough to land the occasional physical blow.

"Man, look at Sensei Enn." Rosa said. "That's just creepy."

Tai pulled his attention away from the fight and looked up at the instructor. He was grinning almost sickeningly and his smile only became broader with each attack and punch that was thrown.

"He likes this battling stuff way too much. It's like breathing for him or something." Clara said.

"I don't know." Said Jun. "I get the feeling it's even more than that."

"Even after these last couple months, I still have a hard time believing that's Gennai." Davis said. "Or part of Gennai anyway."

"I know what you mean." Tai said. "He's just such an, well, you know, and Gennai's nothing like that."

"Maybe hidden personalities are easier to split up into, because, personally, I don't think he's much like counselor Gen either."

Everyone groaned.

"What?" Davis asked.

"Every day, you find some new way to remind us all of how much you don't like counselor Gen," Jun said. "Now you're comparing him to Sensei Enn in how different he is from Gennai."

"And trust me, there is no comparison there." Terence said.

"Fine, I guess you have a point there." Davis conceded. "But Gen still sucks if you ask me."

"Don't worry, we won't." Jun said with a smile.

"Well that was quick." Curtis said with a twinge of astonishment in his voice.

"What was?" Terence asked.

Curtis pointed to the arena. "The fight. It's over."

Diana lay on the ground panting as Pierre triumphantly raised her bracelet over his head and let forth a cry of victory. He looked like the prototypical victorious warrior, the adrenaline and drama of the battle causing him to do things that were normally out of character. Suddenly it seemed as if he realized this. He dropped his hand with the bracelet and extended the other to his fallen adversary. After a few more heaving gasps, she took it, and even managed a smile as she got up. They shook hands and Pierre shyly handed her her bracelet back.

"What is this?!" Enn bellowed, storming up and stepping between them. "Enemies do not behave in this way. LeBleau, you should never offer your hand to a fallen adversary. They will only break it." He turned his attention to the dark skinned girl on his other side. "Hill, if you are defeated by an enemy and they offer you a hand to help you up, break it."

Pierre and Diana both glared at Enn, but nodded nonetheless. Accompanied by their digimon they exited the ring in different directions. Pierre went and sat alone, away from everyone, whereas Diana was greeted and consoled by a small group of friends.

"Next up," Enn shouted. "Naji Tumpe and Rosa Ruiz! Please report front and center."

Rosa looked absolutely floored.

"What? Me? Already? No way. Is he nuts? I'm not ready."

The group responded with encouragement all at once.

"Yes you can."

"You'll be fine."

"We know you can do it."

"Bob and weave." (Terence)

Rosa still looked unconvinced.

"I got this." Clara said to the group, before walking up to her cousin. "Look, Rosa, I understand if you're scared. But if you think this is too much for you, that he's too strong for you to fight…"

Clara looked over at Naji and Rosa followed her gaze. He wasn't much bigger than her. True, he had some height on her but he was pretty skinny overall.

Rosa looked offended. "You think I think I can't take him? Are you kidding? If he beats me, I will be ashamed of myself. And his Gazimon? Please. Gotsumon won't have any problem with that little rabbit-thing."

Gotsumon looked up at his partner hesitantly.

"Um, are you sure about that?"

"Of course I'm sure." Rosa said, grabbing his arm. "Come on. We'll show him who's stronger. If that idiot thinks he can beat me, he's got another thing coming." She dragged her partner through the light barrier and toward the waiting Sensei Enn.

Clara turned back to the group with a satisfied smile.

"It's never hard to make a Ruiz angry."

"Yeah, don't I know." Davis mumbled

When Naji entered the battleground, he immediately struck up a conversation with Sensei Enn. "Did you say Rosa? Rosa Ruiz? Crazy headstrong Rosa?"

Enn nodded detachedly. "Yes, if that's what you call her…"

"Oh, no no no no- I'm not fighting her. She'll kill me."

"Mr. Tumpe, you will fight whoever I tell you to fight."

"No, I won't, and you can't make me."

"You will, or you will lose all chance of becoming a Knight. It's that simple."

"If it means getting my butt kicked, Sensei Enn, you can take this badge a shove it up your-"

"Not another word!" Enn rounded on the Kenyan digidestined quickly. "Mr. Tumpe, if I were you I would take great care at this moment not to say something I would greatly regret later. Besides, I highly doubt this particular brand of insolence is very helpful to your shield."

Naji faltered. "Fine, I'll fight. But I won't enjoy it."

"I don't really care." Enn said walking away to meet Rosa as she came up to join them.

"Ms. Ruiz, you certainly took your time. An unforeseen bout with cowardice, I suspect?"

"You suspect wrong." Rosa said, her eyes narrowed as she stared at her opponent. "Let's do this."

Naji nervously pulled at his collar.

Enn's sadistic smile returned. "Okay, a quick overview of the rules, as desired by my frail tempered colleague. Both of you will wear these bracelets on your arms." He handed the two combatants their gold bracelets and continued as they put them on. "As you should know by now, the uniforms will provide you with ample protection from most rookie level attacks. Anything goes for now. If either one of you crosses whatever ridiculous moral line that Gennai has set forth, I will intervene." Enn allowed himself a disgusted grunt. "Take your desired positions, wait for my signal."

He walked away and left Rosa and Naji to each other.

"Man, this certainly is crazy, huh?" He said, hoping to strike up some sort of situational bond with the angered girl.

"You're dead." Rosa said simply before turning and walking away to the side of the arena.

Naji gulped loudly and shuffled off in the other direction.

Rosa intently focused on Sensei Enn as he approached the spot where he had earlier given the signal to begin the previous battle.

"Ready Gotsumon?"

"I guess so."

"You guess so?" Rosa turned some of her temper onto him.

Gotsumon backtracked quickly. "No, I'm ready. I'm so ready. You wouldn't believe how ready I am."

"Okay, then let's give this loser something to remember."

Gotsumon looked at Naji's form, cowering behind a boulder in the distance, and had the thought that this battle might not last long enough for him to remember it anyway.

Enn lowered his arm swiftly and Rosa emitted a battle cry as she went charging across the field. Gotsumon followed behind her, attempting to look just as furious.

"Get her Gazi!" Naji cried as he desperately sprinted away from them.

The Gazimon looked repulsed at his partner's behavior but followed his command anyway. He fired a volley of white-hot electricity that impacted the small section of grass between Rosa and Gotsumon. The subsequent explosion of sparks was enough to knock the two off their feet and send them sprawling. Rosa rolled back to her feet first. She took a quick scan of the area and saw her partner getting to his feet also, a determined Gazi charging towards him. He barely had time to raise his arms defensively before the two collided with terrific force and went tumbling end over end in a flurry of attacks and flailing limbs.

Rosa started to help Gotsumon but saw that he was holding his own, landing rock fists for every time Gazi covered him in electrical arcs. Instead she decided to turn her attention to her own adversary. She looked around, wondering where the hell he had run off to.

"Naji, get out here and fight!" She bellowed.

"I'd rather not."

The voice came from somewhere behind her. Rosa turned around and tried to determine which boulder or bit of shrubbery he was hiding behind. Nothing looked suspicious or out of place. She proceeded forward cautiously, frequently scanning from side to side as she went.

"I can't believe you're supposed to be a Knight, running around and hiding all the time. This is sad."

"Ha! You're sad! Doing exactly what they tell you to all the time! Why don't you just stop fighting? We could be good friends, but nooo, you have to be all violent."

Rosa spied a clip of black cloth protruding from a tree directly in front of her.

"As you can see." She responded. "I have the shield of Will. And right now, I'm willing to kick your ass. So asking me to be friends with you isn't going to work at the moment. I'm kind of one track that way."

She continued toward the tree as she spoke, gradually lowering her voice so he couldn't tell she was getting closer to him. Easing up with her back to the tree, she slowly scooted around the side where she figured Naji's braceleted arm was.

"I don't think so." He said.

Suddenly the tree lit up with crackling electrical energy. Rosa, who had been hugging it pretty tightly, was forcefully rocketed forward through the air and hit the ground roughly before tumbling to a stop.

* * *

"Oh no, I have to help her!" Clara exclaimed from her position well outside the battle. She struggled forward, barely noticing Terence's arms wrapped around her torso.

"No you don't." He grunted. "You have to let her finish this on her own."

She tried to wrench from his grip but his hold on her was very sure and tight.

"Terence please, she needs me." Clara's shield began to glow brightly, illuminating them both in its unique cerulean shade. "Let me go. Can't you see? I have to help her!"

Tai and Jun rushed over to help Terence before the situation got out of hand. Tai helped hold Clara back while Jun tried to comfort her.

"You don't need to protect her all the time Clara. The uniform should be enough for that attack, right Curtis?"

Curtis didn't answer. He was too intently watching the action inside the barrier to comprehend what they were saying.

"See? If Curtis is worried then I know she needs me." Clara said, struggling against Tai and Terence's hold with renewed strength.

A sudden yell of pain interrupted their conversation.

"Look, she's getting up. I told you she was fine."

* * *

Rosa lay still for a few moments, catching her breath while hearing footsteps approaching her in the grass. She collected her scrambled thoughts until she could remember exactly what had happened. He'd caught her off guard. Set a trap for her. Drew her to the tree only so his attack would be most effective. Now he was walking toward her, to get her bracelet. Perfect. She had seen Tai and Davis in this same situation plenty of times before. She waited, concentrating on the sound of Naji's footsteps. They became louder, more distinct, until Rosa could discern he was only feet away from her.

"I'm sorry," He said. "But if this is the way it has to be. So be it."

Rosa felt his breathing become louder as he bent over to get her bracelet. She struck out, solidly connecting her foot with his abdomen. Naji cried out in a mixture of surprise and pain. He doubled over, so caught off guard by the sudden attack that he was in no way ready for the subsequent Rock Fist that Rosa threw right into his jaw. It sent him flying through the air and into the ground with a loud thud.

Rosa ran up to Naji as he groaned on the ground and reached for his bracelet. She got two quick tugs in before Naji quickly grabbed her by the shoulders, planted a knee in her stomach, and sent her flipping overhead. She landed with an improvised somersault and allowed herself a small measure of pride. That was a technique she had been working on with Mr. Chan. Both of them got up from the ground at the same time and turned to face one another.

"I see you got over your fear." Rosa said coolly, her hands balled into fists and at the ready. "Too bad for you. You were much better off running away."

"And I see some of the edge has been taken off of your anger." Naji responded, his own hands crackling with electrical energy. "Perhaps you've learned not to underestimate me."

"Don't flatter yourself. You got lucky."

This comment seemed to get under Naji's skin. "We'll see who's lucky!" He shouted, throwing a hand forward.

Rosa acted quicker than even she knew she could, diving out of the way as the electrical blast flew past and hit the ground behind her in a explosion of sparks and smoke. She got up and started running as Naji continued to fire attacks, each one landing just behind her, until she found cover, sprinting behind a large boulder. After taking a moment to catch her breath, Rosa chanced a peek around to see if Naji was coming toward her. Her risk was rewarded with a stream of electricity hitting the side of the massive rock and sending several stone shards flying into her face.

"Okay, can't stay here." She muttered to herself before turning to run. She was mildly surprised when she saw Gotsumon diving behind the boulder from the other direction.

"Not having much luck either, huh?"

Gotsumon shook his head fervently and ducked as another blast hit the other side of the large rock.

"I can't get close enough to land any attacks."

"Same here."

Rosa took another look around the boulder and pulled back quickly as yet another electrical blast singed past her.

"They're keeping their distance."

"Not as dumb as they look, are they?"

"Can't mistake crazy for stupid." Rosa said. "That Naji is so weird. Just a second ago he was ready to give up. Now he wants to blast us away. And Gazi, he's been psycho from the start, charging you like he'd lost his mind. Man, of all the digidestineds and digimon here, we had to get the two insane ones."

Another blast hit the boulder. This time it quivered with the impact.

"Do you have a plan?" Gotsumon asked desperately, squinting as debris flew over his head.

"Do I _ever_?" Rosa answered. "In the time we've known each other, when have I ever gone into something with a plan?"

Gotsumon thought for a moment. "Point taken. But we might need one now."

Rosa ducked as two successive blasts hit their cover. "Okay, how about we switch things up?"

"What?"

"Let's split up, come back together and switch it up. Maybe they won't expect that."

"Um-What?" Gotsumon repeated.

"If they're too busy concentrating on each of us, then…"

"Oh, I get it."

Another blast, another stone shower.

"So, are we doing it?"

Gotsumon looked up at the boulder, now tattooed with a spider-web like pattern of cracks.

"Do we have a choice?"

"Nope. Let's go!" Rosa shouted. They emerged from opposite sides of the boulder just before it exploded into bits of gravel.

Naji and Gazi tore after their respective counterparts, keeping up an unrelenting volley of attacks. Using every bit of her energy and the adrenaline pumping through her veins, Rosa ran to one end of the arena and turned left, tightly hugging the wall of solid light and ducking every time one of Naji's attacks glanced off of it.

At the other end of the arena, her partner had turned right, and was going through the same routine with his own tormentor trailing closely behind him.

After a few moments that seemed like hours, they came into view of each other and ran a beeline for one another. As they came closer together, Rosa had two streams of attacks to dodge; The ones from Naji that were routinely skimming over her shoulders, and the ones fired by Gazi which landed on the ground near her feet as Gotsumon dodged them in turn. The two continued to run towards each other at top speed, seemingly hell bent on crashing into one another.

* * *

"What are they doing?" Curtis exclaimed. "How does this help them?"

Clara's body language echoed his sentiments. She was throwing her hands in the air and shaking her head.

Tai looked on with the eyes of someone who'd seen countless battles before.

"I see what they're getting at." He said. "Just watch."

* * *

Rosa and Gotsumon were only feet apart when the former shouted, "You're high, I'm low!"

Gotsumon responded with a slight nod of his head and leapt high into the air, rearing his fist back for a powerful attack. Rosa countered by diving toward the ground and doing the same. The air between them lit up with intense light at the moment they both jumped, as two of their pursuers' attacks collided with one another.

Naji prepared to fire another attack at Rosa, his anger and concentration on her keeping him from seeing the gray form bearing down on him from overhead. Likewise, Gazi was preparing to fire an attack at the leaping form of Gotsumon and never saw Rosa approaching at ground level.

Two resounding cracks signaled the end of the conflict as Gazi and Naji were knocked to the ground by twin rock fist attacks, increased in strength due to the forward momentum of their launchers. Both Rosa and Gotsumon had to roll to stops before looking back on the fruit of their teamwork.

"Yes!" Gotsumon shouted, after seeing the forms of their opponents lying on the ground. He jumped in the air with his fist raised in a twirling victory dance. "We are the greatest! I knew we'd win!"

"Gotsumon," Rosa said calmly. "Get the bracelet."

"Oh, yeah." The digimon responded sheepishly before walking over and plucking the gold band from Naji's arm. "Now we're the greatest."

Rosa smiled. "Or something like that."

The barrier surrounding them became translucent once more and Rosa could see her friends celebrating joyously. Sensei Enn stepped through the light, walked toward her and stopped, calmly surveying Naji and Gazi as they dazedly sat up on the ground.

"Three to none. Not bad, Ruiz. The battle should've lasted longer, but I suppose I can't fault you that your opponents were complete incompetents."

"I guess you got what you wanted." Naji muttered, tenderly rubbing his jaw.

"Mr. Tumpe, I wanted a true battle. In what way did that ridiculous spectacle even resemble one?"

Naji opened his mouth to reply but Enn placed a hand up to stop him.

"Spare me the excuses. Ms. Lee and Mr. Chan have taken ample notice of your fighting deficiencies. If you have something to discuss, please do it with them."

Enn turned his back them and began writing on his clipboard again. "You four can clear out now. We're done here, and there are many more battles to be fought today. Leave the bracelets."

Rosa shrugged and dropped hers to the ground before heading back toward her cousin and friends. She was slightly taken aback when Naji ran up to walk beside her.

"Good job." He said, extending a hand.

Rosa shook it cautiously. "Um thanks."

There was awkward moment of silence.

"Yeah, that last move was really nice. I didn't even see it coming."

Rosa felt herself almost blushing. "Yeah, well, Sensei didn't think it was all that great."

"That bastard." Naji cast a dark look over his shoulder. "I'll bet he was impressed. He just never wants to show us that stuff. He'd rather we all sat around, plotting his death."

Rosa smiled. "You know, you weren't so bad yourself."

Naji waved her off. "Don't lie. I know I'm not that good a fighter. Every time I get into a fight, I tend to lose it. My mind, I mean. Well, the fight too. That's why I try to avoid them."

Rosa didn't really know how to respond, so she gave him a consoling look.

"You'll get better. That's what we're here for, right?"

Naji shrugged. "I suppose." He looked up. "Hey, you better go celebrate with your friends." He nodded to where Rosa's group stood smiling with Clara at their front, frantically beckoning her over.

"Heh, I guess." Rosa said as he turned away, toward his own group of friends. "Hey Naji." He turned back.

"What?"

"Um, thanks. You know, for-"

"Being a gracious loser? Don't mention it. It's what I do best." He gave her a half smile and continued on his way.

Rosa looked after him sadly for a moment before walking out of the arena and into the barrage of congratulations and hugs that was waiting to greet her.

There were roughly fifteen battles between the time Rosa triumphantly exited the arena and Sensei Enn called Terence's name. Each one seemed to top the last in time and brutality. In over half of them the digidestineds involved had completely forgotten their ability to form digimon attacks and the fights had devolved into awkward dervishes of wrestling, punching, and occasional kicking.

"It's like martial arts." Terence had commented. "It's all nice and pretty at first, but the second anyone gets in a real fight, they forget everything they've learned."

When Enn called his name out, Terence seemed almost eager to fight.

"You guys are about to see some revolutionary stuff here." He said cracking his knuckles. "I apologize in advance if any of your world views and beliefs are turned completely around-"

"Just get in there and fight." Clara said, shoving him in the back playfully.

"And win." Tai added with a push of his own.

"Okay, but only because you guys asked so nicely. Come on Pings." Terence headed toward Enn, in the center of the arena.

"Your opponent's Steve Hitchcock." Curtis called after him.

"Yeah so?"

"He's a pretty big guy." Davis added.

"You know how it goes, the bigger they are…" With a wave, Terence and Pings melted through the barrier.

"The harder they hit." Clara mumbled. "He shouldn't be so cocky."

Curtis frowned. "Wouldn't be my brother if he wasn't."

Terence seemed bored throughout Enn's pre-fight speech and at one point actually yawned just to get on the Sensei's nerves. Enn gave him a look of obvious disdain.

"If I were you Dumars, I wouldn't take this so lightly. I know that you have certain…vices. And, accordingly, I chosen an opponent who will not only push all your buttons, but will also push you over the edge. A man with such secrets should never act as confident as you do."

Terence looked at Enn, puzzled. Cryptic as his instructor was acting, Terence thought he had an inkling of what he was talking about, and part of him grew uneasy.

When Enn left to give the start signal, Terence put the thought aside and gave his opponent a once over. Davis was right. This guy was more than big, he was huge. Terence estimated that he stood at least six foot ten or so. His shield, which seemed tiny by comparison, read 'invention.' His digimon partner was a Muchomon, a bird like digimon that looked exactly like Pings except that he had a red and orange color pattern rather than deep purple and blue. The huge guy extended a meaty paw forward.

"I'm glad I am fighting you." He rumbled, his voice very low and deep, as they shook. "My sister is a very big fan of yours. She has posters of you all over her wall."

"Well, uh…thanks." Terence said, finding a conversation he'd had hundreds of times in the past suddenly awkward.

"She has always been a traitor to her homeland, my sister. Personally I think you're good, but overall your music pales in comparison to the likes of Celine Dion and Alanis Morissette, our true patriots."

"Okaay," Terence said, now thoroughly confused. "Why don't we just get into our positions before the battle starts?"

"Of course." Steve said. "Come along Flareze. "

He departed with his digimon to their end of the arena. Terence looked after them apprehensively.

"Something wrong?" Pings asked as they walked to their own position.

"Something about that guy. I dunno. I think he's a loon."

"That's not a nice thing to say."

"You think I care? I'd much rather know whether or not I'm matched up against a guy who's seven feet tall and completely nuts." Terence scowled. "'Cause that could present a problem."

"Speaking of problems, do we have some kind of plan of action?"

"Yeah, you keep Flareze busy, I'll take care of Steve."

"Put a lot of thought into this, did you?"

"Look, we don't need some big, complicated plan. If I make sure to stay under control and use attacks, that gives us a leg up on ninety percent of the people who've fought today."

"If you say so."

"I do." Terence glanced at Enn, who once again had a fisted hand raised in the air. "And here we go."

The hand dropped, and the fighters charged forward.

They matched up accordingly; Pings and Flareze heading for one another while Terence and Steve did the same. Terence noticed that Steve didn't seem to be veering away or even forming an attack. He was just running towards him, which was intimidating enough with that imposing frame. Terence had the thought that he could use a slide attack on Steve's legs when they met up, maybe catch him off guard. The thought was tossed aside, however, when Steve suddenly yelled out, "For Canada!" and an intense neon flame shot from his hands and surrounded his body. Steve continued to run forward, the flame perfectly synchronized with his movements so that it formed a living shield of sorts. Out of the corner of his eye, Terence noticed Flareze doing the same thing.

"Pings! Break off!" He shouted, turning toward a cluster of blocks to his right.

The Penguinmon did so immediately, following Terence without question.

"Weren't expecting that, were you?" Pings panted.

"Um-no." Terence said, peering over a block to see that Steve and Flareze had stopped running and were now walking determinedly in their direction, the flames still surrounding them. "That's some kind of skill they picked up, there. I was expecting normal attacks, you know. Not walking flamethrowers. That's not good." Terence shook his head as if to affirm his beliefs. "On the other hand, did you hear what Steve said? For Canada? I told you that guy was crazy. Maybe we can use that against him..."

"Or maybe he just really likes his country?"

"Yeah, right. Canada? I mean, come on. You have to be nuts to have that much pride in freaking Canada. Well anywhere really. He could be yelling 'for America,' or hell, 'for Earth' and I'd think he was batshit insane."

"I like Canada."

"Pings, you barely know anything about the place."

"I know it's cold. That's good enough for me."

Terence rolled his eyes. "Okay, new plan. Don't fight them just yet. I can't get to his bracelet without scorching my hand so we've got to find a way to put those flames out. Try whatever you can, but don't get too close."

"What about slide attacks? They involve ice."

"Yeah, but not enough. Just enough to slide forward on and that's it. We need something more powerful than that to match up with them. And since we don't have anything like that, we need to bring them down to our level instead."

"Come out, Yankee!" A deep voice commanded. "Face true northern retribution!"

Terence gawked at hearing that. "Yankee? Did he say yankee? See, I can't get with that right there. I'm from the streets of Atlanta, and this idiot is calling me a yankee?"

"Well, technically, Atlanta still counts as part of-"

"Pings, do not finish that sentence, I am not a 'yankee'."

Pings stifled a laugh. "Um, so are we going to fight or what?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah…yeah. If either one of us finds out anything useful, we tell each other, okay?"

"Got it."

The two touched fists and took off in opposite directions.

"This kind of dumb stuff only happens to me." Terence complained as he ran through an array of obstacles. "I should've known when Davis and Kuri told us about this last week, that I'd be the one matched up against a crazy, seven foot tall, flame covered, Canadian."

He ran out from behind one last block and stood in an open field. He glanced around, searching for any sign of his opponents. Walking forward with all his senses piqued, Terence began to go over scenarios in which he could put out fire with the materials around him. "Rocks, no, that would just piss him off. Trees? God, I'm the only fool here who'd think about using wood to put out a fire. Maybe dirt? Yeah, dirt might work. It like a combination of sand and flour, and both of those put fires out, don't they?"

Terence heard something that resembled and angry roar behind him. He turned to see Steve violently crashing through the menagerie of object he had taken cover in earlier.

"Found you, Yankee!" He bellowed. "Stop running like a coward and fight!"

"Running? I was just taking a little walk. Don't blame me if you got lost."

Steve scowled. "Where is your partner?"

"Where's yours?" Terence said in turn. "See, I'll bet that's why you got lost. You just don't understand the buddy system. It's there to help people like you, don't fight it."

"You always talk this much?"

"Hell, I don't know. You always walk around looking like The Human Torch?"

Steve's eyes narrowed. "You're not funny."

"Not trying to be. Just stalling 'cause I'm not trying to get my ass roasted."

"Well it isn't working."

Terence took a fleeting glance at his backside. "Call me crazy, but it doesn't seem to be on fire at the moment."

"Only because you're backing away like a coward."

Terence scratched his head. "Um, do you not understand the meaning of 'stalling?' "

"No, but I understand the word 'chicken'" He stopped and stared a Terence over a pair of crossed arms, a supreme smile playing across his face.

"What is that supposed to do? Make me so mad I just blindly charge you? You know, it still hasn't escaped my notice that you're surrounded by flames."

Steve was obviously growing more incensed with every word Terence spoke.

"Fight me!"

"You getting rid of that fire?"

"No!"

"Then I respectfully decline."

"Arrrgghh!" Steve launched himself into a full run at Terence, who reacted by kneeling quickly and thrusting his hands into the ground. Just before Steve reached him, Terence came up with two handfuls of moist earth and tossed it in the air between them. At first the sly maneuver seemed to work. Steve stopped and threw an arm defensively in front of his face, eyes closed as the soil rained over him. Then, as he realized what had happened, he stood upright again and Terence resumed backing away.

"Dirt? You thought dirt would defeat me?"

Terence shrugged.

"Let us get one thing straight. Fire is for novices. I do not deal in fire. I deal in flare."

"That stuff they make you wear if you work in a restaurant?"

"What?"

"Or do you mean the other flair, like flamboyance? You know, a Broadway-Glee type deal?"

Steve grunted in agitation. "Do you know what flare is? What it represents? What it does?" He was now flexing his muscles, advancing even more menacingly.

"Um- I think it's obvious that I don't."

"Flare is the evolution of fire. It has all of its strengths, none of its weaknesses. It is superheated plasmic light, the culmination of years of digital evolution. It can't be smothered, or extinguished with water. It does not need oxygen to burn. It is the ultimate energy release. And I control it. I hold its power within my grasp, to do as I please."

"That's nice. I'm happy for you. Really. I'm not just saying that."

Suddenly, Terence felt his back bump into something hard and rough. He turned momentarily and glimpsed the jagged brown bark of an Oak tree he hadn't realized was there.

"End of the line."

Terence appraised Steve's stance silently. His back was literally to the wall now. He had to strike now or surrender.

"Don't think so." He said, striking out, admittedly foolishly, with a series of quick jabs to Steve's gut. The heat was overwhelming. Still, it took four punches before Terence could even instinctively pull back. His boxing style had always been quick, a gift from his father, who was an amateur middleweight himself.

"Damn!" He grunted, shaking his hands as if trying to get the searing burn to fall away.

Steve smiled. "My turn."

The warning was not nearly enough for the pained Terence, who only saw a fleeting visage of orange and red before Steve bore down on him with a powerful roundhouse punch to the chest.

It was like forged steel, coldfire, the feeling one must have in their lungs after running a hundred miles outside on a day when the temperature is hovering around thirty below zero. The searing pain tore through Terence's chest in increments. First torturing his skin, then his tissues and internal organs, and finally, it seemed, his very soul. All before he hit the ground. Hard.

* * *

Tai was once again holding Clara back. She wasn't trying to move with the fervor she had earlier to reach Rosa, but it was still obvious that if she wasn't forcibly restrained, she was going to help Terence in any way possible. Tai had the thought that they would have to go through this routine every time one of the group was involved in a fight that didn't actually involve her.

Curtis stood solemnly, focused on his brother writhing on the ground inside. He was mouthing something. Jun noticed him and moved closer to hear.

"Round two baby. Come on shake it off. Get back up. Get back in there. He got you good with that one, but you're not out, you still got this. Use your head. Don't lose it. Keep it together, stay calm…"

He kept up this mantra with a quiet intensity, repeating the last part over and over. Jun watched him curiously. It seemed as if he'd done it before, almost like a built in routine.

* * *

Terence couldn't feel anything beyond his intense pain. Its acuity was so great that it overrode the rest of his senses also. He couldn't hear Steve approaching him, and didn't even have the presence of mind to open his eyes and look. He could only wait, his breath coming in ragged gasps as the pain started to wear away. As the burning throbs gradually subsided Terence could finally feel his arm hanging limply in the air, being supported by something. There was a tugging, solid and persistent. His mind latched onto something. The bracelet. The bracelet was on his arm. The bracelet had to be pulled to be removed.

"No…" Terence mumbled, his voice slightly slurred and incoherent as the remnants of his pain continued to ebb at him.

"No!" He repeated, gaining some cognizance and flailing his arm wildly away from his assailant's grip. Terence's eyes opened and a blurry world cleared and came into view. He saw Steve standing in front of him, over him actually, because he was on the ground, his back propped against the tree. Steve was no longer surrounded by the flare, apparently choosing to let it down while he tried to take the bracelet.

"Oh no you don't." Steve said menacingly. He drew back a large closed fist and decked Terence with a vicious right cross.

The sheer strength of Steve's punch was enough to send Terence into another complete daze. He crashed to the ground and rolled a few feet, his jaw numb with the shock of the angry Canadian's five-knuckled fury. Moments later, he heard the giant's plodding footfalls as he approached him again.

Suddenly, there was a yell, a familiar voice, followed by a crash. Terence forced himself to a sitting position and desperately tried to make sense of the world spinning before him. He saw a blur that vaguely resembled Pings frantically darting around a much larger one that he could discern was Steve. Through his pain, Terence forced a small smile. Pings had saved him. They continued their weird dance, the large one grasping desperately for the smaller one. Terence's vision finally came into full focus in time for him to see his partner assaulted from behind by a streaking ball of flame. Pings yelled at he was thrown at least twenty feet through the air and came down with a sickening thump.

"Thanks, Flareze." Steve said, brushing himself off.

The digimon nodded and began to run in Pings' direction before his partner stuck out an arm and stopped him.

"Not necessary. I can end this slaughter now." He looked ominously at Terence. "Just one pull left."

Terence stared back at him evenly, an element of anger building up in him.

"Do it."

Steve raised an eyebrow. "Oh, I suppose you're mad now or something? That's supposed to change the fact that it will be cold day in hell before you can match up against me? Look at you. Battered, broken. None of that's going to change just because you're pissed now. You know the odds. You felt the burn."

Terence reflexively clutched at his chest. He was somewhat surprised at what he felt. Everything was there, everything normal. The uniform had done its job. He'd felt the pain, but hadn't sustained any of the damage.

"Yeah, I felt the burn. So? Is that all you had?"

Steve's eye twitched a fraction. Terence saw his salvation in the involuntary movement.

"Because if it was, well whoop-de-damn-doo. Stop the presses. Flare, the evolution of fire, the most explosive plasmic element known to the digital world, the substance that is insulted when compared to mere flames, feels, 'gasp' hot. Hell, I've touched stoves that were more painful."

There was now a vein in Steve's temple that was beginning to throb.

"And you call me a coward? You walk around with that stuff surrounding you. What are you afraid of?"

His burly adversary was now starting to gnash his teeth, his eyes narrowing.

"I'll answer that for you. You're afraid I'll kick your ass." Terence forced a grin. "And I would, too. I'd lay all six feet whatever of you out on the ground, easy."

Steve was breathing very deeply. It was ragged, guttural. The kind of breathing a man did when contemplating unspeakable things. Terence knew he had him at the breaking point. He just had to do something to push him over.

"Oh, and by the way, Canada sucks."

Steve emitted a loud frustrated roar and took a wild flailing swipe at Terence, who easily avoided it by leaning back. This incensed Steve even more and he took another swipe. This time Terence continued his out of reach lean into a full backwards somersault to his feet.

Steve then dove forward, his anger blinding all common sense. Terence easily sidestepped the attack and turned to look for Pings as Steve crashed through the foliage behind him.. He saw the Penguinmon sitting some distance away on the ground rubbing his head. Terence began to run towards him somewhat gingerly, as the pain from Steve's attacks had yet to wear away completely, when Flareze blocked his path.

"You're not going anywhere without giving us that bracelet." The digimon said forcefully.

"Um," Terence searched his mind for an idea. He looked up, feigning seeing something important behind Flareze. "All right, Pings! Get him!"

Flareze turned quickly, falling almost too easily for the ploy. Terence rewarded his gullibility with a swift hard kick to the rear. He watched the flaming digimon sail through the air in satisfaction, the toe of his Academy issued boot smoking from the sudden heat.

"Just like the Fourth of July." Terence said with a grim smile, saluting. "God bless America."

He continued his trek to Pings and helped the digimon to his feet.

"You okay, man?"

"Yeah, he just sucker pun-er-burned me. I think I'm fine though. Uh-oh-"

"What?"

Pings pointed over Terence's shoulder. "Your crazy friend's coming."

Terence turned to see a fully flared Steve bearing down on them at a full gait.

"Uh," Pings scratched his head, "At this point have you considered running?"

"The thought crossed my mind."

The two took off as fast as they could, slightly slowed by the attacks they had incurred earlier, until they reached the group of blocks they had hidden in before. Though burned a bit, the blocks still served their purpose in providing the two with ample cover.

"We have to figure out a way to get past that flare." Pings said, panting.

"Thank you Obviousmon." Terence said.

"Yeah, well it might be obvious but we still have to figure it out."

Terence sighed. "You're right."

"So, what do we do?"

"I don't know. Why are you asking me? You got a working brain too. Well, I might be giving you a little too much credit there-"

Pings ignored the slight. "You always pull ideas out of nowhere when you need them. It's why you got that shield. Just pretend you're in the studio or writing lyrics for a song that needs to be done in five minutes."

"Which is usual. Okay, what do we know about flare?"

"It hurts."

Terence frowned. "Thanks, really helpful there."

"You're welcome."

"Besides 'it hurts' we also know that the full-body flare is an ability that Steve and Flareze came up with themselves. It's not a digimon attack. It's like they mastered an element of one of Flareze's attacks."

"So?"

"Well, maybe we can do the same. I know it's kind of on the fly, but maybe we can come up with some kind of ability to even the odds."

"Oh, I get it. We fight fire with fire."

"No, we fight fire with ice."

Pings scratched his head. "The slide attack? But earlier you said-"

"No, not the slide, just the ice. What if we focus on the attack without sliding? What happens then?"

"I-I don't know. The slide has always been part of the attack. I mean, if you don't do the slide, then what's left…?"

"Let's find out."

Pings looked at his partner unsurely.

"Concentrate on the attack," Terence said, closing his eyes. "Just concentrate on the ice and ignore the slide."

"O-Okay, if you think this will work."

Pings closed his eyes also and did as his partner instructed.

Terence focused on the attack intently, repeating its name over and over in his head. He pictured himself diving though the air as usual, his hands creating an icy path and cover so that he could slam into his target with great force. After a few seconds, he opened his eyes and was surprised at what he saw.

His hands were covered with a thin, flexible layer of ice. Several wispy tendrils had snaked their way further up his arm, forming a crystal like pattern where they ended and his uniform sleeve began. Terence glanced at Pings, who was still concentrating, and let out a gasp.

"What?" Pings asked, looking up at Terence apprehensively.

"Look at yourself. You're completely covered in ice."

Pings looked down at himself. "Holy crap, I am! But I'm not frozen?"

"Yeah," Terence said, looking at his hands. "It's something about this digital element stuff. Fire is flare, ice is, well, something that's not really ice…"

"Either way, this means we can fight now right? We can get through that flare if we're covered in ice."

Terence nodded. "Hell yeah, it's time to start dishing some of this punishment back out."

There was a sudden crashing sound that sounded pretty close.

"Get out here coward!" Steve shouted as he crashed through a group of blocks about ten feet away from them. He looked absolutely enraged. His chest was heaving with each breath he took.

"Looks like your guy's pretty mad." Pings said, with the ever so slightest of smirks. "Good luck with that."

There was another crash behind them. They turned to see Flareze looking much like his partner, absolutely pissed.

"This ends now! No more mercy!" He screamed with a wild, wide-eyed look.

"And your guy doesn't seem to have appreciated me kicking him." Terence said flatly, returning Pings' smirk. "Guess he's pretty mad too."

"Thanks a lot."

"Anytime."

Steve and Flareze charged at the same time, both emitting vicious, blood curdling screams. Terence and Pings instinctively split up, so each could take on their respective opponent. Pings and Flaeze met head on and glanced off of each other into adjacent blocks. Pings got up and noticed he still had his ice shielding and hadn't sustained any real pain.

"Hey, Terence! This stuff really works! Great idea!"

"Nice to know!" Terence yelled back, busy dodging a flurry of punches Steve was throwing at him. He noted that Steve's punches were sloppy and slow, very easy to avoid. This kid definitely was no boxer. Still, the frequency with which he threw them prevented Terence from launching any punches of his own and kept him in a constant mode of ducking and weaving. Soon enough, however, Steve stopped throwing anything that even resembled organized punches and was just blindly flailing at Terence, trying to do whatever he could to hurt him. Terence backed away from his crazed attacker until his foot touched something solid behind him. He turned to see a long series of small steps that lead to the top of a particularly large gray block. He continued to back up them, dodging Steve and sometimes blocking his attacks with an iced-over hand. When they reached the top, Terence took advantage of the approximately fifteen square foot space to back away from Steve enough to recover and compose himself. He looked at his hands, then his opponent, and set his jaw firmly. The time for backing and running away was over. Now he needed to fight.

After some apparent deliberation in light of their current location, Steve charged Terence once again. This time, rather than having to chase his adversary, he was greeted with a wicked punch to the gut, followed by another two to his chest. Though stunned, Steve was able to avoid Terence's next punch, aimed for his head. He grabbed his arm on the follow through and held on tightly.

Terence's world burst into blinding pain once again. He tried to jerk his arm away, but found Steve's hold to be far too tight. The two entered into a sadistic dance of sorts, with Terence trying to pull his arm away in a panicky fashion, eyes closed as he tried to block out the burning pain, and Steve calmly watching him writhe and smiling as he was pulled around the block.

Just below them, Pings and Flareze's conflict had degenerated into nothing more than the equivalent of a digimon street fight. Both of their powers being neutralized had forced them into a series of body attacks. They were exchanging slaps at the moment, the bird equivalent of punches. After a couple of timely dodges Pings abandoned the slapping strategy and slammed a shoulder into Flareze at full force. The sudden contact combined with Pings' new ice shielding, was enough to send the surprised Muchomon into an adjacent grey wall. Several cracks slowly formed behind him. Shaking his head, he slowly got up and gave Pings a deathly angry stare. The flare around him began to change colors, first becoming a bright yellow, then blue, then almost white hot.

"Now I'll show you how advanced my abilities really are!" He shouted. "Even Steve can't do this!"

The air around him was immediately superheated and his visage became wavy and blurred with the flare's intensity.

Above, Terence was continuing to try to wrench his arm away from Steve. The intense pain was almost bringing tears to his eyes. After a couple of his more desperate attempts, Steve actually started to laugh.

"I would get that bracelet of yours," he said. "but this is a lot more fun, you struggling at my mercy.""

Something finally snapped in Terence. A semblance of the temper he had long ago, before becoming a musical artist. The temper his father had instilled in him back when it was assumed he would be a boxer. The temper of a dream deferred, rising from the ashes, like a fire, which dwarfed even the flames that surrounded his opponent, no longer shooting blinding pain into his arm. Terence looked up suddenly, and stared directly into Steve's eyes. His gaze was like a mixture of steel and flame, solid and volatile at the same time. Steve balked as Terence stood up directly, apparently ignoring the intense heat of his flare. Steve tried make quick reach for Terence's bracelet, but was stymied when his suddenly invigorated opponent grabbed his arm and gave it a sharp twist.

"You bastard!" Steve yelled in surprise.

"Let go" Terence said calmly, twisting his arm even further.

Steve grunted in pain but didn't release his grip. "You are in pain every bit as much as I am, probably worse. What makes you think you have the upper hand?" He yelled out and closed his eyes as his arm was wrenched yet again.

"This." Terence took advantage of Steve's momentary lapse in focus to forcefully break from his grip. Without even taking a moment to check his arm for permanent injury, he reared back with his right hand and brought it forward with every bit of force he could muster. The overhand, ice-covered, punch smashed solidly into Steve's temple, sending the giant staggering backward and causing his flare to disappear, as he could no longer concentrate on keeping it burning. Terence quickly reached forward for Steve's bracelet and used it to pull him back within reach, where he promptly gave him another crushing punch. This time an uppercut to the jaw. Terence could hear the clicking of Steve's teeth as they gnashed together from the powerful shot. Steve stumbled in a lazy circle before attempting a sloppy swing at Terence's head. Pushed on by a quiet rage, Terence was offended that he even wanted to continue fighting. In a move motivated by both frustration and finality, Terence again tugged Steve's bracelet to pull him back within reach and this time grabbed him around the neck by his other hand. He grunted angrily and pushed Steve to the edge of the block.

Below them, a stunned Flareze looked up in surprise. The white flare he had been building up faded away.

"Steve? What happened? How did you get up there?"

Steve responded with only a garbled answer. A result of the mixture between numbness in his jaw, and Terence's hand around his throat.

When Flareze realized what was going on he shouted, "I'm coming!" and turned to run around the block, assuming there was a way up on the other side. Before he could even take one step, however, Pings nailed him with a perfectly timed Slide attack that sent him right back into the block, this time beak first.

Above, Terence paid no attention to the goings on below. He continued to hold Steve's neck roughly while giving him a crazed stare.

Steve looked back at him smugly.

"You've lost it," he mumbled through swollen lips. "You don't have what it takes. You are a madman."

Terence screamed and smashed his fist into Steve's face one final time. The punch was so forceful that the ice surrounding Terence's hand shattered upon impact and showered them both in a rain of frost and mist. Steve began to fall backwards over the edge of the block, but Terence reached out quickly and grasped his bracelet, suspending his unconscious body in the air.

He could've saved him, could've grabbed his arm and pulled him up so as to prevent serious injury from the fall, but at this point, Terence just didn't give a damn. The bracelet gave a telltale clicking sound, snapped from Steve's arm and Terence reared back and delivered another crunching overhand shot before watching dispassionately as his foe's massive limp body fell and crashed violently upon Flareze below. Pings was rooted to his spot, looking at his teammate with appall.

"T-Terence…was that necessary?"

Terence didn't answer. He turned away from Pings and walked down the steps behind the block. He was hardly surprised to see Sensei Enn waiting there to greet him.

"Not, bad, Dumars."

"I'm sure you got what you wanted." Terence said darkly, dropping his and Steve's bracelets on the ground as he roughly brushed past him.

"I believe I did." Enn called after him. "But, I hope you now realize, there are no secrets you can keep hidden from me."

Terence seemed to ignore him and kept walking.

Enn turned and looked at Steve and Flareze disgustedly. "Wake him up." He told the muchomon, who had just laboriously crawled from under his partner. "We'll have a hard enough time getting through the many other combatants today without the losers laying unconscious in the middle of the arena."

Pings exited the arena to see a group of very concerned looking digidestined.

"Where'd he go?"

Davis jabbed a thumb in the direction behind him. "Took off that way. Didn't even say anything to us."

Pings started to head in the indicated direction when Curtis stepped in front of him.

"Let him go, Pings. Trust me."

"He's my partner-"

"I know, and as his partner, the best thing you can do for him is give him time to sort this thing out."

"What?" Clara exclaimed. "Did you see what just happened in there? He could've seriously hurt that guy. And if he blows up like that again, there's no telling what could happen to him. Somebody needs to talk to him."

"Well, thanks for volunteering there." Kuri said

Curtis held a hand up. "No, he's my brother. I know him better than you guys. Trust me when I say he doesn't want to talk to anybody right now."

Jun, who had been quietly observing Curtis since those first tense moments of Terence's battle, decided to speak up. "This has happed before, hasn't it? And not just once either."

"Yeah…" Curtis eyed her warily.

"And he normally deals with it alone?"

Curtis nodded.

"I don't know if we can afford to let that happen anymore." Tai interrupted. "It worked out fine today since this was Sensei Enn's exercise and he seems to like over the top violence. But when it comes down to it, Gennai is the one who decides which of us become Knights and which don't. I don't think he'll give anyone with that kind of temper the authority that these badges represent."

"You're right, Tai." Jun said. "Very insightful."

Tai continued, trying to hide his blush at his girlfriend's complement. "So, um, I know you don't support this, Curtis, but I really think one of us needs to talk to him. Most likely Clara."

"Wait," Rosa said, "How come Clara has to do it?"

"Because she's the only one of us that actually _wants_ to." Davis explained.

Clara looked at them all impatiently with her arms crossed. "You mean none of you cares about what happens to Terence or the next person he gets in a fight with?"

"Oh, I care about it alright." Tai said. "But I've never been what you would call a good people person."

Jun felt a small pang in her heart because she knew he was referring to his isolation from his old friends back in Odaiba. She instinctively reached for Tai's hand and held it.

"I care about Terence also." She said. "And normally I would talk to him, but honestly, I think you're the best person for the job, Clara. There's a chance he'll listen to you."

Kuri clapped her hands together. "Well that's a ringing endorsement if I've ever heard one. Good luck."

"I don't know about this." Curtis said. "We used to always let him work these things for himself, back when he was boxing."

"We?" Asked Rosa.

"Yeah, me and Dad. Well, mostly Dad since I was too young to really understand what was going on."

"And it never worked huh?"

"What do you mean? He would come back after a while and it would be like nothing had happened. Everything would be ok."

"But that was just a temporary fix," said Tai, "because apparently he's still doing it today."

"Yeah." Curtis nodded solemnly.

"What makes him lose his temper like that?" Jun asked. "Up until now, he's been a happy-go-lucky kind of guy at the Academy."

"I don't really know. I think it has something to do with Dad though. Dad always pushed him really hard. He said he was trying to give him a fire to use in the ring. But the way that 'fire' manifests itself sometimes…I don't know. Sometimes I think Dad made Terence into something he really wasn't. Hurt him more than helped. That's a big part of the reason we went to live with Mom after our parents divorced. She always said his real talent was in singing and songwriting. And if you look at the success of his singing career as opposed to his boxing one, you can tell she was right."

"So what you're saying is, this berserk –temper thing all goes back to your father?" Kuri asked, her interest suddenly piqued.

"Probably."

"Well, I can understand that. Parents can affect their children more than they can ever know. More than they even care, really." Kuri said the last part with a dark look, her voice slightly laden with emotion.

Davis glanced at her in surprise. Where had that come from? There was a moment of silence before Clara cleared her throat.

"So, uh, is it safe for me to go talk to him?" she asked.

Curtis shrugged. "Maybe. Dad never did, and he never let me. And this is the first time this has come up since he got into singing."

Tai spoke up. "Well I for one trust Terence. I'd like to think I've gotten to know him pretty well over our time here. And I think Clara will be just fine-" He stopped mid-sentence. "What the hell is he talking to Enn about?"

The rest of the group looked in the direction Tai was squinting. They saw Sensei Enn having what seemed to be a surprisingly cordial conversation with Jason Smith, nodding importantly as the crafty student talked quietly into his ear.

"Nothing good." Davis said through gritted teeth. "You can bet on that."

Suddenly a yell emanated from the arena and everyone looked up to see a girl raising a bracelet over her head in victory. Another girl, her opponent, lay on the ground with her hands shamefully draped across her face, groaning. Their digimon, a wormmon and a tentomon respectively, both were panting with excessive exhaustion. After a few moments, Enn distractedly strolled into the arena and dismissed the two girls and their digimon before announcing to everyone that they would be breaking for one hour for lunch (and showers for the combatants). All the academy students slowly came together began to file their way towards the mansion.

"Where do you think I can find Terence?" Clara asked Curtis in a hushed tone, so no one around them would overhear.

"I dunno, most likely his room."

"You sure? I mean, somewhere that obvious?"

"It's the only door in the academy that only he can unlock. Trust me on this."

"Okay, if you say so." Clara sped up her walk and left the rest of the group to disappear into the crowd of students.

"Man, she seems real driven to help my brother." Curtis said to no one in particular.

"Well, she is trying to protect everyone from his temper, not to mention him from himself." Jun said. "And protection is her area of expertise."

Davis looked at his sister skeptically. "You, of all people, know there's more to this than that."

Jun smiled. "And yeah, she probably has other motivations. But you have to understand, this is the first real emotion Terence has shown around Clara since we've been here. After a while, a girl gets tired of flirtation and wants to see if there's something real."

Tai put an arm around Jun's waist. "Tell me about it." He said.

"They've been flirting?" Curtis asked with a confused look.

"Brilliant and clueless at the same time," Tai said smiling. "It's amazing how much you remind me of Izzy, Curtis."

Curtis scratched his head, not sure if he'd just been complemented or insulted.

A familiar voice shouted from behind them. "Hey, nemesis. You think you can keep your friends under control from now on?"

Tai sighed and turned to see Jason and his group confidently strolling up to them.

"What do you want?" He asked with disdain.

"Just a friendly warning. Things will be getting a lot more interesting after we come back from the break." Jason made a point of glancing between Jun and Davis before beckoning his followers forward as he disappeared back into the crowd. Helga and Ahmed gave their counterparts unusually long stares also before falling in behind Jason.

"What was that about?" Davis asked.

"Couldn't have made it more obvious, especially since he was over there talking to Sensei Enn." Tai said grimly.

Jun looked at him curiously. "You think…?"

"Yep, you and Davis are up after the break."

_To be continued…_

* * *

That's it for now. I hope it can tide you guys over until I can get the second part of this chapter finished. Once again, thanks for your patience during these trying times.


	6. The First Combine Pt 2

Whoa, been awhile huh guys? Sorry, college life has been extremely taxing these past few months. Not to mention, I met a girl, fell in love with her, and was betrayed and cheated on by her during a concurrent timeframe. All this combined to make it very hard to continue updating this fic. Real life can be really difficult sometimes. 'sigh' Anyway, "Digital Knights" continues below. Please review. Sometimes it takes a nice bit of encouragement to continue writing these things. Also, please forgive me if I get anything about the digimon attacks and abilities wrong. I didn't really get to see much beyond 02, so, a lot of the time, I'm just making educated guesses.

* * *

**The First Combine (Part 2)**

Clara was surprised at how nervous she was as she timidly knocked on Terence's room door. She'd been having second thoughts about doing this ever since entering the mansion. What had led her to believe she needed to talk to Terence? What if Curtis was right? What if he could figure this out for himself? What made her think she was so necessary to helping him get through this?

Clara tried to shake the doubtful thoughts away and knocked on the door again. She could hear a brief rustling on the other side, followed again by silence. Letting out a quiet sigh, Clara knocked once again, this time harder.

"Go away Curtis, I'm fine." A muffled voice said from inside.

"This isn't Curtis."

A long silence again.

"What do you want?"

"I want to talk to you."

Silence.

"Well…I don't want to talk."

"That's okay, you don't have to. Will you listen, though?"

Clara was surprised as the door suddenly swung open and she came face to face with a sedated looking Terence. As her eyes drifted away from his calm gaze, Clara noticed he wasn't wearing a shirt. He was chiseled, likely due to a religious workout routine, and looked every bit the mahogany god he seemed to be in his music videos. Terence smirked at her expression.

"Depends. What do you have to say?"

"I-uh-" Clara sniffed the air inquisitively. "Is that incense?"

Terence exasperatedly rubbed a hand across his face. "Yeah, honeysuckle."

"Uh, what, it helps you calm down or something?"

"…Maybe. Look, if you came here to talk about incense…" Terence made a gesture for Clara to leave.

Instead, she pushed her way into his room and turned around. "You know full well I didn't."

Terence turned and closed the door behind him. "Ok, then what do you want to talk about?"

"Why are you playing so dumb? You know I came here to talk about the reason you have to calm down in the first place."

"Look, it's no big deal. I can handle it."

"Uh, this isn't all about you, Terence. You could've seriously hurt someone out there."

"But I didn't. I knew he had the suit on."

"That's not gonna fly with me. Curtis told us that this has happened before. At times when nobody had any suits on to protect them."

"But they had sparring gear, and we were wearing gloves…"

Clara sighed loudly, rolled her eyes, and sat down on Terence's bed. She stared at him pointedly.

"What?"

"Look, I might not be all that great at doing all that stuff in Professor Nai's class, but I'm not a complete idiot."

"Good for you, I guess, but what's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that I know those guys were only wearing protective gear because you all were in organized fighting."

"And?" Terence crossed his arms defensively. "I swear, you and Pings with this obvious stuff..."

"Terence, what happens when you're fighting somebody outside of a ring? I mean, that's what we're here for, right? When we're done here, we're going to take everything we learn here into the real world. What happens then? When some battler or somebody takes a swing at you? What are you going to do then, kill him?"

"Of course not."

"If you hit them like you hit Steve, you will."

"Did you see what Steve did to me? How was that any different?"

"He never hit you in the face with that fire."

"It was flare, and he would've if he could."

"But you don't know that, because he didn't."

Terence shifted his weight, a sign of growing irritance. "What's your point anyway? The uniforms protect all of us, including our faces."

"It's right and wrong, man. When he had you down he punched you normal, without any, er, flare. But when you had him down, you choked him, laid into him with an ice covered fist, and dropped him off a two story block."

"Damn," Terence said, slightly smiling, "I did, didn't I?"

"It not funny, Terence." Clara said, her voice wavering. "It's scary. You could hurt somebody, even yourself."

Terence softened immediately. "Look, I'm sorry Clara, but that's how I was trained. And it might sound harsh, but it never let me down as a boxer."

"But you're not a boxer anymore Terence. You're a singer. You don't fight, you love, you inspire."

"Clara, if I didn't fight, I wouldn't be here."

"That's not true. I don't fight. I protect. That's why I'm here."

Terence began to pace the room. Staring at the ceiling. "I wish things were that simple for me."

"They can be, if you stop holding everything in. You need to tell somebody something. You think people like being scared for you, Terence? If we knew what was going on with you then maybe we could help somehow."

Terence snorted. "Some things just can't be helped."

"Fine, I'll give you that, but can we at least find out if that's true in this case?"

Terence stared at Clara for a long period. She felt as if he was boring a hole straight through her skull.

Finally, he asked, "Curtis told you about my dad?"

Clara nodded.

"Well, there you have it."

"Have what?"

"Everything. Everyone has their issues from childhood. Well he's mine."

"Go on."

Terence strolled to a corner of his room and picked up a baseball. He began tossing it back and forth between his hands as he talked.

"I don't know what it was, maybe he just never thought I was good enough for him. A good enough boxer anyway. He always pushed me. He always wanted me to be angry, to 'have that fire' as he would put it. He'd put me through hours of redundant training for no other reason than to make me mad, to push me over the edge. He would send me in to spar with other fighters to the point of exhaustion, and he would pay them to not let up, not until I snapped and landed that one punch that was way too hard for a simple round of sparring."

Terence shook his head. "It always ended that way, me apologizing to a guy with a broken nose, or a lip that needed stitches…sometimes a cracked jaw."

Clara grimaced at each malady.

"But every time I crossed the line, Dad was always there to congratulate me. He was always there to tell me what a great job I did of expressing my rage. He was always there to be happy as he turned me into something I wasn't. I knew what was going on though. I mean I wasn't completely stupid. Soon enough, all that rage and fire and whatever other BS names he came up with for it, was being thrown back at him. Man, by the time I was fifteen, we couldn't so much as look at each other without fighting. About that same time, him and Mama were the same way. When they finally divorced, Dad was such a drunk mess that it was hardly a question of who was getting custody of me and Curtis."

Terence stopped. He had his back to Clara at this point. He turned his head slightly and looked at her out of the corner of his eye.

"What?" She asked.

"I'm just trying to figure out why I'm telling you all this."

Clara shrugged. "Well, you had to tell somebody, and from what Curtis said earlier, I think I might've been the first person to ask."

Terence looked thoughtful for a second. "That's possible." He smiled mournfully. "How sad is that? Anyway, I tried to continue boxing and after a while, Mama started coming to my fights. She never did before because she said she didn't like the way dad pushed me. Well I guess she didn't like what she saw in me either, cause after the first one, she was trying to get me to quit. Everyone always told me I was a beast in the ring, and it was true. I mean, at least half my fights ended in disqualifications."

"So how did you end up becoming a singer?" Clara asked, just barely aware that her curiosity was leading the conversation away from the reason she was here.

"That was all Mama. She wanted me to find something I was good at that didn't involve the violence and brutality of boxing. So she put me in our church choir because she heard me singing a couple times in the shower and thought I had some real talent. I'll admit, I was a much better singer than I was a boxer. But I found out after I got into it that the real talent in my singing was my ability to write music that lifted the spirits of others."

"Getting inspiration and inspiring others."

"Yeah, I guess so. That's pretty good."

Clara grinned. "Yeah, just call me Jun."

Terence laughed.

The sound had the strange effect of reminding Clara of the person she had seen earlier in the Combine, seemingly so different from the one currently standing before her.

"So, why do you still have that anger, that fire in you?"

Terence turned serious again at her question.

"I don't know. Until today, I didn't think I did."

"Oh." Clara was at a loss for words. She didn't know quite where to go from here.

Terence noticed this and figured it was his opportunity to ask a question.

"Can you tell me something, Clara?"

"What?"

"What is it that you see in me? What attracts you to me? I mean, how well do you know me?"

"Wha-?" Clara blushed. "What do you mean? What kind of question is that?"

"Come on, for a moment let's just put it out there in the open. You're feeling me, and to tell you the truth, I'm feeling you too. Yet this is the first time we've really talked without all the flirting and arguing. We don't really know each other as well as we should."

Clara was caught off guard by Terence's sudden honest divulging of his feelings. She just sat on the bed, staring at him with her mouth slightly agape.

"I'm saying this because I find it really easy to talk to you. I mean, is this what I've been missing the past couple months?" Terence paced to the other end of the room, still tossing the baseball. "It's like one of the songs from my first album." He cleared his throat and began singing the lyrics.

"Lonely hearts searching , reaching for a goal

that person that's waiting, longing to be whole-"

Clara interrupted him. "Before it lasts forever, together til the end,

Before you are my lover, Will you just be my friend?"

Terence looked at her in surprise.

"What? Everyone knows "Proposal." It was big even in Mexico, well, the translation anyway. But I always enjoyed your version more."

"No, no, it's not that. You just sang it…really well. Have you always had a voice like that?"

Clara answered with a shrug. "Yeah, like you I was in the church choir growing up. Catholic church choir, so the songs were probably a bit different."

Terence chuckled. "I would think so."

"My Abuela put me in when I was eight, and I've been singing ever since. So I guess I have her to thank for my voice- er, I mean, it's nothing special-"

"Are you kidding? It's angelic. How could you not tell me you could sing like that?"

Clara smiled, blushing madly.

"See? That's what I'm talking about. We don't even really know each other. I know there's something between us that's good and right. I mean, I'll be honest, I've had plenty of girls in the past, but I've never been able to talk to any of them like I just talked to you. But that's because I was never interested in them as anything but objects of affection."

"So, we should just be friends huh? Is that what you're trying to say?"

"Well, not _just_ friends, let's let the chips fall where they may. I just don't think we should act so dumb around each other just because we like each other. I'd much rather talk to you like this than keep playing those games."

Clara rose from the bed and sauntered up to Terence, stopping with their faces just inches apart. "You sure that's what you want?" she said, suggestively blinking her hazel flecked eyes.

Terence swallowed a lump in his throat and tried to nod, unsure whether he was actually performing the motion or not.

"Okay," Clara said. "Well that only leaves one thing, you have to apologize to Steve."

"What?!"

"Well, I wasn't going to say that at first, 'cause I didn't want to make you mad, but since were 'friends' now…"

Terence grimaced and hung his head. True, she had made him mad, but he couldn't let things between them regress this quickly.

"Okay," he said regretfully, "but on one condition."

"What?"

"Every week you have to come here and practice singing with me."

"Are you serious? I'm not that good a singer."

"Yes you are, and otherwise, Steve won't get any apology from me."

"Okay, okay, fine. But if I start dragging you down, remember, it was your idea."

Terence smiled. "That won't happen." He walked to his dresser a picked up a neat stack of clothes. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to take a shower."

"Alright, I'll wait for you downstairs."

He touched her ever so slightly as he slipped past her to go out the door. Though she felt a slight shiver up her spine, Clara acted as coolly as possible until he'd exited the room.

"Ay," she said, making a fanning gesture after he did. She exited the room also and walked down the stairs with a satisfied smirk. She'd kind of gotten what she wanted in the end. Although she hadn't found out how to stop Terence's rage, she was now close enough to him to help him temper it and protect others from its wrath.

* * *

The dining hall was surprisingly quiet during the students' lunch break from the brutality of the combine. Everyone was either too nervous or too tired to talk. That is, everyone besides a group of five digidestineds and eight digimon conversing animatedly in their usual booth.

"Tai, are you sure about this?" Jun asked worriedly. "You think we're really going to fight?"

"The way they were talking and looking at you two, I wouldn't bet against it."

Jun dropped a fork she'd been nervously twirling in her fingers and allowed it to loudly clatter from the table to the floor. She hung her head and sighed deeply.

Davis watched his sister with some concern. "I won't do it." He said. "Not even Gennai can make me. It's just wrong."

"Yeah, I can't believe he's letting Jason and Sensei Enn get away with this." Curtis added.

"I can." Kuri said casually, between mouthfuls of potatoes au gratin. "They're all bastards."

Tai looked at them all in confusion. "What are you guys talking about?" He asked. "Davis, if you just go out there and kick ass you'll be just fine."

"TAI!" Jun exclaimed, hitting him hard over the shoulder.

"Ow! When the hell did you guys become such pacifists?" Tai rubbed his shoulder gingerly.

"Since Gennai thought it would be couth to match siblings up against one another."

"Since Gennai what? God, would someone please tell me what you guys are talking about?"

Kuri looked up exasperatedly. "Tai, you're the one who told us Jun and Davis would be matched up against one another. You lost your train of thought that fast?"

"Ooooh," Tai said in realization. "You thought I meant- no, of course not. Though, it is possible…"

Kuri began impatiently drumming her fingers on the table. "Tai, please start making some sense. Soon."

"Yeah, are we fighting each other or not?" Davis chimed in.

"Fighting each other? How dense can you people be?" A voice shouted from across the hall.

They all looked up to see Jason gesturing toward them with a look of mirth on his face.

"Although it is intriguing, what purpose would that serve me? I have one goal to accomplish during my time here, and that certainly wouldn't bring me any closer to it."

He laughed before lowering his tone and talking amongst the group at his table.

"Damn quiet cafeteria." Davis muttered. "He probably heard our whole conversation."

"So, I guess we aren't fighting each other then?" Jun said.

"No, it's not his style." Tai answered. "He's out to prove to Gennai that he and his group are better than us, not that we can beat ourselves senseless. When I said you guys were up after the break, I meant against Helga and Ahmed. He probably convinced Sensei Enn that they were 'logical' choices to put up against you two since we're all supposedly so evenly matched."

Jun let out a breath of relief. "Well, that's not so bad, then."

"Tell that to my shoulder."

"Aww, I'm sorry Tai." Jun nuzzled the shoulder in question affectionately and wrapped herself around his arm. "Better?"

Tai grudgingly nodded. "I hate when you do that..."

"Oh please, you know you love it." Kuri said with a roll of her eyes as she returned to her plate.

"We aren't out of any hot water yet, Jun." Davis said. "Those guys were practicing just as long and as hard as we were, longer actually. We might not be going up against each other, but the situation we're in now is just as dangerous. I bet they've been studying our styles since the badge ceremony when they met."

Jun's expression turned serious. "You're right." She said. "We're going to have to be on our toes if we want to come out of this one okay."

Curtis nodded. "And you're gonna have to watch out for any underhanded stuff. Those guys don't exactly play on the same field as we do."

"Ha. They've never gone up against me before. " A confident Sparks said from his position on the other side of the booth with the rest of the digimon. "I bet our playing fields aren't so different."

Peko let out an involuntary giggle.

"What are you laughing at?" Sparks demanded.

"You always manage to find some way to lose when you cheat." She answered. "I was just picturing how the odds would play out."

"Funny."

"Well, I won't need to cheat when we fight." Veemon said. "Me and Davis can take on anybody and come out on top."

"Except me and Tai." Agumon said nonchalantly as he studied a suspect looking piece of broccoli on the end of his fork.

"Or me and Rosa." Gotsumon said with a grin. "Did you see us out there? We were great."

Taps scoffed. "You call that great? I'll bet Curtis doesn't get electrocuted halfway across the arena when we fight. We're going to be efficient. In and out without a scratch."

Gotsumon shrugged. "So they got one cheap shot, big deal."

"Did you count getting shocked and then hitting the ground hard as one shot? Cause technically that's two." Agumon said.

"I uh, didn't actually see it…But hitting the ground couldn't have been that bad."

"Are you kidding?" Sparks exclaimed. "Why do you think Rosa's shower's taking so long? She's probably still washing dirt from places that she didn't even know she had."

"Besides," Peko said. "The best fighters out there were probably Terence and Pings after they started that ice stuff. That was really cool."

"Yeah," Sparks agreed. "Just how did you do that, Pings? Got any pointers for us?"

Pings didn't answer. He was sitting next to Marta and the two mirrored each other perfectly, lost in worry about their partners and unconcerned with eating or holding conversation.

"Give him a break, guys." Davis said. "They found a way to win and so will we."

One of the hall's doors opened and Kuri glanced up to see who was entering. "Here comes Rosa." She said. "Sparks, you care to reiterate that dirt comment when she gets here?"

"Uh, I made my point." The elecmon said. "No need for me to repeat it. Or any of you guys either, for that matter."

"Uh huh, I thought so."

Rosa smiled in greeting when she reached the booth. "My cousin and Terence aren't back yet?" she asked.

Everyone shook their heads.

"No," Jun said, "But it's good to see you're feeling refreshed."

"Oh yeah. There's nothing like being clean to make someone feel…well, less dirty."

Sparks nudged Gotsumon, who grunted in reply.

"So, did I miss anything?"

"Yeah, Davis and I aren't fighting each other."

Rosa gasped. "Really? You guys are going to give up on being Knights just like that? I mean, I can understand not wanting to fight your brother or sister, but you could always just fake it-"

"No, no," Jun laughed. "It was a misunderstanding. It seems Jason and Enn set it up so we'd be fighting Helga and Ahmed, not each other."

"Ugh, Jason. That guy pisses me off to no end."

"Wow Rosa, tell us how you really feel." Tai kidded.

Rosa squeezed into the space between Gotsumon and Sparks and began picking food from her partner's plate. "It's just, why does he get to tell Sensei Enn who to match up? What makes him so special?"

"Kuri had an interesting theory about them both being bastards that shows some promise…" Davis began.

Kuri guffawed and Davis smiled. He rather enjoyed the distinction of being the only person that could consistently make her laugh.

"What's sad is that's the closest thing we have to the truth." Jun lamented. "We'll just have to deal with it."

Rosa grumbled something unrepeatable before popping a piece of chicken into her mouth and chewing angrily.

The hall doors opened again and the entire room became even more hushed than it already was as two figures entered.

Terence faced the massive room nervously.

"Clara, I don't know if this was such a good idea. Either we just walked in on a funeral or everyone thinks I'm going to bite their heads off."

"Come on Terence. I bet it's not that bad."

He gave her an extremely skeptical look.

"Okay," Clara gave in, "it's most likely the head biting thing."

Terence started to turn around before she grabbed his arm.

"But, there's nothing you can do about that, so come sit down with your friends."

He grumbled, but reluctantly acquiesced. They walked over to the booth where the rest of the group was sitting.

"Um, hi." Terence said with an unsteady wave.

"Hey," Davis greeted him first. "Sit down man, and have something to eat. I know you could use it."

"Yeah…yeah, I could."

As Terence and Clara scooted into the end of the booth, each was greeted with relief by Pings and Marta; both of whom got up from their positions and nimbly leapt across the table to their partners.

"So, you feeling better now, man?" Tai asked as he passed two just delivered trays to the booth's new occupants.

"Um, I guess you could say that." Terence paused in thought before continuing. "Listen guys, I want to tell you that I know what I did out there shouldn't have gone down the way it did and I'm going to try my best to keep it from happening in the future, with a little help."

Tai glanced at Clara, who gave him a secretive wink and a thumbs-up.

"That's good." Jun said. "We know you'll be just fine. Besides, this was just a temporary setback, right?"

"Right." Terence said sheepishly. He looked around the table and saw Curtis watching him worriedly. "Hey bro. I'm fine." He assured. "This isn't like before."

Curtis studied him a while longer, before finally cracking a small smile. "If you say so. I guess the fact that you came down here should have told me that."

He reached over and exchanged a complicated handshake with Terence, which ended with them both snapping their fingers.

"Man, I am so hungry." Terence said, grabbing a fork and digging into his plate. "Yeah, can't apologize to Steve on an empty stomach, right?" Clara said.

Terence groaned between mouthfuls.

* * *

Yet another battle raged on inside the arena while Davis and Jun waited outside, shifting their feet impatiently.

"What is this, the tenth battle that neither one of us has been called for?" Davis complained.

"Thirteenth." Jun answered. "Thirty first if you count the ones before the break. This is getting ridiculous."

"Tell me about it. What is Enn waiting for?"

Tai smirked at their conversation. "You guys might as well sit back and chill for a while. No way Enn lets you fight this early after the break. He's going to milk you two for all its worth."

"Fine," Jun said, "I can understand that as far as Davis is concerned, but me? I'm not world famous. Why would he push my battle back so long?"

Tai shrugged. "Isn't that one of those things you'd be more likely to know than me?"

Jun rolled her eyes and went back to wringing her hands and fretting before Tai grabbed them.

"You'll be fine, Jun, okay?"

She turned and looked him in the eyes.

"Do you really believe that?"

"Of course I do. You're a good fighter, even better than me in some respects. I have faith in you and I believe you can do anything. You should know that by now."

"I do." Jun said, calming herself enough to embrace him. "But sometimes it's just good to hear. Thank you."

Davis noticed the moment becoming a bit more private and quietly slipped away. "Must be nice." He muttered as he took one last glance at them over his shoulder.

"I am soooo bored." Rosa complained from her position, lying on her back on the ground. She made a point of staring at the sky rather than anything close to the arena.

Curtis, who was sitting upright next to her with Taps in his lap, looked at Rosa amusedly.

"What do you mean? All these fights and new attacks haven't kept your interest?"

"No." Rosa answered bluntly. "I was in the second battle today. That was the high for me. Everything from there has been all downhill." She yawned and stretched exaggeratedly, eliciting a laugh from Curtis.

"You're a trip." He said.

Kuri walked over and sat down beside them. "I understand where you're coming from, Rosa." She said. "All this stuff does get really boring after a while. Like look there," She pointed to the arena. "There's a kick, a punch, a flip. She kicks him. His digimon shoots some kind of yellow crap at her. She falls. Her digimon jumps on his. He tries to grab her bracelet, she kicks him in the groin. He's holding back tears. Lather, rinse, repeat."

Davis walked over to them, wincing.

"Something wrong?" Kuri asked.

"Are you kidding? Did you see what she just did to him? There's not a guy here that didn't die a little inside after seeing that."

He looked to Curtis for confirmation, who nodded with something of a pained look on his face as he said, "Yeah, she should probably be disqualified or something for that."

Kuri shrugged. "This is war, guys. You're supposed to hit 'em where it hurts."

"I heard that." Rosa said. Her eyes were now closed as she soaked up some digital sun.

Davis shook his head in disbelief. "You guys are ruthless."

"Gracias."

Kuri smiled when she saw the way Davis looked at Rosa, obviously perturbed by her uncaring demeanor. No matter what he thought about the way others perceived him, she could see his leadership qualities always showing through.

He glanced at her and caught her in her moment of joviality. "What? You think that's funny?"

"And what if I do?" Kuri said, stepping up to him while continuing to smile. "What are you going to do?"

Davis smirked at her playful defiance. "I dunno. Maybe I'll start wearing a cup. What are you going to do then?"

Kuri laughed heartily at the ridiculous statement and fell into his chest to keep her balance as she was racked by chortles.

Davis gently grabbed her arms to keep her from falling.

"You are so dumb sometimes, Davis." She stopped laughing after realizing what she'd said. "Oh, wait, I didn't mean it like that."

"I know." Davis said.

Kuri looked up at him, her demeanor a little more serious. He still held her arms and the two of them were standing awfully close to one another. There was a moment of silence as they both contemplated the same thing; how they got into this position and why neither one of them was moving out of it. Finally, Kuri backed away from his grip first.

She babbled, "Um, I, well you know how I meant it I guess. I mean, you just said that and all…"

"Yeah." Davis said solemnly after she trailed off.

They stood there awkwardly for a moment before turning the conversation towards more platonic things, such as other fighting strategies and how Davis should match up against Ahmed.

"Do you think there might be something between those two?" Curtis, who'd observed the whole exchange, quietly asked Rosa. After getting no answer, he turned to see that she'd fallen asleep.

"Figures." He muttered.

Many more battles passed and the sun had set without any of the group being called forward to fight. Of course, the only ones who were actually expecting to fight were Davis and Jun, and they were growing less nervous and more irritated by the second. At the moment they were pacing around in small circles, their digimon following them and doing pretty fair imitations.

The air outside the academy was gradually filling with tension and excitement. By this time everyone knew that Davis and his sister were slated to fight soon and they were all eager to see it happen. Since so many battles had passed and Sensei Enn had told them that only half the academy would be fighting at this combine, everyone was starting assume that the Motomiyas would be up soon.

From his back, Curtis looked up at the sky, which had transformed into a palette of reds and oranges as twilight began to descend on the digital realm. He checked his watch, then looked up towards the arena, whose column of light kept the inside well illuminated. He reached over and gently prodded Rosa, who was snoring fitfully next to him. She stirred and mumbled something before turning towards Curtis and settling in again. Curtis was caught off guard by the utterly peaceful expression on her face. He felt a lurch somewhere below his ribcage. Something about seeing Rosa that way, so peaceful, so innocent, just made him feel…funny.

Suddenly, she opened her eyes and saw him staring back at her.

"What?" She asked drowsily.

"I-uh, I-I think that Davis is about to fight." He stammered.

"Huh?" Rosa sat up and stretched. "How do you know?"

Curtis shook his head and recovered from his stupor. "Well, look how late it is, for one. Plus, this is the forty ninth battle. Enn said half the academy would be fighting today, so that leaves only one more to go. If he really is saving Davis for last then he must be up next."

"What about Jun?"

Curtis shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe Enn decided to save her for the next quarter."

"Maybe he's saving her for last. She's a good fighter."

"You're right, she is a good fighter. But like it or not, Davis is the guy everyone here knows. If one of them is being saved for last, it's got to be him."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

Curtis looked shocked. "Oh my God."

"What?"

"You just admitted I was right about something."

"Shut-up." Rosa said, hitting him on the arm. "Let's go see what's up."

It seemed the group reconvened simultaneously once they all figured that Davis or Jun would be fighting soon. Even Terence and Clara had returned after a while with the good news that Steve had only suffered a few bruises and would be just fine. He and Terence had even patched their differences; especially after they discovered that they were both big CFL fans. Clara seemed really proud of the job she'd done and was making a concerted effort to stay near Terence, who didn't seem to have any objections.

The action inside the arena stopped abruptly and there was a shout. One of the combatants held up the other's bracelet exhaustedly, his chest heaving. His opponent was hurriedly stumbling out of the arena, apparently having had enough of fighting for this night and wanting no more to do with it.

Enn stepped into the arena and had a few words with the victor before casually announcing the next two combatants.

"Davis Motomiya, Ahmed Hasim, report to the arena immediately."

The entire crowd began to buzz with interest as Davis turned to the group assembled around him and said, "Well, looks like I'm the one up. Sorry sis, I know how much you were looking forward to this."

"Please," Jun scoffed, "And even if I was, it couldn't have been half as much as you."

Davis gave her a lopsided smile and glanced toward the arena and Sensei Enn. He motioned as if to walk toward the impatiently waiting professor but stopped. Something was holding him back. Casting a furtive glance toward Kuri he took a deep breath to steady himself. In short order she stepped up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry Davis. You can handle this guy. Just don't forget to use your greatest strengths."

Davis nodded. "I'm not planning on giving up."

Kuri shook her head. "That's not exactly what I meant-"

"Motomiya!" Sensei Enn bellowed, becoming rather irritated inside the arena.

"Here I go." Davis briefly touched Kuri's hand to signal his readiness before determinedly walking toward Enn and the already waiting Ahmed.

Kuri sighed as she watched him go. Jun walked up beside her.

"I know what you were trying to tell him," she said before pausing thoughtfully. "I've always thought it was something he has to discover for himself."

"Yeah, maybe."

Davis walked brusquely to the center of the arena, and upon arriving, immediately entered into a heated stare-down with Ahmed. Veemon and Ahmed's kunemon partner, Kunex, did the same.

"Don't get too comfortable gentlemen. You haven't been joined by your partners."

"Partners?" Ahmed asked. "Kunex is here and he has his Veemon-"

"I wasn't speaking of digimon."

"People?" Davis asked. "You're giving us other people to fight with? I thought we weren't allowed to do that."

"You're allowed to do whatever I say you are, Mr. Motomiya." Enn turned away from them. "Jun Motomiya and Helga St. Clair, please join us in the center of the arena at once!"

"What's going on?" Ahmed said. "This wasn't part of our arrangement."

Enn sighed. "Mr. Hasim, an agreement is something that is beneficial to both parties involved. In what way is my granting you a battle with your chosen foes beneficial to me?"

Ahmed remained quiet.

"Precisely. This way, we both get something. You get to fight your adversaries and I can glean some form of entertainment from it. That rules are the same. The first team to have both member's bracelets removed is the loser."

Jun and Helga approached the trio from opposite sides.

"Inform them of what has happened." Enn said dismissively as they did. "I'll give the signal shortly." He then walked out of the arena.

Jun looked confused. "What was he talking about, Davis?"

"I think we're on teams."

"What?!" Helga exclaimed. "That was not our arrangement."

"Call me crazy, but I don't think Enn really cared for your little 'arrangement.'" Davis said, a threatening glint in his eye. "Maybe next time you'll want to leave the underhanded stuff alone."

"Don't lecture us Motomiya." Said Ahmed. "You have enough problems of your own."

The two males stared at each other at length once again, their digimon doing the same.

Jun put her hands on her festering brother's shoulders.

"Come on, Davis." She said. "Our battle is going to begin soon."

"Yeah, go on Davis. Listen to your sister. She knows that your defeat will be a lot easier to take if you just keep your mouths shut."

Jun quickly cut her eyes toward Helga, taking in her cold appearance, from her icy blonde hair to her electric blue eyes.

"Talk all you want, but I can see through that façade, and by the end of this match, I'll make sure everyone else here does also."

Helga was strangely quiet for a second.

"Come on Ahmed. Let's take our positions. Remember, we match up like we're supposed to. That wench is mine."

After they left, Jun and Davis turned and headed their own way. Davis looked at his sister.

"You're having no problem taking all this in stride are you?"

"Nope." Jun shook her head. "All this stuff is just head games. It's really important that you take none of it seriously."

"Oh." Davis was quiet for a moment. As usual, he _had_ been taking it all a little too seriously. His skin was almost literally burning with anger. It made him think of something. "Well, I think I have a strategy."

"Do you?"

"Yeah. We can't forget each other."

"Um, I'm not sure if I follow you Davis."

"In these fights, everyone always forgets their partners and makes everything all personal. Just don't do that. Remember, it's me, you, Veemon, and Sparks. We're a team."

"All right, sounds like good advice to me."

"Me too." Veemon added.

They all looked at Sparks, who was brooding. "Okay, fine." He finally gave in. "If you like that corny teamwork stuff, I guess I'll go along."

"Glad to have you aboard." Davis quipped. He looked toward Sensei Enn. "Here comes the signal."

Enn thrust his arm down and the battle was on.

Ahmed, Helga, and their digimon walked into the middle of the arena.

"Come out Davis!" Ahmed shouted. "Surely you're above these amateur games. If you want a battle, let's at least have an open one."

Jun looked to Davis for direction. He nodded. "Let's go out. They probably think the only way they can prove they're better is if they face each one of us head on." He walked out into the open with Veemon. "Let's let them think that for now."

Jun followed Davis silently, looking at him in mild astonishment. He operated like a completely different person when in battle.

The two groups met just feet away from each other in a grassy field in the middle of the arena. They circled each other slowly as if taking part in a weird 8-way waltz.

"I should have known that the 'brave' Davis Motomiya would fight with such cowardice." Ahmed said.

"That's funny, because you're doing the same thing I am. If you want to fight, then bring it on."

The two stood still.

"Make your move." Ahmed demanded.

"No, you."

With a yell, Ahmed quickly sprang forward and took a calculated roundhouse at Davis' head. Davis expertly leaned to the side to avoid the kick and launched himself forward into his attacker. The two tumbled to the ground.

Helga took advantage of the momentary distraction and gave Jun a wicked punch to the abdomen. Jun doubled over for a second, more surprised than hurt. She looked up just in time to see Helga aiming a kick for her face and leapt aside to make her miss. Helga followed the kick attempt with a quick spin into a leg sweep. Jun jumped in the air to avoid this but was still disoriented by its quickness and stumbled to the ground upon landing.

For all her tenacity, Helga was rewarded with a volley of sparkling thunder from Sparks. The attack sent her sprawling to the ground some twenty feel away. Strangely enough, her labramon didn't retaliate on her behalf, choosing instead to run to her side and wait for instructions.

Jun took the moment to get up and recompose herself. "Thanks Sparks." She said.

"Anytime," he responded, electric energy still crackling through his fur. "This might be a little fun."

"For some of us perhaps." Jun cast a dark look in Helga's direction.

With that, they both charged forward, firing electric blasts.

* * *

Ahmed kicked Davis off of him and rolled to his feet. Davis got up also and ran forward, delivering a glancing Vee-Punch to Ahmed's shoulder. Ahmed staggered backwards with the relatively small amount of force and almost fell. As he struggled to stay upright he got a passing glance at Kunex fighting Veemon and saw that his digimon was having a lot of trouble avoiding a barrage of attacks from the latter.

"Now Kunex! Use attacks!" He shouted while raising his hands toward Davis.

Davis ran forward and grabbed Ahmed's hands. "Oh no you don't." He said, grunting as he strained to hold his grip. "I've seen your electric thread attacks."

Ahmed smirked. "Done your homework, have you? Well I can't say I'm not surprised."

He tried to wrench his hands free but Davis held fast.

"Fortunately I have a few surprises of my own."

Ahmed pulled back against Davis' grip, lifted both feet, and planted them firmly into his chest. He pushed off to break their grip and landed with a backwards somersault. Davis, who was forced to the ground by the skillful maneuver, barely had time to catch his breath before he was up and dodging strands of fine thread being fired from Ahmed's hands.

Veemon's luck had turned in much the same fashion. From the moment Ahmed had issued the order for Kunex to use attacks, he'd been running and dodging and unable to get close enough to land any body blows against the Kunemon. Fortunately, the little blue digimon's demeanor prepared him for this situation. Instead of worrying about trying to attack Kunex he looked to see if he could help elsewhere.

Davis continued to dodge Ahmed's attacks, but he was no longer running. In fact, with each thread that zoomed over his shoulder or between his legs, he inched a bit closer to his adversary.

Ahmed grimaced, desperately hoping one of the shots would gain purchase and he could send a lethal current of electricity into Davis. He was taken completely by surprise when Veemon tackled him to the ground. Davis leapt into the fray also and tried in vain to grab Ahmed's bracelet in the confusion.

* * *

"How could you miss?" Sparks shouted. "She was standing right there. Man, if I would've had that clear a shot-"

"Well, you didn't." Said Jun sourly. "And you know why? Because you were too busy running to cover every time they even hinted at attacking."

Sparks was momentarily shamed. "Still, if I had that shot-"

"I should hope you would shoot better. You've been able to throw attacks your whole life, as opposed to my two months."

"Hey, you've had plenty of time to practice-"

"Look, that doesn't matter right now. What does is that we have them on the run. Keep your eyes peeled."

The two continued their slow trek through the field of large, charred, and misshapen forms that was earlier in the day a field of blocks and boulders. Jun was put off by the eerie, graveyard feel of the area. She shivered a little, but made sure to keep her eyes open and senses piqued.

Sparks paused and perked his ears.

"You hear that?" He asked.

"No," Jun answered. "But your hearing is a lot more acute than mine-"

"Shhh. I can hear them. They don't sound like they're hiding. Sounds like…a countdown? Crap! It's a trap!"

Suddenly Helga and Labramon came leaping from where they'd been hiding behind a couple of large hulked forms that were partially melted blocks. Sparks didn't even have enough time to heed his own warning and was almost immediately tackled by the snarling Loba. Jun didn't fare much better. Helga was able to take her down also in a seething rage of snarls and growls. Jun, who was pinned with her back to the ground, could barely keep Helga's vicious swipes for her face at bay. The latter's new primal, doglike fighting style certainly had caught her off guard.

Sparks was able to kick Loba off of him long enough to flip over and fire an electric blast. She dodged it and launched herself at him with her teeth bared. Sparks yelled in surprise and began to run from the crazed Labramon, her teeth snapping awfully close to his heels.

Jun saw this from the corner of her eye and let out a frustrated grunt before planting a foot into Helga's plexus and launching her away. Both girls got up from the ground at the same time.

"Sparks, what are you doing?" She shouted while trading blocked punches with Helga.

"What does it look like? Running!" Her retreating partner shouted.

"What? Why?" This time Jun ducked a pair of expertly thrown kicks for her head.

Sparks adjusted his route and was now leading Loba in a wide circle around the battling girls. "That thing's nuts! How can I beat it if I don't have time to throw an attack?"

Jun glanced at the frothing Labramon snapping at Sparks' heels, then determinedly at Helga, who closely mirrored her rabid partner.

"Watch and learn." She said.

The two exchanged another series of blocked punches before Jun finally got an opening and struck a glancing blow to her opponent's jaw. The punch stunned Helga just enough that Jun could follow up with another hard punch to the gut. Helga doubled over and Jun reached out and gained solid purchase on her bracelet. As she tugged it, Helga responded by snarling and scratching Jun's wrist with surprisingly sharp claws. Jun responded in turn by jerking her hand back in pain and instinctively delivering a forceful kick that sent the Icelandic digidestined flying back ten yards.

Jun gave her bleeding hand a cursory glance before looking to Sparks and saying, "That's how you handle that."

Helga slowly got up from the ground, still growling.

"One down, two to go, sweetheart." Jun antagonized. "Bring it on."

Helga launched herself forward again and Jun entered a defensive stance to greet her.

* * *

Davis was the first to exit the dogpile on the other side of the arena, with the assistance of Ahmed's foot firmly planted in his chest. As he got up from the ground, Veemon landed next to him, launched from the pile in much the same fashion.

"Any luck?" Davis asked grimly.

"Yeah! I think I pulled it!"

"Good job Veem-" Davis glanced up quickly. "duck!"

The two dove in opposite directions just as four stands of fine silk flew between them and harmlessly hit the ground.

"We're gonna have problems with these two." Davis grumbled as he got up to run once again.

"Maybe Jun could help us." Veemon suggested.

"Why?" Davis shouted while dodging another shot, obviously offended. "She's got Helga to worry about. We can handle ourselves."

Veemon shrugged and jumped another strand. "If you say so."

Outside the arena, Kuri was wringing her hands nervously and craning her neck to get as clear a view as possible of the action in the arena.

Tai looked at her curiously. "Don't worry about Davis. He's been through worse."

"I know. It's just, I know he's out there trying to prove something he doesn't have to. It could mess up his strategy."

Tai just nodded and smiled to himself. Kuri took her attention away from the battle enough to glance at him. She thought about what's she'd said.

"Uh, I'm worried about Jun too, you know."

"Uh-huh, I'm sure." Tai's smile got bigger. "Just not as much as Davis."

Kuri decided to turn the focus away from her. "Why aren't you more worried about Jun? How can you be over here, smiling and stuff while she's fighting?"

Tai frowned. "Just because I'm smiling doesn't mean I'm not worried. I just know what Jun's capable of. If I, of all people, don't show that I believe in her ability, then who will?"

"You really care about her, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess I do, I mean, I know I do, but-"

"It surprises even you just how much."

"Yeah, exactly." Tai glanced at the arena again. "You sure know a lot about this, something you've been through before?"

"Ha," Kuri snorted, "that's not my kind of thing. I just know how to see it in other people."

"Not your kind of thing? I hardly believe that."

"Well, believe it or not, it's true. I'm not the kind of person to get involved in those kinds of situations."

"Hardly the description I'd use," Tai said, "situation. You make it sound like an audit or something."

"Might as well be. It comes unexpectedly and is usually more trouble than it's worth."

Tai smirked. "Well, if that's how you see it, that's how you see it. All I can say is, I hope you're fortunate enough to be in a 'situation' soon enough, that forces you to see otherwise."

"I doubt it." Kuri responded quickly before looking back toward the arena, where sound of battle once again grabbed her attention. She saw Davis, still struggling to avoid Ahmed's attacks. "But anything's possible."

* * *

"But Davis-"

"No Veemon, I told you we can handle this!"

Davis leapt over another strand of thread and grimaced. The shots were getting closer now. Ahmed was gradually getting better at predicting his movements. He knew he couldn't keep dodging forever. As if to confirm his thoughts, Davis' wrist was suddenly snagged by a particularly well aimed shot. He made to quickly remove the thread with his free hand but was jolted by a substantial amount of energy before he could do so.

Davis gasped at the sudden pain and was too dazed to do anything as many more strands joined the first. Davis breathed heavily as he slowly recovered from the initial shock. He looked up at Ahmed and wondered why it wasn't followed by any more.

Ahmed smiled ever so slightly and stared down his adversary.

"Wondering why I haven't electrocuted you into the next life?"

Davis narrowed his eyes in a show of anger.

"True, I could simply shock you and calmly walk up and take your bracelet, but then, what kind of statement would that make? I want there to be no doubt as to who is the victor and the superior Knight here."

Davis remained silent and waited for him to continue. He searched for Veemon in his peripheral vision and saw the digimon was nowhere to be found.

"So, I'm going to give you a choice Motamiya. You can call for your sister, and show everyone here your complete lack of mental aptitude as a Knight, or you can stand here and go against everything your shield represents and give in to me."

"You're nuts."

"Oh, am I? Then the logical thing for you to do now would be to call for your sister, since you obviously have no other choice."

Davis just continued to stare at Ahmed coldly.

"Or maybe I could just take my own other option."

Suddenly the hundreds of threads binding Davis crackled to life with electrical energy. Davis screamed loudly from the blinding pain. Or so he thought. The fact was no sound whatsoever was escaping his mouth. The shock to his system prevented him from exhaling properly. When the excruciating sensation stopped Davis' breath returned to him in ragged, heaving gasps. Through the pain, he forced himself to concentrate enough to look up at Ahmed, anger apparent in his clenched jaw and sweat stained brow.

Ahmed, for his part, did seem to be a little winded from the energy required to perform the attack, but overall was no worse for wear. He smiled.

"Do you give?"

Davis simply shook his head no, not wanting to falter in case his voice still hadn't returned.

"Then I suppose you'll need further persuasion." Ahmed took a deep breath in preparation.

* * *

Tai winced and turned away as once again the threads holding his longtime friend were alit once again with arcs of electricity. He glanced at Kuri and saw a look of despair in her eyes he hadn't expected to find.

"He can get out of this," Tai assured her. "I'd say he's been through worse, but I'm not entirely sure of that at the moment."

Kuri shook her head. "No. He can't get past this like he always used to. Right now, he's in real pain."

"I'm sure he is, but that comes with the territory-"

"Not this time, Tai. Ahmed is attacking Davis where it hurts the most, his psyche. He's trying to attack his pride and fears at the same time, and it seems to be working."

The glow from the strands dissipated once again, and Davis looked twice as worn as before.

Tai nodded. "I see. The only way Davis can get out of this is if Jun saves him…"

"Which, is his mind at least, only goes to further prove his incapability as a leader and otherwise." Kuri finished. "He won't call for her, not as long as he believes everyone will judge him as weaker or dumber for it."

Tai looked around the perimeter of the arena. All the students were looking on with hushed, anxious faces. All save for Jason and Tony, who watched gleefully.

"If only he knew just how much everyone respects and likes him."

"Except the people he thought were his closest friends."

Tai looked at Kuri. He knew she was essentially right, but was caught off guard by her sincerity in saying such thoughts aloud. He studied her face and saw a certain knowing quality in its features. This must've been something Davis confided in her.

"I get the feeling my sister and TK affected him more than I even know."

"Yeah, amongst other things."

Ahmed let out a scream, faint from where they stood, and the strands lit up for a third time.

"Tai, he doesn't deserve this, it's not right. Davis shouldn't be attacked in this way right now, he has so much to get past." Kuri's voice was emotional, shaky.

Tai grimly watched the one sided fight in the arena. "Or maybe he does, a sort of, trial by fire."

"No, I won't believe that. This isn't something he should have to fight through. It something he should be allowed to grow out of. It's already caused him so much pain in his life. Why should he have to get past it like this? It's just not right, it not right and it isn't fair to him, he deserves better…"

As Kuri trailed off, Tai turned to her at a loss for words. She was right of course, and his stubborn battle-tested attitude had prevented him from seeing that.

"Kuri I'm-" Tai cut off his attempt at an apology when he noticed the girl was standing absolutely still in something of a trance-like state. The deep purple hue of her shield was reflecting brightly off his uniform and the rest of digidestined in the area.

Quietly, Terence stepped up behind them. "What's going on?" He asked Tai.

"I-I have no idea." Tai stammered in reply.

* * *

Davis wondered when the sweet grip of unconsciousness would overtake him and deliver him from this excruciating torture. The last round of electrocution had been particularly brutal and left his entire body with a dull burning sensation that didn't seem to be ebbing away. It was all he could do to concentrate on his breathing at the moment. His vision was dominated by spots, and whatever Ahmed was shouting at him, he received as nothing but garbled and muffled noise. Davis began to wonder if Gennai would actually step in and stop the carnage. He wondered if he would even protest when he did.

Davis was doing his best to gird himself for the next round of attacks when his vision suddenly returned to him. Just as it did, the arena and Ahmed began to slowly fade away, replaced by the visage of a vast lavender void. A svelte figure, draped completely in a deeper shade of purple, emerged from the violet mists and stopped just short of him.

Davis squinted at the figure and recognized it almost immediately. "K-Kuri?"

The figure seemed just as confused as he was and wavered a moment before responding.

"Davis?" It answered in what was most assuredly Kuri's voice.

They stared at each other in a mixture of confusion and amazement for a moment before Davis spoke again.

"I think," he began, piecing things together. "That this has something to do with your shield. All this purple is a dead giveaway."

"Maybe so." Kuri agreed. She supposed she might have been showing some amount of compassion to trigger this.

"What does this mean?" Davis asked.

The question prompted Kuri to put aside her wonder and her voice became serious. "Davis, you can't fall for this trap. Ahmed knows about your sensitivity at having your intelligence or abilities insulted. He doesn't want you to call for Jun, he knows that you won't. What he really wants is for you to give up, so he can make some kind of statement to the rest of the academy."

"I know." Davis responded solemnly.

"So why won't you call for your sister then?"

"You know why Kuri. Just because I know what Ahmed's doing doesn't make it less effective. If I call for Jun, it'll only prove that I can't lead, that I can't do things on my own."

"Davis, that's stupid."

"Maybe to you, but you haven't had to deal with all the stuff I have-"

"Cry me a river."

Davis paused, astonished by Kuri's bluntness.

"Davis you're the only person I've met who's needed a good shot of self esteem and humility at the same time." She shook her head. "You have to be willing to take the shot to your image if it means coming out of this the winner. You also have to know that most people think highly of you and don't judge you solely on moments of adversity or weakness."

"Kuri, I can't." Davis made this statement mostly on principle, as he couldn't really support it.

"Yes you can, if not for yourself, for your friends. How do you think Jun will feel if Gennai has to call this match, knowing you chose not to call for her when you were most in need?"

Kuri paused, debating from within how far she could go to make her point. Her expression became resolute.

"How do you think _I_ would feel? I know what's going on and I can't do a thing to help you Are you going to do that to me Davis? Are you going to make me watch as you slowly let this battle slip away? I care about you Davis. I think you know that." She paused again. "Is this something you do to those who care about you?" She turned away. "I thought the digimental of friendship was made of sterner stuff."

Kuri and the environment around her began to dissolve and slowly fade away.

"Kuri!" Davis cried. "Don't leave-"

"You can do this, Davis. I know you can, and I think you do too." And with that, she was gone.

* * *

"Kuri? Kuri!" Tai was shaking the younger girl's shoulders forcefully. He peered into each of her eyes looking for any signs of consciousness or awareness. Almost immediately he received them.

"Wow, Tai" Kuri said, apparently coming out of her reverie. "I didn't know you cared."

Tai ignored her jab. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Kuri answered. "And I get the feeling Davis will be too."

* * *

Davis came out of the…vision(?) with a renewed purpose and spirit. Though his head was sill swimming, his eyesight had returned enough that he could look upon his opponent with a thinly veiled confidence.

"Your fun's over Ahmed, Hope you enjoyed it while it lasted. I'm going to beat your ass now."

"You are in no position to make threats, Motomiya." Ahmed responded, a certain conviction lacking in his words. There was a fire in Davis' eyes and speech that made him uneasy.

Davis replied with only a smile. He knew what he had to do.

Veemon tripped over a jutting rock and tumbled roughly into the grass. He groggily looked up and saw Jun trading blows with Helga a few yards away. He smiled, having finally found the help Davis so sorely needed. Just as he was about to call out to her, Kunex jumped on his back and forcefully slammed his face into the ground. Veemon struggled until he was finally able to elbow the kunemon off his back. He turned towards Jun once again but this time had his mouth covered with electric thread before he could say anything. Veemon adeptly leapt away from Kunex, breaking the thread connection before he could be electrocuted. Yet as he struggled to remove the offensive substance, at the same time avoiding further attacks from his opponent, the little blue digimon realized he wouldn't be able to reach Jun until it was too late.

A booming voice suddenly rang out over the battlefield. Veemon and Kunex paused in their individual struggle in order to hear better.

"JUN!" the shout rang out again.

"I can't believe it." Veemon said. "He's really calling for help."

He looked over to where Jun had been fighting and saw her slowly getting up from the ground, apparently having been hit during Davis' sudden distraction. Once she'd gotten up, Jun avoided a couple punches from Helga before turning away from her and running in the direction of her brother's voice. Helga began to give chase but was stopped as Sparks ran in front of her and she unwittingly tripped over a snarling Loba, hot on his heels.

Kunex tried to go after Jun also but was tackled by Veemon from behind before he could take even two steps. Sparks hit the Kunemon with a cursory volley of sparkling thunder as he passed them before shouting, "C'mon Veemon! That should hold him for a couple seconds!"

Veemon got up and ran with the Elecmon, both following the way Jun had gone.

Ahmed looked at Davis incredulously for a good five seconds.

"Jason said there was no way you'd do something like that." He said, mostly to himself.

"Well, surprise, surprise." Davis responded, his voice already a bit hoarse from shouting.

Ahmed began to run towards the immobile Davis. When he reached him, he started to rip and tear away at the threads that bound his left arm, on which his bracelet was clasped.

"You will still lose," It sounded like Ahmed was trying to convince himself more than Davis. "Your sister is likely too busy with Helga to reach us in time." He finally ripped enough thread away to reveal a shimmer of familiar gold. "Ah, there it is. Victory is still mine."

He reached forward, but never got close enough to even touch the bracelet before twin blasts of electricity rocketed him off his feet and away from Davis. Jun ran up to her brother with Sparks and Veemon close in tow.

"What happened?!" She exclaimed as she immediately began to pull thread off of Davis.

"He got a lucky shot." Davis responded. When his arms were free he began to shakily help her clear his legs.

Jun noticed how fatigued he looked. "Looks like it was more than that."

"Maybe, but I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

Davis narrowed his eyes in the direction of Ahmed, who was starting to roll over and get up from where he'd landed. "I will be."

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Helga, Kunex, and Loba, quickly approaching the way Jun had come.

"Come on," he said. "We have to regroup."

The quartet ran in the opposite direction once Davis' feet were freed.

"Cowards!" They heard Ahmed shout as they beat a retreat.

When he felt they'd created enough distance, Davis held a hand up to stop the group. He was breathing rather heavily for the relatively short distance they'd run.

"So, what's the plan?" Jun asked, trying to hide her concern at Davis' condition.

"What it always was." He answered between breaths. "I'm sorry guys, it's my fault we got out of it. We're doing exactly what they want us to do. I can tell, Jason had them all train specifically against their shield opposites. That's why we aren't really getting a head up in this match. We have to mix it up, we have to fight as a team."

"I'm all for that." Veemon said.

Davis smiled. "I know you are, always have been." He looked to Jun and Sparks. "What about you guys? You up for it?"

Jun nodded affirmatively.

"Anything to get me away from that crazy labramon." Sparks added.

"Okay Knights, then let's do this." Davis held a fist out in front of him, three more joined it.

He turned and led them back toward where they'd left their opponents.

"I should've known you wouldn't be able to handle him." Helga said icily to her partner.

"I couldn't handle him? What about you? Jun looked awfully spry for someone you were supposedly in heated battle against."

"I had underestimated her combat skills." Helga admitted. "It will not happen again."

"I should hope not."

"You're one to talk-"

Helga was interrupted by the sudden appearance of Veemon, standing out in the open in front of them.

"Kunex!" Ahmed commanded.

The yellow digimon shot from his side and toward the intruder. Veemon yawned to antagonize him further. Just before Kunex reached him, Veemon leapt aside and with a shout of "Tag!" Sparks barreled into the Kunemon from his spot hidden behind an adjacent boulder.

Davis and Jun emerged from behind the large rock also and ran forward to engage their enemies.

Helga entered into a defensive stance and steeled herself for another round with Jun when she was hit with a completely unexpected Vee-Head butt to the midsection. She hit the ground in surprise and was too shocked to respond before Veemon got a decent pull against her bracelet.

Ahmed had similarly turned to face Davis, when he was hit with an unforeseen bolt of electrical energy. He hit the ground just as violently as Helga and was also too surprised to move before Jun was able to get a tug on his bracelet.

Loba looked at the confusing scene unfolding before her and snarled, unsure of whom to attack. Her indecision was rewarded with a swift kick to the rear from Davis, which sent her sailing well out of the fray.

* * *

Outside the arena, most of the Academy students had burst into a chorus of loud cheers at Davis' teams' turning of the tables. Tai and Kuri shared joyous glances, especially after seeing Jason's deep scowl on the other side.

"I knew you could do it, Davis" Kuri said to herself. "Now go win this damn thing."

* * *

Helga and Ahmed pushed their attackers off and got up quickly from the ground.

"Is this what you are reduced to, Davis?" Ahmed asked. "Having your sister fight your battles for you?"

"No," Davis responded just before Veemon sent the Middle-Eastern digidestined sprawling with a well-aimed vee-kick to the shins. "My digimon fights too, and it's _with_ me, not _for_ me. For example-" He reached out with a leg and tripped Helga as she tried to sneak up behind his sister. "Jun never told me to do that. I just figured it might help her out a little."

Sparks ran back into the fight at this point. Ahmed saw him and looked around alarmed.

"Looking for that Kunemon?" Sparks guessed. "He won't be showing up for a while. Little guy can dish out electric attacks but he sure can't take them. Couple of sparkling thunders and tying him up with his own thread was a cinch."

Davis smiled. "Nice job Sparks. You and Jun take Ahmed. Me and Veemon will take care of Helga."

"Will do." Sparks responded, running to Jun's side.

Davis and Veemon turned to face Helga as she rose from the ground again. Before she could do anything, Veemon ran up to her and began taunting.

"Bring it on!" He shouted, hopping back and forth. "You want some of this?"

Davis immediately realized what he was doing and slowly began to slink around them in a wide arc.

Helga looked at the digimon irately. "My quarrel isn't with you. I want _her_." She pointed towards Jun in a mixture of anger and disdain.

"To get her you're going to have to get through me!"

Helga appraised Veemon's short stature and sighed. "Fine then," she said. "I'll make sure you regret those words."

Her visage slowly began to transform. Her grimace turned into more of a snarl. Her eyes took on a more wild, untamed quality. She crouched into a more menacing position, baring her claws and teeth prominently.

Veemon gulped.

Helga was just about to take her first swipe when she suddenly felt a sharp tug on her arm. She quickly turned to see Davis standing behind her.

"I don't think so." He said, twirling her bracelet around his index finger. "You're out."

Helga gave him a look of complete shock.

"Looks like my stealth abilities are highly underrated, eh Veemon?"

Ahmed continued to run as streaks of hot electricity singed past him. Things had gone horribly wrong since Davis had called for Jun's aid. He wasn't supposed to have done that. It didn't fit the plan at all. Thinking about it only enraged Ahmed even further. He spied Davis out of the corner of his eye, talking to his digimon while Helga sat on the ground with her face buried in her hands. He stopped running and stretched a hand toward the scene.

Jun stopped firing attacks at Ahmed when she realized what he was about to do. She took off running at a dead heat towards her brother.

"Davis!" She shouted, "Heads up!"

Davis looked up, surprised, but failed to see what she was talking about until it was too late. The thread struck him directly in the chest and he was infused with jolts of electricity before he realized what was happening.

Ahmed smiled. He might not win this battle, but he certainly could make Davis suffer.

Jun ran to Davis in concern, but stopped when her brother simply smirked, reached out, and grabbed the thread, largely unaffected by the electricity flowing through it.

"I've already been conditioned to withstand the shocks of a dozen of these at once." He said to Ahmed, fixing the stunned Knight-in-training with a calculated stare. "You really think one will even faze me anymore?"

Davis jerked the thread towards himself, causing Ahmed to stumble forward before it snapped.

Jun narrowed her eyes at her brother's attacker. "Now it's my turn." She said darkly, picking up the end of the broken thread

Ahmed was unable to remove the thread from his hand before it lit up with Jun's own white-hot arcs of electricity. He screamed in pain as not only Jun's attack hit him, but was joined by one from Sparks.

Veemon ran towards Ahmed when the attacks ended and gave him a vicious head butt to the stomach before he had time to recover. Ahmed stumbled backwards, too disoriented to even know where he was, and Davis, who was running just a few paces behind his digimon partner, performed the battle's coup de grace with a spinning kick to his reeling opponent's temple. Ahmed fell to the ground with a loud, unceremonious thump. After a moment, Davis bent over, breathing heavily, and grabbed Ahmed's bracelet with a swift motion of finality.

Suddenly, the walls of light surrounding the arena disappeared and Davis' senses were assaulted by the deafening roars and applause of an academy audience wildly appreciative of his victory. Davis sat on his knees, fatigue seeping throughout all his features, and soaked it all in. Jun walked up beside him and offered him a hand. Davis took it gratefully and laboriously pulled himself up. Veemon and Sparks took up positions at their sides.

Sensei Enn walked up to the assembled four and clucked as he took the bracelets from Davis. "Impressive, Motomiyas." He said. "Six to none. You may make sufficient Knights yet."

He left them and headed to where Ahmed and Helga were, a berating for them surely in store. Helga, for her part, was already sobbing like a petulant 5-year old.

Jun looked at the girl and shook her head. "I told her," she said. "Now everyone can see past that tough-girl façade." She shrugged. "Oh well, let's go."

As his adrenaline faded away, Davis once again felt the after effects of his earlier torture. He put most of his weight against Jun's shoulders and slowly walked beside her. Many of the other students gently patted him on the back and gave him words of congratulations or encouragement as they slowly passed through the crowd. When they finally reached their own group of friends, Davis took his arms from around his sister so she could embrace Tai. Instead he stumbled forward, and draped them around Kuri. She almost fell backwards from the sudden weight.

"Thank you," He mumbled into her shoulder. "Thank you."

"Davis, you must be really tired and out of it from your battle." Kuri responded loudly. She turned to the rest of the group and whispered, "I'll explain later."

Everyone looked up as Gennai walked out into the middle of what had once been the arena and stood on one of the less damaged blocks.

"In my opinion," he said loud and evenly, "you all did very well today. Of course, I'm not a combat expert so Sensei Enn would be more qualified to tell you so, which I'm sure he will in your combat sessions on Monday." Gennai smiled at the groans that passed through the crowd before continuing. "The next Combine with be held at this time during the next term. Though right now the immediate obstacles you all need to prepare for are term finals, which will be coming up shortly."

The entire academy groaned simultaneously again.

"And then you can kiss all of this," he made gesture encompassing the surrounding environment, "goodbye as the Realm undergoes its first term transformation."

The groans turned into curious murmurs

"Gennai," Jonathan shouted from somewhere in the crowd, "what's the term transformation?"

"You'll see soon enough." He winked at the young digidestined. "You'll all see, but," Gennai held a hand up to quell any further questions. "That's an issue for another time. For now, I want you all to rest up and enjoy your upcoming weekend. You're all hereby dismissed."

There was a sense of relief in the air as all the students turned and began to walk towards the mansion. Davis continued to lean against Kuri, his eyes only partially open and his senses dulled.

Jun watched the two keenly as she walked behind them, arm in arm with Tai.

"You know who they remind me of?" she asked Tai.

"I know," he responded with the slightest hint of a smirk. "It's almost like looking in a mirror."

A full moon rose high into the night sky and shone brightly on the Knights academy as all the students entered the mansion. The world's greatest hopes were finally taking the first steps towards rounding into their destinies.

* * *

Next: A bit of what's going on in the real world and the "term transformation" as our knights continue to grow and learn (due to be posted ASAP).. Thanks for reading. Don't forget to review.


	7. A New Term

Oooh, shii-! It's an update! This chapter's not as long as some of the ones I've put up in the past, mostly because I split if off from the next one. You know what that means. Another one will be posted pretty soon. :-) Anyway, enjoy this one. Its got a lot of the real world reaction you all craved.

* * *

**A New Term **

**Real World: Odaiba **

Matt Ishida checked the sheet music once more before strumming the notes again. He stopped abruptly. The section just didn't sound right. Matt knew it wasn't the music. He'd been working on this particular piece for months. For all intents and purposes, it was immaculate. No, what was bothering Matt had no real musical inclination at all. It was Sora, or rather, her newfound infatuation with Tai's welfare. Matt shook his head in disgust. If Tai's purpose in going 'missing' the past few days was to bring out any lingering feelings Sora might have had for him he'd certainly succeeded. For the past couple of days now, she'd been in a state of conflicting depression and anxiety, constantly staying in contact with their group of digidestined, and even making calls to the police.

Matt sighed angrily. Why couldn't she see that this was exactly what Tai wanted? Matt was reasonably sure that Tai wasn't missing at all. He was rational enough to see the signs that pointed otherwise. When Kari had finally decided to call Kuri's parents she was told that the girl had taken a two-week trip. To where? They didn't know. She'd informed them that she would be with friends though. Over the same period of time, TK had been unable to contact Davis so they could continue their basketball tournament.

For Matt, these two "coincidences" added up to one conclusion; the three of them had gone somewhere together. Kari had disagreed when he told her this, however. Tai and Davis might have been together, she said, but there was no reason for them to be with Kuri. The two of them didn't know her well enough.

Matt tried to argue with this, but Kari refused to listen to logic. So did Sora. Sora insisted that the Kuri story was so unlike Tai and Davis in its irresponsibility that there was no way the boys could've been involved. It suited that girl, she'd said disdainfully, but hardly their former leaders.

Matt put his guitar aside in frustration and ran a hand through his golden mane. This is what Tai did, always. He always needed to be the center of attention. Always had to be the one to get what he wanted. True, Tai had been something of a serviceable leader, in Matt's opinion not a great one as so many people insisted, but that hardly meant that any of them owed him a debt of gratitude now. They all had put in just as much effort and time into saving the digital world as he did. And in any case, that was six or seven years ago now. People had to grow and change. They couldn't always live in the past. Tai apparently didn't subscribe to this view of life, because he was still doing the same thing with his life as he was all those years ago, nothing. Meanwhile, Matt had shown the ambition to do anything he put his mind to. Matt knew Tai was jealous of everything he had. It was something he could just feel. Tai hardly ever came to any of his concerts anymore, much less talked to him. And when Matt made friendly overtures to him, Tai brushed them aside or threw them back in his face, such as when Matt invited him to the diner in the digital world to tell the guys of his impending engagement to Sora, only to have Tai make one last attempt to gain her affections.

Matt shook his head. What made Tai think he even had a chance with Sora? Sure, she had some feelings for him because of their long friendship. But the fact remained, Sora was a woman with ambition. She had a life to live and goals to attain. Fun and games could come later. Matt reflected these very same qualities. It's what made he and Sora so compatible. Tai meanwhile, was something else altogether. It was like he gleaned some kind of pride in doing nothing at all.

With a sigh, Matt got up and left the practice room. He strolled down the heavily decorated halls (due to Sora's influence) until he reached the kitchen, where found his fiancée, sitting at the table, listening to a conversation Mimi was having on her cell.

He quietly slipped into the room and sat down beside Sora, giving her a quick peck on the cheek as he did so. She gave him a brief smile before turning her attention back to Mimi. Perturbed, Matt also listened to Mimi, trying to find out what held his love's attention so raptly.

"Really, no sign of them at all? Well, thanks anyway. Nah, don't worry about it. We'll find them soon enough. Thanks Palmon." Mimi pushed the end button on her phone and turned to Sora. "Well, they're not in the digital world." She said, detachedly, casually tossing her phone onto the table.

Sora sighed.

Matt grumbled. "Don't tell me you guys are still searching for 'Tai and the gang.'"

Mimi threw a hand up defensively. "She is." She pointed to Sora. "I'm just doing this as a favor."

Matt turned to his fiancée in annoyance. "Sora, how long are you going to keep up this foolishness? Tai took off because he can't have you, plain and simple. No one kidnapped him. The note he left should tell you he wasn't taken anywhere against his will. He left. And you know why? Because he has the maturity of a five year old."

Mimi's phone rang. "Darn it." She muttered. "Just when this was getting good." She picked it up. "Hello?" she said, in a false, singsong voice. "Joe? Hey, how's it going?" She put a hand over the receiver. "Its Joe." She hissed to the betrothed couple.

Matt rolled his eyes. As if they hadn't figured that out already.

"No, we've got it all under control. Tai's just throwing a temper tantrum, basically. Nothing serious to worry about. Yeah, sure, we'll let you know as soon as we hear anything. You just keep your head in those medical books. No reason to let something dumb like this take you away from your studies." Mimi nodded with a smile, ignoring the fact that Joe couldn't actually see her. "Yeah, I'll be at his next concert. Okay. See you then. Bye."

She tossed the phone on the table once again. "This is getting annoying." She said. "People keep calling about Tai as if he's MIA from the army or something."

"Sora," Matt began, "why can't you take this the same way Mimi does? She knows the game Tai is playing."

"I guess its because I know Tai better than either of you. This just isn't his style."

"What? This is exactly his style!"

"Don't raise your voice at me like that Matt Ishida."

"Guys, guys." Mimi said, making a show of rubbing her temples. "Could you please not do this while I'm here? Its awfully unsettling."

Matt was taken aback by Mimi's nerve. Telling him how to act in his own house? He opened his mouth to say as much when her phone suddenly rang again. She picked it up and answered before he could utter a single syllable.

"Hello? Wolfgang? Hi, how are you doing? Yeah, I'll be available for a fundraiser next week-wait, hold on a sec." She turned to Matt and Sora. "I'm going to the other room. You guys behave, okay." She resumed her conversation before either had time to answer and strolled out.

"She's your friend." Matt said. He got up from the table and went to the refrigerator, searching for a bottled water.

"No, Matt, she's your friend too, just like Tai."

Matt groaned and gritted his teeth, unseen behind the refrigerator door. "I was kidding."

"Well, I'm not. Tai's your friend. You should care about what happens to him."

"Well, I don't. That tends to happen when a guy tries to steal your future wife. Plus, I doubt he's ever lost any sleep worrying about me."

Sora remained quiet for a moment. "You know, I had hopes that you two could reconcile this feud over me one day."

"You _two_?" Matt said after taking a swig from his bottle. "How am I in any way in some kind of feud with him over you? You're _with_ me!"

"Yeah, and every opportunity you get, you've always shoved that in Tai's face. You would always show him whatever fancy gifts you'd bought for me. Or those songs you'd write for me and sing in front of everyone-"

"Sora," Matt walked over and sat down beside her. "I didn't do those things to show off in front of Tai." He placed his arms around her. "I did them so that you and the whole world would know how much I loved you."

She sighed and leaned into his embrace. "I know. It's just that, well, that must have hurt him."

"I'm sure it did. But that's just something he's going to have to get over. I won't limit my affection for you for anybody."

He reached down a gently tipped her under the chin, raising her face to look directly into his. "I love you, Sora. I always will."

They shared a lengthy kiss.

"Maybe you're right, Matt." Sora said, after they parted. "Maybe Tai is just acting like a child. I've just been too blind to see it."

At that moment Izzy crashed through the door and stumbled into the kitchen grumbling.

"I can't believe how cold it is for this time of year. Fifty degrees in the afternoon? That's crazy." He turned and saw Matt and Sora in their intimate position. "Oh, sorry guys, I let myself in. Is Mimi here?"

In silent surprise, they both pointed the way the bubbly girl had left.

"Thanks." Izzy said, heading off in the indicated direction.

"Let himself in?" Matt asked Sora once he'd recovered.

"Well, it is cold out there," she said. "And you know how impatient Izzy can be in less than perfect weather."

Matt leaned back in his chair. "With friends like mine, who needs enemies?"

* * *

Only a few blocks from the Ishida residence stood the abandoned factory warehouse that was the Green Room. Currently, it was inhabited by four depressed looking digidestined and one kid with a strangely trussed up German Shepherd.

"You're sure she's not in the digital world anywhere?" Noriko asked Jiro for what had to be the tenth time that day.

"Yeah, I'm positive." He answered with a thinly veiled impatience, adjusting his spectacles. "Why would that many digimon lie about something like this?"

"I don't know." She shrugged. "Just trying to be thorough."

Kentaro crossed him massive arms across his chest. "I'm telling you guys, wherever she is, she is with Tai and Davis."

"And Jun too, for that matter." Jiro added. "It isn't just Davis that's not answering when I call their house."

Kin sighed. "Once again, I ask you guys, how much sense would it make for Kuri, a girl we all know never runs away from anything, to all of a sudden take off with Tai, Davis and Jun, of all people, to parts unknown?"

"Maybe she had enough of her home life." Noriko suggested. "I mean, Kuri never talked about it, but we've all seen her parents at some point or another. Pleasant enough people on their own, but when they're together…"

Jiro whistled to echo her sentiments.

Noriko continued. "Maybe it all just got to be a little too much for her."

Kin shook his head. "But that still doesn't explain why Tai, Jun and Davis are all gone also."

"That's the easy part." Jiro cut in. "Sora, Matt, and Kari. We all know, as much as they tried to hide it, that Tai, Jun and Davis all had crushes on them and that they're now off the market."

Kin folded his arms skeptically. "Well, we all know about Matt and Sora getting engaged. But since when has Kari been off the market?"

Jiro shrugged. "I dunno. Noriko's the one who told me."

All heads turned to the girl in question.

"I found out the same way we found out about everything else about those guys, from Kuri. She says Kari and TK have been pretty close for awhile now."

Kentaro nodded. "And last time Kuri was here, I saw her send Davis to find that out for himself."

"Whoa, that sounds kinda mean."

"Yet amusing." Kin added with an impish smile. "But I'm still not convinced of this, 'they all ran away together' theory."

Noriko narrowed her eyes at him in thought. "You've been saying that all day. Mind telling us what makes you so sure they didn't all leave together?"

"Well, it's mostly because of the day they all disappeared. It's too big a coincidence."

"What is?"

"I've been doing a little research on my own, surfing the online message groups of people like us, checking other international missing persons reports and such. It appears that hundreds of other digidestined were reported missing the same week."

"So?" Jiro said. "There has to be millions of us worldwide by now. It figures that at any given time there'd be a couple hundred of us missing. It's just a simple matter of odds."

"Yeah, but the trend shows a huge spike in reports as of last Monday. A lot of digidestined went missing the same morning as Kuri."

"Really?' Jiro asked, far more curious than skeptical now. "Under the same circumstances? Did any of them leave notes or anything, like Tai?"

"That's the thing. I don't know. The most information I can get in almost all these cases are the bare bones facts. Name, physical appearance, when they went missing; nothing on the circumstances surrounding their disappearances. Compared to the other cases of missing persons, hardly anything to go on at all."

Jiro looked at him incredulously. "All of them are like that?"

Kin nodded. "Yeah. It's almost like they don't want any of them to be found. And what's really weird is, in most of the cases the parents don't seem to be too concerned either. Well, the cases where parent's statements were included anyway, which weren't many."

"Sounds like a massive cover-up to me." Noriko said darkly to no one in particular.

Jiro massaged his temples. "Oh no. Sounds like Ms. Conspiracy Theorist is about to get started."

Kin put a hand up to belay their inevitable quarrel. "She has a point, Jiro. It all does seem pretty suspicious. Plus, Noriko would know better than us how well the world governments can cover things up from the way they kept her and the rest of the dark spore kids mostly under wraps."

Kado spoke up for the first time since their impromptu meeting had begun. "Yeah, they even kept most of that stuff out of TK's book. Before I met you guys, I thought Ken was the only dark Spore kid. I thought everyone was just spreading rumors when they talked about there being more."

"It was understandable though." Jiro said. "The digital world and digimon are still very new things to the world. It wouldn't do for everyone to know that any nut with good enough computer skills could go around putting dark spores into children. It's bad enough people found out that he could create bad digimon. If they knew he left a dozen potential digimon emperors walking around-" Jiro cut himself off and glanced at Noriko. "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that."

"S' okay." She mumbled, staring into her lap. "It's true."

"No it's not." Kin reached over and gently patted her arm. "That time is over. You could never change into something like that now. We wouldn't let you."

Noriko looked up and smiled at him gratefully. "Thanks Kin."

Kentaro ignored the exchange. Everyone knew Kin had a soft spot for Noriko. Why the two hadn't gone out already was beyond him. He turned to address Jiro. "So, you think they might be covering up something dark again?"

"Something dark might've taken Kuri?" Kado chimed in.

"I'd like to think not. But there's no way we can know for sure."

Kin looked thoughtful for a moment. "What if we asked someone who can sense these kinds of things?"

"That would be nice, but who?" Noriko asked. "No one's seen Gennai in years. We have no idea how to contact Azulongmon. Kari's shown some ability to sense darkness I guess-"

"Actually, I was thinking of somebody you've had personal experience with."

There was a beat before Noriko knew Kin was referring to. "Him? Are we even really sure he exists? I mean, I know he's supposed to be guarding the digital world and all, but I saw him die, er delete, myself."

Jiro caught on to who they were speaking of. "If he's there, like TK's _Chronicles_ say he is, I think it wouldn't be a bad idea to ask him if he's noticed any unusual activity. Too bad that's impossible though. Unless one of you knows someone that can talk to ghosts."

Kin shook his head. "Rumor has it, there's one person that's able to communicate with Oowikawa. It'll just be a matter of finding him and hoping he agrees to help us out."

* * *

Cody Hida squelched up his face in disgust after he took a bite of his cheeseburger. Mayonnaise. He hated mayonnaise. Why was it even invented? This brand in particular tasted like rancid cream cheese and had the consistency of pureed hard-boiled eggs. He put the offending sandwich down and looked around the restaurant he was in. It was an American styled haunt that Ken and Yolei insisted he go to during his brief visit to Tokyo with his grandfather. Of course, the two college students had been too busy to actually come with him, with classes and all. Cody smiled somewhat ruefully. He never would've believed that Yolei could've become quite the bookworm she was now. It was funny how the people he knew had changed over the years. Sora with her fashion stuff, Mimi cooking, even Kari and her work with children as of late.

And then there was Grandpa. That was another story. Cody's smile quickly degraded into a frown. More and more lately, the old man seemed exceedingly uncomfortable outside. He didn't go anywhere, save for the kendo tournament they were attending today, unless it was absolutely necessary. He kept insisting that he felt something bad in his bones. Something foreboding that he wasn't quite sure about. There was a darkness out there, he insisted, that he couldn't quite put a finger on, but which threatened them all. Though he didn't want to admit it to himself, Cody found his faith in the elder patriarch severely shaken as a result of these recent assertions. He didn't know much about the early effects of Alzheimer's, but he planned to find out as soon as his schedule permitted. There were times recently that Grandpa told him that he could swear that the sky itself was becoming a darker shade of blue. It was how he explained the unseasonable cold they'd been experiencing lately

Cody shook his head sadly. He would have to have a talk with his mother when he got back to Odaiba. Two heads were likely better than one in situations such as these. He got up to take his burger back to the service counter and accidentally bumped into a figure loitering suspiciously close to his table.

Cody hurriedly apologized. "Oh I'm sorry sir," he began.

The lanky, brown haired man stopped him with a raise of his hand. "No apologies necessary. It was as much my fault." He lowered and extended the raised hand. "Cody Hida, right?"

Cody nodded warily before returning the handshake. There was something eerie about this man. Not necessarily a familiarity, but still something he felt he should've known about him. Cody forced the thought aside for the moment. "And you are?"

"Ah, forgive my manners, I'm Kai Atuma, of Primary Investigations. Perhaps you've heard of us?"

Cody shook his head.

"A pity." Kai hung his head briefly, apparently stung by the lack of notoriety. "Anyway, it has come to my attention that a few of your friends have come up missing it the past few days. I like many people here, believe that we all owe you digidestined a tremendous debt of gratitude and would like to offer my firm's services in helping to find them."

Cody let loose a sigh of relief. At first, he'd feared that the man was simply an overanxious fan. Cody often enjoyed his position as the least recognized of the Odaiba digidestined as fans had a tendency to make him very nervous.

"Well, I thank you for your offer, Mr. Atuma, but I'm not so sure your services are really necessary. Some of my friends are pretty sure that they aren't actually missing, but taking something of a sabbatical."

"A vacation eh? If that's what you all believe, or want to believe rather, then who am I to argue? Ignorance, as they say, is bliss."

"Excuse me?"

"I believe I have evidence very much to the contrary of what you and your friends think."

"Is that so?" Cody asked, trusting the man less with each word he spoke.

"It is. But I can see at the moment that you're in no mood to hear it." He reached out and handed Cody a business card. "Your friends are in grave danger. You'll want to give me a call when you finally find out for yourself."

Cody reluctantly took the card and placed it in his pocket. "Will that be all, Mr. Atuma?"

"Ah, yes I believe so." He turned to leave. "Mark my words, Mr. Hida, dark times indeed are on the horizon. You'll be seeking me out soon enough."

With that, he turned and walked out of the establishment's front doors.

Cody watched him with cold eyes all the while. He couldn't explain why he didn't trust the man. He just knew that he didn't. There was something about that Kai Atuma. Something dark and foreboding. Cody stopped himself with a shake of his head.

"I'm starting to sound like Grandpa." He muttered to himself. "Maybe I should have my own head examined."

He resumed his trek to the service counter, his mind now on things much more serious than a ruined burger.

* * *

**Digital Realm **

Davis stared at the computer monitor hard. His hands were in constant motion, intermittently clicking his mouse and typing on the keyboard. Finally, he found what he was looking for. He leaned in closer to inspect the data on the screen before letting out a huge sigh of relief and falling back into his bed, fists raised in the air triumphantly. Shortly after, his digivice made a beeping noise, which indicated an incoming communication. Davis pressed the button to receive it and was greeted by the expected voice of Kuri.

"So, how'd you do?" She asked.

"I passed all of them!" Davis shouted happily. "How about you?"

"Same here." She answered, unable to keep a hint of mirth out of her voice. "So did the rest of the girls here. How about the guys?"

As if on cue, Davis heard several whoops and hollers from the adjacent rooms. "Looks like they did too."

"See I told you everyone would do fine."

"Yeah, I guess you were right. Hey, we should celebrate this huh?"

"Normally, I'd say yes, but the transformation is in what, an hour? I think we should get ready for that first."

"Oh."

Kuri laughed. "Always ready for a party." She muttered.

"Yeah," Davis said wearing an unseen sheepish smile. "So, what do you think the transformation is anyway? You still on that 'new dimension' theory?"

"I dunno. It makes the most sense to me."

"Hmm, maybe."

"What?" Kuri said with feigned indignity, "you dare doubt me?"

"Forgive my rashness," Davis played along. "But I don't know if it would make sense for Gennai to make another dimension like this. Not after all the trouble he told us they went through to create this one."

"Well, then, what do you think it is?"

"Don't have a clue," Davis responded. "That kind of makes it more fun for me."

"I'm sure."

Davis laughed again. "K, you have to lighten up. Sometimes not knowing what's coming is the spice of life."

There was a sigh on the other end. "Fine, but if we end up crossing dimensions in an hour, you owe me dinner."

"Deal. We're supposed to go to the auditorium for this, so I guess we can meet in the rec room in a few minutes?"

"Cool with me, see ya there."

"Alright, see ya."

Davis severed the connection with a push of a button and stared at his digivice, slowly turning it over in his hand. It was amazing how much he used it to converse with Kuri now. Davis had never been much of a phone person, mostly because he'd never been much of a conversationalist. But in Kuri, he had found the kind of best friend he'd never had before. One he could talk to, for hours on end.

"Who would've thunk." He muttered before pocketing the small device and rising from his bed. He left the room and walked out to the hallway to find Tai talking with his own digivice, likely conversing with Jun. Davis suspicions were confirmed when Tai turned to him and said, "Your sis says that she passed her exam. How'd you do?"

Davis pumped a fist and Tai smiled in response.

Tai turned back to the digivice. "Yeah, he passed, and judging by the noise I heard earlier, I'd say Terence did too."

Tai leaned against the wall, immersing himself more into the conversation. "So, how did the other girls do?"

"They all passed." Davis answered for his sister. "Guess we're all just a sharp group of people."

Tai raised an eyebrow. "How do you know that?"

"Kuri told me. I'm about to meet her in the rec room before the Transformation. We'll be waiting for you guys."

Davis headed to the end of the hall and exchanged a high five with an obviously excited Terence who'd just exited his room before heading downstairs.

Tai watched Davis leave with mild interest. "You hear that?" He asked Jun.

"Yeah." She answered. "They called each other even before we did."

"Those two are getting awfully close for being 'just friends.' "

"Leave it alone Tai." Jun warned playfully.

"What?" Tai protested. "I never said I was gonna do anything."

"But I know you. You're as big a closet romantic as I've ever seen."

"Meaning?"

"Tai, you'd never admit it, but the very idea of relationships and falling in love enthralls you."

"Oh, really?" Tai said skeptically. "It _enthralls_ me?"

"Yes, really. And if you start trying to push Davis and Kuri into something they don't want, you'll do more harm than good."

"Something they don't want?" Tai repeated. "What do you know that I don't?"

"Nothing. But why should they be more than friends? What if they like things the way they are?"

"Because…" Tai paused, at a loss for a real answer.

"Because you'd be _enthralled_ if they fell in love with one another." Jun finished for him.

"But…well, what's wrong with that?" Tai asked defensively. "Falling in love with you has been the best thing that's ever happened to me. So sue me if I want other people to experience the same."

The other end was completely silent.

"Jun?" Tai asked perplexed. He looked at his digivice to ensure it was working properly and shook it for good measure. "Jun, are you there?"

"Tai d-do you really mean that?"

Tai was somewhat perplexed upon hearing the emotion in her voice. "Of course I do, Jun. I-" Tai paused, as the sudden realization of what he'd said finally hit him. "I meant every word of it."

There were a few sniffles on the other end followed by Jun softly saying, "That's so sweet Tai. Thank you."

Tai smiled for a moment, but the expression was replaced by a curious frown as the sound of conversation filled the background on Jun's end.

A few seconds later, she spoke again. "Sorry, Tai, the girls are telling me is time to get ready to go to the Transformation assembly. I guess we'll meet you guys early in the rec room too then. See you then?"

"Count on it." Tai started to push the sever button when Jun interrupted him.

"Oh, and Tai-"

"Yeah?"

"I love you too."

The connection ended there and Tai stood staring at his digivice, a goofy smile plastered across his face. Terence walked up behind him.

"You know, if I didn't know better, I'd swear a certain someone was trying to get lucky tonight."

Tai gave him a good-natured punch to the shoulder. "Shut up"

Terence made a show of rubbing the spot. "So, first time saying the words huh?"

Tai furrowed his brow. "Kinda." He admitted. "I've felt this way about Jun since our first night here, maybe even before that, but…I guess I never actually said the words. It's weird."

"Nah," Terence waved the notion off. "It's perfectly normal. It's probably our biggest flaw as men, as far as relationships go. Though, if you ask me, I think it's our greatest strength."

"Ever the heartbreaker, I'd expect that from you."

Terence laughed and put an arm around his friend's shoulders. "Ah, I have much to teach you, grasshopper."

Tai regarded him suspiciously. "I'm sure you do." He looked around. "Hey, where's Curtis?"

Terence shrugged. "I dunno. Probably downstairs, hanging out with Willis again."

"He didn't even come up to check his grade?"

Terence gave Tai a "you should know better" look.

"Yeah, I guess I wouldn't bother either if I were him. Must be nice to have that kind of confidence."

"I suppose.' Terence said. "It can get real annoying at times, though."

Tai laughed. "Don't tell me the great Terence Dumars is jealous of his little brother."

"Don't even go there. Unless you want to talk more about your emotional confession of love to Jun a moment ago." Terence clasped his hands together and exaggeratedly batted his eyes as he spoke.

"Fine," Tai grumbled. "What's say we start heading for the rec room then?"

"Sounds like a plan to me."

The two of them headed towards the staircase.

"And maybe," Tai added. "On the way we can talk about your out of character infatuation with Clara."

He barely had time to duck the cuff Terence aimed for the back of his head before bounding down the stairs and shouting, "All this over one girl? Could it be the player has lost his touch?"

Terence gave chase and the two exited the room amid boisterous laughing and horseplay.

* * *

"This isn't possible! How can we be losing this bad?"

Davis and Kuri looked up from their position on one of the rec room couches in the direction of Sparks' outburst. All the digimon were gathered for their usual games of poker and from the look of the stacks of chips on the table, Sparks wasn't doing very well. In fact, to be quite honest, he seemed to be faring horribly.

"When did you guys get so good at this?" he continued. "You have to be cheating. No way you all got this good all of a sudden, right Peko?"

The patamon didn't respond immediately, as she was too immersed in the current hand at her table to say anything to Sparks. After a moment she sighed as a Veemon reached across the table in delight and pulled the chips unceremoniously piled in the middle towards himself.

"I don't know, Sparks. Maybe we're losing our touch."

"Heh, don't feel bad guys." Agumon consoled. "It's not like we're playing for real money."

"Yeah," Marta agreed. "Or else we'd have to put Sparks on some kind of payment plan."

The disgruntled elecmon glowered across the table at her, but didn't supply a witty retort.

"So that _is_ what they've been up to." Davis said quietly.

"What who's been up to?" Kuri asked.

"The digimon. I've seen them up late at night, looking over certain books from our room bookshelf."

"Yeah?"

Davis nodded. "Yeah, so I checked them out. Some of those books are on digital history, some fighting techniques, and others on computer programming and stuff. But I noticed that there's a few on practical things, like first aid, human psychology, and a couple in particular about odds making and how to play against them."

A knowing smile crept into Kuri's face. "Those sneaky little…y'know, a couple of times I caught Marta and Gotsumon downstairs 'studying' too."

"Can't say I blame them. Sparks had this coming. Peko's more of an unfortunate casualty."

Kuri grimaced. "Caught in the line of fire."

Davis shrugged. "At least she isn't doing nearly as bad as he is."

The doors to the girls' wing on the mansion opened and Jun, Clara, and Rosa entered the rec room. The three of them cast half interested glances at the poker games before approaching Davis and Kuri.

"Man, what happened to Sparks?" Rosa asked. "Looks like he's really sucking it up tonight."

"I heard that!" Sparks shouted. "It's just a momentary setback. I'll be back on top in no time, you'll see."

The manic, almost desperate way he said this and the laughter from the rest of the digimon at the tables served to undermine any authority the statement might have held.

Jun shook her head at her partner and turned back to the two friends seated on the couch. "You guys seen Tai yet?'

"Yeah, I left him back in the room." Davis glanced at the clock on his digivice. "He should be along any minute now."

Suddenly, the doors to the boys' wing burst open and in barreled Tai, followed closely by Terence. Upon seeing the group awaiting them, they both sobered and casually strolled over.

"Don't try to act mature now." Clara chided. "I swear, sometimes you guys are worse than ten year olds."

Jun walked forward to greet Tai. "Maybe so," she said. "But I wouldn't have it any other way." She slowly sauntered over to him, a purposeful rhythm in every step. "I love him just the way he is." Jun slipped her arms around Tai's waist and stared up into his eyes. "Hey, you."

"Hey yourself," Tai returned, gently stroking a hand through her short locks.

Terence rolled his eyes. "They just started using the L word." He informed the rest of the group. "Now they apparently can't stop."

"Oh, that's so sweet." Clara said.

"And they're so perfect for each other." Rosa added.

Davis glanced at Kuri. "You got any girly sentiments to add?"

"Please." She looked at him reproachfully. "You know me better than that."

Davis smiled. "Yeah, I do."

Terence clapped his hands together, signifying a change of subject. "So, are we ready to go to this thing?" he asked, gesturing towards the main doors.

"I guess so." Kuri answered. "It isn't for another half an hour, but I guess we could always get good seats."

"Or something like that." Davis said, getting up. "Let's go." He put his index fingers to his lips and let forth a shrill whistle. "All digimon going to the Transformation need to get a move on! We're leaving now."

The announcement was met with a cacophony of mournful groans from all the digimon, save Peko and Sparks, who answered with twin sighs of relief.

Rosa took in a quick scan of the group's inhabitants as she headed out. "Where's Curtis?" she asked.

"I'm betting he's already down there, probably trying to find out what the transformation is before we do." Terence said, holding the door as everyone exited.

"Yeah, probably." Rosa concurred. "Between him and Jonathan asking questions all the time, I don't know how Willis keeps from going crazy."

* * *

The mansion auditorium was already abuzz with the conversation of early arriving students. On the stage, Gennai, Nai, and Willis were busy moving back and forth, communicating in quiet, secretive voices. Behind them, at the back of the stage, sat the rest of the Academy instructors and assistants; Keyan, Counselor Gen, Sensei Enn, Mr. Chan, and Ms. Lee. At the front edge of the stage sat Curtis and Jonathan conversing in hushed animated tones. Nadia stood between the two, on the ground in front of the stage, nodding here and there as she listened to them talk.

"Okay, so here is what we have." Curtis said, extending a hand and counting on his fingers as he began to take inventory. "Whatever this transformation is, it requires a lot of work on Willis and Nai's part."

The three glanced in the direction of the two computer geniuses, bent over and hard at work on some program that apparently required their utmost attention.

"Not to mention, Gennai." Jonathan added. He gestured toward the old man, who frequently shuffled between the two and his own, rarely seen computer, set up on the opposite side of the stage.

"Yeah, plus Gennai." Curtis added, before continuing. "Also, Sensei Enn hinted earlier that it would entirely change our training and combat techniques."

"And that little tidbit was hardly worth the effort put into getting it." Jonathan said with a weary frown. "That is the first, and last, time I pump that man for information."

"But all knowledge comes at a price, does it not?" Nadia asked, a pitying smile playing across her face.

"True, but at the steep price of morning calisthenics for a week with that old curmudgeon? I should think not."

Nadia shrugged. "Had you not been caught trying to sneak up to his office before your 'interrogation,' I'm sure the punishment would have been lighter, if there was any at all. Besides, you could use the exercise. I hardly ever see you at the gym during off hours anymore."

"As true as all of that is," Curtis interrupted. "It doesn't get us any closer to figuring out what the Transformation is. So, if we could just get back to the subject at hand-"

"Hey Curtis, you too good to hang out with us anymore?"

Curtis looked up towards the sound of the familiar voice, and saw seven of his closest friends entering the auditorium. He gave a friendly wave to the owner of the voice, Rosa, who still had her hands cupped around her mouth. She lowered her hands and put them on her hips impatiently in response.

"I think that's your cue to get over there, mate.' Jonathan chuckled.

"Yeah, I don't know what it is with Rosa. She just really likes for the whole 'gang' to stick together."

"Yeah, my mum's like that too. Says it promotes unity or some other rubbish. In my opinion, it's just to make life harder on the rest of us."

"Tell me about it."

"You two have so much to learn." Nadia said, reaching up and pulling Curtis down from the stage. She gave him a push in the back. "Get over there. We will find out what the transformation is soon enough."

Curtis shuffled off, sparing a wave back to them, and one to Taps, who shouted to him from his position in the balcony with the rest of the digimon, before joining the group.

"Hey guys."

"So, did you find out what this whole production is about?" Davis asked.

Curtis shook his head. "Nope. They're not giving up much info. How'd you guys do on your exams?"

"We all passed," Terence said. "Not that you would know."

Curtis smiled sheepishly. "I'll get around to checking my results sooner or later.'

"Don't bother." Kuri said dismissively. "You probably got top score out of the whole academy."

Curtis looked at the floor, somewhat embarrassed to receive such high praise from Kuri. "Yeah, well I…"

"Why don't we all take our seats?" Tai suggested, breaking his attention away from Jun long enough to notice how much he didn't feel like standing at the moment.

"Good idea." Davis agreed. They took seats in their usual section of the auditorium and for the umpteenth time over the past few weeks, began to share their theories of what the transformation could be.

The next half hour went by quickly. The auditorium filled to capacity rapidly and was overflowing with the noise of various conversations when the lights finally dimmed and Gennai stepped to the forefront of the stage. He stood there for a few seconds and waited as the massive room gradually quieted down.

"Now," He began, when the room was sufficiently silent. "Let's get down to business shall we? You all came here to see the transformation. You've waited long enough to find out what it is, so I won't force you to wait any longer. But first, we must assure that you all have a decent view of it. So, in that vein, Willis…" Gennai gestured to the boy to perform whatever task it was he was scheduled to do.

Willis nodded and turned to his computer. After a few keystrokes, the auditorium was filled the astonished gasps of shocked students as the walls surrounding them gradually turned slightly opaque, and then fully transparent. The only visible signs left of what had once been the outer walls of the auditorium were small white lines that marked the frame where corners met and the angles of the walls changed slightly.

"Wow, you can almost see clear to the lake from here." Clara exclaimed.

Gennai smiled at the students' reactions a moment before continuing. "I did this so you can all witness the amazing spectacle that is about to take place before you. If you'll just give me a moment…" He shuffled over to his laptop and tapped one key. He then signaled to Willis, and the young computer genius repeated the action.

"Now, just sit back and enjoy the show."

Everything visible outside the auditorium suddenly turned a brilliant shade of white and all the students shielded their eyes as they were bombarded with the ultra-bright light. A low rumbling started, and gradually began to appreciate in decibel level as the entire room started to vibrate slightly.

"Don't worry!" Gennai shouted over the confusion. "This is all part of the show."

Crude shapes began to become discernible in the mass of lights and elements swirling around. Violent bolts of electricity flew here and there, accompanied by loud cracks as they superheated the surrounding air. After a few moments most of the lights began to settle themselves into structures and various shapes, no longer flying about randomly. The winds finally began to die down and the auditorium discontinued its violent shaking. For one last time, everything emitted a blinding glow, and with a final flash, the process seemed to complete.

When everything came back into focus, Curtis was speechless at the sight before him. Where there had once been green fields and hills rolling into the distance, there were now countless dunes of sand. The area immediately surrounding the mansion had been transformed into an elaborate network of tiled stones and ornate sculptures, much like an ancient Egyptian city. In the distance, where the lake had been, there was now a colorful oasis. The foliage and underbrush still grew thick there, but now, instead of tall oak trees and small bushes, there were now palms and small flowering cacti. The digital realm had been effectively transformed into a digital desert.

"As digital knights," Gennai said, "You will all need to be able to adapt to different kinds of conditions and terrain in your battles and travels. Thus, every term the realm will undergo pre-programmed changes, such as what you've just seen, in order to better prepare you for any environments you may come across."

Gennai noticed his words were hardly being listened to, as the auditorium was abuzz with conversation over what had just transpired. He smiled and gave in. "I can see you all are in no mood to sit here a pay attention to some boring old lecture, so why don't you go outside and get acquainted with your new surroundings?"

"Go on." He prodded when he saw the hesitant looks many of the students gave him. "Get out of here."

No one needed further persuasion and soon the throng of students and digimon had pushed their way through the mansion doors and were looking around themselves in awe.

"Look!" Rosa exclaimed, pointing back at the mansion just after they'd exited.

It no longer resembled a southern plantation house, now having taken on the look of more of an ancient temple, comprised of large blocks adorned with sphinx-like statues and hieroglyphics, though the inside remained unchanged.

"It beautiful." Jun said stepping up beside her. She made a sweeping gesture with her hand. "All of this is."

"Yeah, but it's hot." Curtis said, wiping at sweat already starting to bead on his forehead.

"But it's a dry heat." Terence added with a smile.

Everyone groaned.

Clara graced him with a smile. "Silly." She said, hitting him lightly on the shoulder.

Kuri ignored them, staring at the many sculptures and pyramids in the distance with Peko resting comfortably on her shoulder.

Davis walked up next to her with Veemon. "Penny for your thoughts?"

"It's all so…different."

"Yeah, isn't it cool?"

"I suppose, but I was so comfortable with the old realm. It-" she sighed. "I don't know what I'm trying to say."

"I know what you mean. You'd just gotten used to this whole Knight thing, and then Gennai goes and makes a big change like this."

Kuri nodded. "Something like that."

Davis smiled. "Well, guess what? You don't have anything to worry about. Nothing's really changed at all."

Kuri raised an eyebrow at him. "What? Are you blind? Look around you, Davis. Everything's changed."

"Hmm, I dunno about that. I still see Jun, Tai, Curtis, Terence, Rosa, Clara. There's Jonathan over there with Nadia, Keyan, and Willis. Gennai, Nai, Gen, Sensei Enn coming out the doors. Veemon is still here. Peko-"

"Okay, okay Davis. Everyone's here. What's your point?"

Davis continued as if she hadn't said anything. "And then there's me and you. My point is, nothing has really changed as long as your friends and the people you care about are still around. Especially when they're going through the same things you are. So what the trees and grass are gone and now there's sand and pyramids? Those are just things. The people are still the same, and will still be here for you no matter what." He glanced to where Jason and his cronies were standing. "Well, most of them."

"How cheerful. You don't know how much you can sound like an after school special sometimes, Davis." Kuri raised a finger to stop him from responding. "But, you have a point. As long as you guys are still around, I guess things can't be too different."

Davis smirked. That was probably as good a response as he was going to get.

Tai approached them from behind. "Things will be changing a bit more tomorrow, though." He shrugged at the questioning looks he got from Kuri and Davis. "Sorry, I couldn't help but overhear some of your conversation."

"Never mind." Kuri said motioning for him to continue. "How will things be changing?"

"Have you forgotten? Tomorrow's the start of the new term. Champion level digivolutions will be activated."

Davis brightened. "That's right! I'd completely forgotten."

Veemon began hopping around. "So, tomorrow I should be able to spread my wings huh?"

"Yeah, and me too." Davis grinned boyishly. "Man, tomorrow's gonna be great."

Tai smiled. "I have to admit, I've been wondering how it would feel to fire a nova blast for a while now."

"Shoot, I can barely remember, myself." Agumon said, beside him. "It's been a while since I last digivolved." He jumped in the air, some of Veemon's zeal apparently rubbing off on him. "I can't wait."

Both Davis and Tai laughed at his unusual show of juvenile enthusiasm.

Kuri didn't seem to share much of their enthusiasm. In fact, she seemed to be downright apprehensive about the whole affair. Peko echoed her partner's disposition.

"Think it'll work this time?" she quietly asked Kuri after everyone had their fill of the midday heat and began to head back into the mansion.

"I hope so." She responded. "But as they say, sometimes, the more things change, the more they remain the same."

"I was afraid you'd say that."

Kuri looked upon her partner sympathetically. "We'll see what happens though." She sighed. "After all, tomorrow's a new day."

_To be continued…_

* * *

Next up, "Evolutions." All the digimon will reach their champion forms, but will they be the only ones to truly "evolve?"

Please review. Next chapter will be up soon!


	8. Evolutions

Sorry, sorry, sorry! I know I said this chapter would be up shortly, but something came up and I had to go out of town for a couple of weeks. In case you guys don't know how it feels to be sitting on a pretty much completed chapter of a fic, unable to upload it because you forgot to bring the disk you saved it on: It sucks! Anyway, here it is. Enjoy.

* * *

**Evolutions**

Davis had never seen the Digital Combat class so loud and unruly. Although Sensei Enn had yet to arrive, it was still out of character for everyone to be excitedly talking and laughing the way they were with Xian and Krista there. Though the two were generally easier going than Enn, they still usually commanded a larger amount of respect than what they were currently receiving.

"Looks like everyone here can't wait to digivolve." He said to Kuri, who stood next to him. She didn't respond.

Davis turned to her and noticed she was staring off into space once again, immersed in an aloof mood that had persisted all morning.

"You sure you're all right, Kuri?" He asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.

She flinched at the sudden touch. "Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine."

Davis decided not to push the issue further, but looked at her concernedly anyway.

It was few minutes before Sensei Enn finally arrived and the class quieted down reasonably. He looked upon them all with more disdain than usual.

"I suppose you're all particularly eager to begin today's session." He said with a sneer. "Well, before I allow you all to digivolve, I must relieve you all of your obvious ignorance regarding the matter."

"He's in rare form today." Terence muttered to no one in particular from the back of the group.

"First of all," Enn continued, apparently not having heard him. "Your digivolutions today may or may not be what you are expecting. We held a conference long ago to decide what digivolved forms would be most advantageous to you and your digimon."

Enn sighed at the confused looks he received. "I can see I'm going to have to be more remedial than usual. Surely by now you all have learned in your Laws class that digimon have several possible forms to digivolve into from any given level."

Everyone nodded.

"Well, we have recently discovered how to manipulate these lines of evolution slightly. Thus, today many of you will find that the champion form of your digimon is different from what it once was. Some evolutions, you may not have even realized were possible. Do not question them, however. All changes were made for the benefit of the group, despite what you may or may not believe, which is of no consequence anyway."

There were some apprehensive murmurings among the crowd.

"Silence!" Enn beckoned. He began to pace in front of the class. "Now, I will need one of you to use in demonstration, preferably one of you who has a flying champion level digimon." He stopped and looked at Davis. "Motomiya! Step forward."

Davis looked around unsurely, briefly glancing at Jun.

"I think he means you." She said with a slight hint of a smile.

He rolled his eyes and stepped to the forefront of the group, where Enn stood. "Yes?"

"Evolve your Veemon." Enn said simply.

Davis raised his digivice and his thumb lingered over the glowing orb that symbolized Veemon's champion level digivolution uncertainly.

"Get on with it." Enn prodded.

With a shrug Davis went ahead and pushed the screen.

"ExVeemon evolution initialized." Said the familiar computerized voice from the digivice.

Veemon was encased in the familiar bright light of digivolution and Davis felt a substantial amount of power begin to course through him. A few moments later the tall hulking form of ExVeemon was revealed as the light dissipated.

"Long time no see." Davis joked as he looked upon what was essentially a much taller and muscular winged version of Veemon.

ExVeemon made a show of stretching his limbs. "Tell me about it."

Enn stepped between them. "Very simple," He said addressing the class. "Even you lot should be able to manage it. Now, on to the next step." He turned to Davis. "It's time for you to take flight Mr. Motamiya."

Davis looked at Enn unsurely. "Um, I'm not sure if I can-"

Xian stepped between Davis and Sensei Enn so as to spare Davis the embarrassment Nadia underwent when Enn was first instructing them on how to form attacks.

"It's very easy, really." He said quietly. "When starting out, I suggest you pick out a spot in the air you want to reach and simply leap with your full concentration on getting there."

"Really?" Davis asked skeptically. "And that will work?"

"It should. Soon enough, however, flying will become so second nature that you'll have no need for such exercises."

With that, Xian returned to his position at the edge of the audience and waited patiently. Davis gave him one last glance before looking to the sky and deciding to get on with it before Enn took the opportunity to berate him for needing help. He concentrated on the top of a distant pyramid.

"Well, here goes nothing." He said, taking a moderate leap from the ground.

The first thing Davis noticed was the sense of no longer being subject to the laws of gravity as he felt not the familiar sensation of falling back to the ground but remained in the air, in fact rising higher and further away from his audience below. When he felt he had gone far enough Davis found that he had only to think of stopping before he did so and hovered steadily in the air. He let out a loud whoop of excitement and pumped both of his fists in the air, accidentally somersaulting in midair from the momentum.

"Whoa," He exclaimed, mentally steadying himself. "This is going to take some getting used to."

"Motamiya!" Davis heard Enn's distant shout and looked down upon him. "Stop your acrobatics at once and come back down here!"

Davis started to comply when he noticed that ExVeemon was no longer on the ground where he'd left him. Seconds later he felt a light tap on his shoulder and turned around in surprise to look upon the visage of his digivolved partner.

"Tag!" ExVeemon shouted, before turning and taking off through the air.

With a laugh, Davis tore after him as best an inexperienced flyer could. He completely ignored Enn's indignant shouts below as he raced through the air. The wind rushing through his hair as he chased after the large blue digimon in the distance gave him a feeling of exhilaration the likes of which he'd never experienced.

They spent the next fifteen minutes that way, ExVeemon performing graceful displays of acrobatics while his partner did his best to emulate them until Davis suddenly stopped short, noticing that they'd ventured well beyond their permitted distance from the mansion.

"Veemon, we'd better turn back." He said. "We're in flare zone now. I don't much feel like getting sucked into some other dimension at the moment."

ExVeemon, who'd just gone into a complicated spinning dive, stopped and pulled up to his partner's level.

"Okay," He agreed. "Let's head ba-" He stopped mid sentence, staring intently out over the horizon back towards the mansion.

"What is it?" Davis asked, turning his head to look in the same direction. He immediately saw what held his partner's attention. A large white form was streaking over the horizon, directly towards them. "What is that?"

"I don't know." ExVeemon responded, squinting as he tried get a closer look at the object. A sudden look of recognition crossed his features. "Wait, is that a Nefertimon?'

Davis scoffed. "An armor digimon? Here? That's not possible." His eyes widened as the figure became clearer. "But apparently true."

"Who's that with her?" ExVeemon asked, pointing to a smaller shape flying next to the Nefertimon.

Davis squinted also. "I'm not sure. I-I think it's..." He paused, trying to be certain. "It's Clara!" He exclaimed.

"Hey guys!" Clara shouted when she and the Nefertimon finally came within talking distance. "Isn't this great?"

"Um, yeah." Davis answered, his attention focused solely on the white, lion shaped digimon. "Is that Marta?"

Clara nodded. "Isn't she beautiful?" She hugged Marta around the neck. "She really fits in with the Egyptian theme we've got going on around here now."

"Yeah, but how did Marta digivolve into a Nefertimon instead of a Gatomon? I mean, you don't even have a digimental."

"Sure don't." Clara said proudly, enjoying Davis' confusion. She laughed when he furrowed his brow even further than it was already. "Okay, I'll tell you what's up. Ms. Lee told me that Salamon have very close evolution lines between Gatomon and Nefertimon. Close enough that Willis and Nai pushed Marta's line over to Nefertimon because she has obvious advantages over Gatomon, like flying, better attacks, just more cool overall."

"But I thought you needed digimentals to Armor digivolve."

"Me too. But from what they told me, armor digivolving is more like an automatic power boost and a way to get around things like control spires that might keep a digimon from digivolving normally. The digimon they evolve into aren't exactly exclusive or anything. Like the lost attacks, they're old, ancient actually, but it doesn't mean they can't be used."

Clara did a quick loop de loop after her explanation, impressing Davis. He shrugged, accepting what she had to say as canon. He'd seen stranger things since joining the Academy, after all.

"So, did anyone else have armor digimon, er digimon that are normally armor digimon?"

"Nah," Clara responded. She raised her fingers and began counting of the ones she could remember from their group. "Lets see, Agumon and Gotsumon digivolved to Greymon and Monochromon, of course. Sparks digivolved into Leomon. Taps became Meramon, who looks really creepy, by the way, with all those flames around him." She stopped, trying to remember who was left. "Oh," she exclaimed, upon doing so, "And Pings digivolved into Frigimon, who's really cute if you ask me, even if he doesn't fit in. You know, being a snowman in the middle of the desert and all."

Davis nodded, absorbing the wealth of information. Something began to gnaw at him though. She'd left something out.

"And I wouldn't worry about Sensei Enn being mad if I were you." Clara continued, taking his attention away from it at the moment. "As soon as you took off, everyone pretty much saw it as their cue to start digivolving, throwing attacks, and taking off flying." Clara grinned. "It was pretty much chaos. Sensei Enn practically threw up his hands and gave up trying to control us."

"I'll bet he did." Davis responded laughing. "But that reminds me, I haven't tried throwing an attack yet."

"Hmm, ExVeemon shoots lasers, if I recall." Clara mused.

Davis looked at her questioningly. "Yeah, so?"

"How about a little target practice?"

He caught on to her meaning and smiled, raising his hands to a ready position for shooting. "Okay, go."

With a gesture, Clara sent several rosetta stones sailing into the clear blue sky. Davis took careful aim at them, concentrated for a moment, and fired a few v-lasers into their midst. One of his shots connected with a stone in a small explosion. Moments later, the shards from the impact rained down on both of them.

"Nice." Clara complemented.

"Thanks. You know, these projectile attacks aren't half bad."

Marta flew up between them. "Sorry to interrupt your target practice," She said. "But what's going on over there?'

Clara and Davis looked towards where she was indicating and gasped. A pulsating white oval had materialized out of thin air and was erratically becoming larger and smaller. After a few seconds it began to lose strength and finally dissipated and faded away.

Clara looked to Davis in astonishment. "W-Was that a portal? A flare?"

Davis nodded. "I think so. We should count ourselves lucky that nothing came through. I think it's time for us to head back."

Clara agreed, and quickly the quartet headed off, back towards the mansion. As they approached a rather large dune that separated them from the mansion, Veemon suddenly shouted "duck!" and dove between them, disturbing the wind currents and scattering them apart just as a great ball of fire streaked through their midst.

"Whoa! What the hell was that?!" Clara exclaimed, doing her best to right herself.

Davis eyed the fireball suspiciously as it headed off into the horizon. "I think I have a good idea." He said, pulling out his digivice and pressing a button.

"Hello?" A voice greeted him through it after a moment.

"Tai, would you mind not throwing Nova blasts around without looking first? You almost roasted us up here!"

"Heh, sorry about that. But what makes you think it was me? For all you know it might have been Greymon-"

"Hey!" a gruff voice cut him off. "It wasn't me! I can actually control the aim on my blasts! Unlike you, it's not my first time using them."

"Okay, okay, it was me." Tai admitted. "But I honestly didn't expect you to still be up there. I thought you'd be with Kuri by now."

Davis looked perplexed. "What? Why?"

"Didn't Clara tell you? She couldn't get Peko to digivolve."

Clara snapped her fingers. "I knew there was something I forgot to say."

Davis ignored her. "So where's Kuri now?" He said into the digivice, before looking down and noticing that they were almost directly over the class at this point. "Nevermind, I'll be down there in a sec."

Moments later he landed, rather roughly due to his inexperience, alongside Veemon, Marta, and Clara, who'd smartly decided to ride her partner in for a landing. Davis searched the crowd of students and large digimon until he at last saw Tai, Greymon, Jun, and Sparks (in his Leomon form), standing off to one side. He rushed over to them.

"What happened?" he asked Tai.

"We're not sure. For some reason Peko just wouldn't digivolve. Sensei Enn sent her to go speak with Professor Nai."

Davis turned and began to head for the mansion when a hand reached out and caught his shoulder. He turned back around and saw that it belonged to his sister.

"Davis, I know that she needs you right now, but tread carefully. She's more hurt than you know by this."

Davis nodded and turned to leave again before Jun stopped him once more. She smiled slightly at her brother's impatient expression.

"You have to get ExVeemon to devolve before you can go in the mansion, you know."

"Right." Davis said. He pressed a button on his digivice and promptly his partner reassumed his previous rookie form before they headed inside.

The first thing Davis noticed when they entered the mansion was the relative quiet and stillness of the place.

"So this is what's it's like in here during classes." He mumbled as he made his way past the staircase to the hallway that led to the laws auditorium. When he reached the room, he paused at the massive doors and listened to see if Nai was busy lecturing his current class. The quiet he heard in return told him that the class was most likely working on an assignment he'd just given them.

Davis cautiously opened the door and stepped inside the spacious room. A few heads turned to look at him curiously before returning to their tasks at hand. He made his way down one of the side aisles and silently approached the stage, where the professor and his assistant were working on their respective laptops, as usual. Davis cleared his throat and they both looked up at him. With a small wave, Nai beckoned for him to approach them. Davis did so, ducking his head so as not to cast a shadow on the projection screen as he crossed the stage.

"Normally I'd reprimand you for not being in class at the moment," said Nai, when Davis reached him. "But this is most likely about Kuri, is it not?"

Davis nodded. "Yeah, she came here didn't she?"

"She most certainly did, and in a particularly foul mood, though who can blame her."

"What exactly happened? Why wouldn't Peko digivolve?"

"I'm not entirely sure, to tell you the truth, but I believe it had to do with her most unique breed."

"Unique breed?" Davis pulled up an empty chair from behind Nai and seated himself. "What do you mean?"

"Well, Peko isn't entirely patamon. She's about 75% patamon and the rest tsukaimon, a digimon that is the spitting image of a patamon except differently colored."

"So that's why Peko's colored so weird. She's a mixture…but how is that even possible?"

"Oh, it's not unprecedented. It happens when digimon are being assembled sometimes. Their data is being programmed in one direction, but their lines are so close with another species that some of their data, a few rogue files, if you will, accidentally format themselves that way. What you end up with is a digimon whose evolution lines are so blurred it can't actually digivolve, because its data can't decide what it should digivolve into."

"So Peko's stuck this way? There's nothing you can do to help her?"

"Unfortunately, no. Normally, I'm able to nudge a digimon's evolutionary tendencies in different directions in order to produce more desired results. But with Peko, no matter what I do her combined heritages would conflict with one another, producing no results whatsoever. In theory, the only way she would truly be able to digivolve is with the aid of a digimental. Only that would be able to only affect her patamon side, since it's a true digimon capable of armor digivolving, and force the tsukaimon side into a recessive state. But, we both know that's not happening anytime soon." Nai sighed. "I'll keep trying on my end, but I don't have much hope."

"So what you're saying is, there's likely no way possible for Peko to digivolve."

"Not, exactly. I said there was no way I could help. If there's a solution to this problem, it'll probably fall to Kuri and Peko to find it on their own. I just wish she hadn't taken my advice so badly."

"Badly? What do you mean?"

"Kuri thinks that it's her fault that Peko can't digivolve, and nothing I tried to tell her could convince her otherwise."

Davis nodded ruefully. "That sounds like her."

"Yes, she also told me that she had unsuccessfully tried many times to get Peko to digivolve before and had hoped coming here would have reversed their past failures."

"She never told me that." Davis said, a look of reflection crossing his face. "She's been holding that in for a long time. There's no telling what kind of effect this might have on her."

"Well, she left in a rather angry and depressed mood. Perhaps you should talk to her."

"Yeah maybe I should." Davis agreed solemnly. "Whenever I find her."

They both looked up, noticing Willis suddenly picking up his digivice, listening and speaking into it in an excited, hushed tone. After a moment, he put it down and turned to Professor Nai.

"That was Gennai. He said that another digimon's come through a recog flare."

"Really? Another Otamamon?"

Willis shook his head. "Nope. Much bigger this time. A tyrannomon."

Nai's eyes widened. "Something that large came through?"

Willis nodded his head gravely. "It would seem so."

Nai turned to his computer and brought up a monitoring screen instead of his class instruction program. Sure enough, the screen began flashing a bright red in warning, and a beeping sound started emitting from its speakers.

"So what is our course of action, according to Gennai?"

"He's already canceled classes for the afternoon. The Combat class outside was dispersed a few minutes ago. As far as you and I go," Willis cast a cautious glance at Davis before continuing in a more hushed tone. "He wants us to figure out how a flare that large could have sprung up, and what can be done to prevent it from happening again in the future."

"And the Tyrannomon?"

"The plan is to leave it alone for now. Gennai hopes it will wander beyond the range of our second shield, in which case-"

"He wants us to attune the shield so it can't enter again."

Willis nodded once again.

"Well, let's get on with it then." Nai got up to address the class as Willis went to work packing his laptop and equipment to be moved upstairs. Davis inched closer to him.

"So, is this situation more dangerous than usual?"

Willis glanced up at him. "No, besides the obvious differences between an otamamon and a tyrannomon, it's nothing we can't handle." He secured his computer within its compartment in his bag before continuing. "No, what we really have to worry about is some nut going out there, trying to battle it for a cheap thrill." Willis smiled. "You know how some of these guys can be."

"Yeah," Davis said absentmindedly, a sudden thought occurring to him. "Some of them are a little crazy. Um, if you'll excuse me, I think I'll go help make sure everybody gets in safely."

"Sure, sure," Willis waved him off as he rifled through his bag. "An OD's job is never done, right?"

"Tell me about it." Davis muttered. He turned to where Veemon was in conversation with Terriermon and Lopmon and beckoned to him. "Come on Veemon, we're out of here."

Veemon gave a parting wave to his friends before trotting up to Davis' side. "What's going on?" He asked as they moved towards the doors with the throng of students. "Why is the class leaving?"

"A flare came up again, but this time a Tyrannomon came through."

"Really? We should go out there and stop it then."

"Normally I'd agree with you, but Gennai has other plans." Davis pulled his digivice from his pocket and touched the screen. "Kuri." He said, when prompted.

"Cannot comply." Came the response. "This Knight's digivice is currently not receiving incoming communications."

Davis grumbled. "Okay then, Jun."

A moment later her tinny voice came through. "What's up Davis?"

"Is Kuri in your room?" He asked.

"I haven't seen her since I got up here, so I guess not anymore."

"Are you sure?"

"Well, let me check her room and make sure." There was a sound of rustling and a few seconds later Jun spoke again. "Nope. She's really not up here."

"Okay, Jun this is important, did you tell Kuri the reason class was cancelled?"

"Well, yeah. I couldn't leave her in the dark about it. I-"

The digivice started to hiss with static and a moment later the channel was completely closed.

"We apologize for the inconvenience," came the pre-recorded voice of professor Nai, "but due to an emergency situation this frequency is being commandeered for other purposes."

"Damn it." Davis hissed.

"What's wrong Davis?" Veemon asked.

Davis looked down at the little digimon. "Do you remember how I first got you to digivolve into ExVeemon?"

"Yeah, how could I forget? You kept putting yourself into danger, trying to get me to-" A look of realization came across his face. "You think that's what Kuri might be doing?"

Davis graced his partner with a brief smile. "Don't ever let someone accuse you of being slow, Veemon." His expression turned serious once again. "But yes, I do think that's what she's doing. She probably read about us doing it in TK's blasted book and now she thinks she can do the same." He frowned and looked up and down the hall, starting to clear as students headed up to their rooms. "Okay, here's the deal. I'm gonna head out and try to stop her before she gets into serious trouble. I want you to go upstairs and get whatever help you can. Try to keep it in the group. I don't think Kuri would appreciate anyone else knowing what she's up to."

"But I should come with you Davis." Veemon protested. "What if you have to fight?"

"If I get to her in time, it won't come down to that. Veemon, with the digivice communications being down, I need you to do this for me, please."

"Okay," He acquiesced reluctantly. "I'll go. But be careful Davis."

"I will." The digidestined leader promised before sprinting down the hall and through the front doors.

Once outside, Davis immediately began to search the perimeter of the tiled blocks surrounding the mansion for any telltale footprints leading away in the sand. In short order, he found a pair. They were faint but unmistakable. Davis ran in the direction they led off in and noticed that the wind was starting to pick up considerably. If it kept up at this pace, he noted, there would soon be no footprints left for the others to follow. He hoped he hadn't made a huge error in having Veemon stay behind to get them.

After a few minutes of running at a good clip, Davis finally saw a familiar figure in the distance.

"Kuri!" He shouted.

She turned, but didn't look all that happy to see him.

"What are you doing here?" she asked when he finally reached her, out of breath.

"I-" He paused, getting a few gulps of air. "I heard about your troubles digivolving earlier. I figure you'd be out here trying to find that Tyrannomon."

"You figured right." Kuri said matter-of-factly.

"Kuri, this is dangerous."

"How? It worked for you didn't it?"

"Well, yeah, but it's not something I would recommend."

"Duly noted, now if you'll excuse us." She brushed past him, the black hue of her uniform contrasting starkly with the surrounding white sands.

Davis watched her for a moment before making a decision. "Well, if you're so set on doing this, then I'm coming with you."

She stopped and looked at him for a long while. "No, I can't let you."

"And just why not?"

"Because it's my fault Peko can't digivolve, not yours."

"Really, it's your fault? Because that's not what professor Nai told me. And that's not what he told you either."

Kuri shook her head. "It doesn't matter what he said. I know the truth."

"Oh, yeah. And what is that?"

"That I don't possess the qualities it would take for Peko to digivolve. I mean, what were they thinking, giving me of all people the shield of compassion?"

"They saw the same things in you that I do-"

"Don't start this again Davis." She began walking again with him in tow. "You know, you almost had me fooled. For a while there, I actually started believing the things you and Jun said about me."

"There's no reason for you not to still believe them."

"Yeah?" She pointed to the patamon flying between them. "Well that says otherwise."

"No it doesn't." Davis insisted. "Shields and crests only make a difference when a digimon is digivolving to ultimate. You simply need a digivice for them to reach champion."

Kuri stopped, apparently having not considered this fact. She recovered soon enough, however.

"Then I guess my case is particularly sad. That I don't even deserve to be able to reach the champion level."

"Deserve? Kuri, what are you talking about? You-"

Kuri let out a loud scream of frustration. "Davis, I can't be changed and it's time you come to terms with that! You can't change genes, reshape heritage! I am what I am! It's in my blood, and maybe you should just leave me the hell alone to deal with it myself!" She paused, eyes welling up and chest heaving in anger. "I don't know why I even came here. I've always been alone in life. Why would coming here to be a so called, 'Digital Knight' change any of that?"

Davis only stared at her in mild astonishment, not only shocked at her words, but also surprised at how much they hurt him. Kuri turned and began stalking away again when a not so distant roar stopped her in her tracks.

"Peko, go up and take another look over the dunes and see how far away he is now." She asked. Peko obliged and with a flap of her ears, took off into the sky.

Davis slowly walked up behind Kuri and remained silent, also awaiting Peko's report. It came quickly.

"He's coming this way!" The little Patamon shouted as she barreled back down to them. "He must've heard you shouting."

"Good." Kuri said.

Davis noticed the familiar sound of forced bravado in her response. It was something he'd used often in his younger days. He gently grabbed her arm to get her attention and she flinched away from his grip.

"Kuri, we have to get out of the open." He said, somewhat daunted by her behavior. "We can make a break for the oasis if we hurry." He indicated the distant, but reachable landmark to their right.

"No, if this is how Peko has to digivolve-"

"It may well be. But we would stand a much better chance somewhere where we can take cover if we have to."

"He has a point, Kuri." Peko agreed.

A louder, nearer sounding roar, further bolstered their argument.

"Fine, let's go to the oasis then. We'll make our stand there." She gave in reluctantly.

"Okay then. Let's move."

The three took off across the desert sands, running determinedly for the lush green foliage in the distance.

The roars and plodding footfalls of the Tyrannomon behind them continued to increase in sound as he gained on them.

After a couple minutes, the oasis drew near to them. Kuri chanced a look back and tripped over herself when she saw how close the large digimon pursuing them had actually gotten. Davis skidded to a stop and turned around when he saw her go down in his peripheral. Peko was right behind him.

The tyrannomon sped up even faster and lowered his head at seeing the meal so easily deposed in front of him. His mouth opened wide in preparation for the kill.

Davis didn't think. He didn't have time to. He simply ran as hard as his body would allow and as soon as he was within striking distance of Kuri, dove forward and grabbed her on the follow through, literally snatching her from the jaws of death milliseconds before the large dinosaur like digimon closed his mouth around the area she had once occupied.

Davis wasted no time in picking himself up and helping Kuri up also.

"Come on!" He shouted, giving her a slight push in the back toward the oasis as Peko swooped down between them.

Davis took a look over his shoulder as he ran with them. The tyrannomon seemed even more enraged, likely at the fact that instead of crunching down on flesh and bone, all he'd gotten for his efforts was a mouthful of sand. He raised his head and bellowed, then began snarling as he swiped at his eyes with his small forelimbs, telling Davis that the large digimon had gotten just as much of the offending granules in his face as his mouth.

The retreating trio crashed through the thick underbrush at the edge of the oasis with much relief and stopped for a breather when they reached the clearing at the edge of the lake.

Kuri was the first to talk when they'd recovered.

"Thank you Davis." She said.

He nodded. "Anytime."

She turned her attention to the digimon hovering between them. "You didn't feel a tingle or any hint of digivolving through all that?"

Peko shook her head sadly. "I'm afraid not." She said.

"Then, I guess that's it. It just wasn't meant to be, then."

The sad, defeated look in Kuri's eyes tore at Davis. He couldn't let this happen to her. Something like this could completely destroy her, leading her into a deep depression from which she might never recover. He got up and stepped away from the shore.

"Come on Davis, let's go back. We needn't get in more danger than I've already gotten us in."

"No."

"What?"

"We came out here to get Peko to digivolve, and that's what we're gonna do."

"It's not going to happen. I'll just have to accept that."

"No."

"Davis-"

"No, I'm not going back until she digivolves." He stood resolutely, unwavering.

Kuri looked at him angrily, seething as she shouted, "Davis, let it go! Its over! She's not going to digivolve!"

"No, Kuri. She can. You just have to keep trying. Trust me, I know."

"Davis, please. I'm not like you. If Peko can't digivolve, then fine. If that's my penance to pay-"

"What penance?" Davis said irritably. "Kuri, stop doing this to yourself. This isn't something you deserve and you'll find that out if you just keep trying!"

"I can't-"

"Why not?!"

* * *

Back on the third floor of the Knights mansion Gennai, Nai, and Willis watched the latter's laptop monitor with keen interest.

"I think it's coming. They're going to trigger it." Willis said, barely able to control his anticipatory anxiety.

"Patience." Nai placed a hand on the young man's shoulder. "It hasn't happened yet."

"I believe he may be right, though." Gennai said, watching the screen more closely. "Sometimes it amazes even me."

"What does?'

"The way those two affect one another. Here, look." Gennai pressed a button and the window they were all watching minimized, replaced by another one. In this window there were two lines, one cerulean and one violet, vertically rising and twisting around one another.

"A double Helix!" Willis Exclaimed. "Their powers are virtually tied in to one another!"

Gennai smiled. "Yes, and as one goes, so goes the other. Basically, these two bring out the best of their individual traits in each other."

Nai squinted at the screen. "So, if that's true, then they should be close to triggering the change."

Gennai nodded. "Very close."

* * *

A bellow rang out over the treetops of the oasis. Kuri flinched as she heard it and turned away from the sound.

"Come on Davis," she beckoned. "We need to get out of here."

"No."

Kuri sighed. "Please, Davis."

"No, you'll have to leave without me."

"You know I can't do that." Kuri admitted.

"Fine," Davis said, crossing his arms with a hint of a smile. "Then I guess you're staying too."

"Davis," Kuri said weakly, her voice wavering slightly and her shield taking on a faint glow. "You don't have to do this for me."

"Yes I do," he answered. "And you should want to do this for yourself."

"And me?" Peko asked, indignant at being largely ignored. "I'm supposed to be able to just digivolve because of all this?"

"Yes," Davis responded with surety. "You will.'

Before Peko could protest, the foliage in front of them shook violently. With a mighty roar, the tyrannomon burst into the clearing and cast an infuriated glance at its three enemies.

"Let's go!" Kuri shouted, reaching for Davis' hand. She jerked backward when he didn't budge. "Davis!"

The Tyrannomon bore down on them, pausing momentarily at Davis' perplexing refusal to run.

"Davis-" Kuri started to plead, rooted to her spot on the ground.

She watched Davis in astonishment as he determinedly stared at the Tyrannomon. His countenance began to take on a brilliant, bright blue hue. Kuri allowed a small gasp to escape her lips when the blue light was joined by bursts of orange and yellow.

All of Davis' best traits, she realized, were on display as he continued his battle of wills with the gargantuan digimon.

The Tyrannomon cocked an eyebrow ridge at the display, before apparently brushing it aside in an animalistic manner and deciding to attack. Kuri ran towards Davis when she saw the beast was about to lunge at him.

The Tyrannomon suddenly stopped and bellowed again, frustrated by the two lights joining from their separate shields. Davis and Kuri looked at each other for a pregnant moment inside their luminous cocoon. Suddenly, Davis doubled over and fell to one knee, breathing laboriously. Kuri knelt next to him, putting a hand on his shoulder in concern.

"Davis, what's wrong?" she asked, diverting her attention from the hulking figure looming over them

"I-I don't know. It feels as if my shield is overwhelming me." He explained.

Unable to come up with an appropriate response, Kuri leaned in closer to her weakened friend to get a closer look at his shield. Her eyes widened with surprise when she saw it. Though it was very bright, Kuri could tell that the shield was changing somehow. The hue of its glow was shifting slightly. Its symbol seemed to be moving as it also transformed.

"What's happening to you Davis?"

Davis grimaced and instinctively clutched at his shield. He shut his eyes tightly and began to gasp raspily.

"I d-don't know. B-but this sure isn't the best time for it to be happening."

Kuri's eyes flicked upwards toward the huge beast that had backed away from them a bit. Peko took up a defensive position between them, bravely offering whatever protection she could.

Davis violently lurched forward, this time with a loud groan. Kuri wrapped her arms around his shoulders to steady him before looking at him once more with extreme concern. The violet glow of her shield began to match his in brightness.

Abruptly, the tyrannomon, having had enough of this show of lights, charged forward with yet another ear splitting roar. Peko flew forward and prepared to throw a boom bubble, but was thrown aside by a quick forward swipe from her opponent's tail. He turned his attention back to his original targets.

Kuri involuntarily screamed and ducked, her eyes closed and arms still wrapped desperately around Davis. She could feel the tyrannomon's hot breath as he loomed closer to them.

Suddenly, the heat from his breath was replaced by a different kind, warm and, although they were in the middle of the desert, somewhat inviting. Kuri opened her eyes and saw that the Tyrannomon was no longer there. In fact, he had turned tail and retreated a good distance away from them. She looked at Davis and saw the reason why. His shield had changed completely. Although it still had the same overall shape, a different symbol was emblazoned on its front and its color was now more of a white gold than platinum. It was emitting a brilliant radiance that seemed to be covering everything in the area, and when Kuri looked down, she saw that her own shield was connected to it through a bright pulsating beam of light.

"Davis?" she asked timidly.

He only responded to her with a gasp as once again, his shield exploded in light. This time, hundreds of tiny beams came forth from it and shot away in arcs into the air, well outside the boundaries of the oasis. Kuri noticed that Davis seemed to be in a state of semi-consciousness during all this, and moments later, the beams returned, each one carrying a small bit of matter at its end. They stopped just in front of Davis and began to spin around one another. The pieces they had come back with began to coalesce into a solid shape.

As the light from his shield began to fade, the beams stopped spinning and returned to Davis, depositing an object that more or less resembled a brightly colored, large, pink egg in front of him.

"What is that?" Kuri asked, awed.

"I'm not sure." Davis answered weakly. He peered closer at it. "It looks like a digimental. Judging by the symbol on it, I would say it's the digimental of kindness." He reached down to pick it up, but it wouldn't budge. "And it's not meant for me."

"Then who is it meant for?" Kuri asked.

Davis gave her a pointed, fatigued look.

"Me? The digimental of _kindness_? No way."

"Try picking it up then."

Kuri did as he instructed, and was surprised when it easily lifted off the ground. "Does this mean?"

Davis nodded. "And I suggest you use it before our friend over there returns for round two." He indicated the tyrannomon, a good distance away, who had begun to look at them with interest once again.

"Where's Peko?" Kuri asked, looking around.

"Over here." Her partner answered groggily from the edge of a clump of palms.

"Come on." Kuri said to Davis. "We have to get you out of the open." She helped him up with one hand, while cradling the digimental with the other. They made their way over to Peko as quick as they could.

"He hits hard." The patamon said as they approached, while rubbing her head. She took a double take when she saw Davis. "Whoa, what happened to your shield?"

Davis picked up the golden pendant and looked at it for the first time since its transformation. "Miracles?" He said, recognizing the symbol on its front.

"That's fitting." Kuri remarked, leading him into the safety of the grove of palms. She raised the digimental in front of her. "Now, how do I use this thing?"

Davis leaned against a nearby tree, still puzzling over his new shield, as he heard the Tyrannomon outside roaring once again. He turned his attention to her question, almost as an afterthought. "You're supposed to say 'digi-armor energize.'"

"Really? That sounds hokey-"

"Kuri."

"Okay, fine. Digi armor e-" Before she could finish, the digimental turned into a ball of pink light and shot into her digivice.

"Or you could just push the button I guess." Davis said, unfazed.

Kuri pulled her digivice out and saw that there was now a large pulsing pink orb on the screen. She pressed it.

"Prariemon digivolution initialized." Said the voice from within.

A sudden rush of power coursed through Kuri, while at the same time, Peko was enveloped in a pink glow. A few seconds later, Peko was revealed in the form of a creature that vaguely resembled a prairie dog crossed with a kangaroo, though much larger than either; larger than any man, in fact. Her hands were encased in metal claws and her ears had a metal tinge to them also.

"Prairiemon." Kuri said, taking a moment to look at her with breathless pride before turning serious. "Let's take care of business."

* * *

Gennai, Nai, and Willis all looked absolutely floored.

"I was expecting the shield change," Gennai said. "But for it to have the power to reconfigure the long ago destroyed digimental of kindness?"

"I know." Nai concurred. "It's absolutely amazing."

Willis broke into a smile. "And Kuri and Peko appear to be holding their own now."

* * *

It was an understatement. Kuri and Peko were more than holding their own against the tyrannomon. They had the large creature absolutely flummoxed. It seemed the theme of Prairiemon's impressive array of abilities was speed. Accordingly, Kuri and Peko were keeping their enemy confused by running around and between his legs, constantly throwing him off balance as they fired blasts of sonic sound waves at him. The tyrannomon roared in frustration, unable to come close to striking his enemies and being forced back to the edge of the lake.

Davis watched the battle through the fronds of a palm in front of him. He remained leaning against a tree, still overrun with fatigue. In the back of his mind he knew that there was some bit of advice he needed to give Kuri, but he couldn't quite recall what it was. Suddenly he leaned forward, noticing a familiar sound in the distance. It sounded like the roars of another tyrannomon. He stained further to hear it. No, not just one Tyrannomon. More. A lot more.

* * *

"Shit!" Willis exclaimed, whirling about and furiously starting to work on his laptop.

Nai started, having never before heard his apprentice use such strong language. "What's wrong?"

"We were so busy watching the shield transformation that we forgot to seal off those flares." He pointed to his computer. A map of the digital realm was on the screen. In the middle were three blue dots, two engaged with another large red one. Off to the left of the screen were five more red dots, rapidly approaching their location. "Five more Tyrannomon came through."

"This isn't good." Nai said. "We have to get them out of there."

"I know, I know." Willis said irritably. He turned to yet another computer and began typing in instructions.

"Wait. That may not be necessary." Gennai said. He pointed to Willis' screen, indicating four blue dots quickly heading towards the oasis from the right side of the screen. "It seems the proverbial cavalry has arrived."

* * *

"Kuri!" Davis shouted as loud as he could. "There's more coming!"

"What?"

"Listen!"

She stopped fighting abruptly, leaving Peko to hold down the fort, and listened. An unmistakable cacophony of roars reached her ears.

"Oh crap! There's more of them!"

Davis rolled his eyes. "That's what I said!"

Kuri sped over to his position, moving so fast that she hovered over the ground more than ran along it. "Come on, let's get out of here." She said, pulling one of Davis' arms around her shoulders and hoisting him up.

A loud roar drifted over to them from the opposite side of the oasis. Its owner seemed to be even closer than the others.

"Damn, they have us surrounded." Davis muttered.

"I'm not sure." Kuri said. "That one didn't sound quite the same to me."

Seconds later, a large Monochromon crashed through the bushes from where the sound had emanated. Riding on its back were Rosa, Jun, and Sparks.

"About time we found you!" Jun shouted as she dismounted. She ran over to them "It got easy once all the noise started, though."

Davis breathed a sigh of relief. "Veemon got you, I see."

"Veemon?" Jun asked. "Nope. After your call that got cut off, I put two and two together, the same way you did. Rosa was the only other person in the room and we figured we couldn't waste time getting the others so we took off as fast as we could." She looked at his chest. "What happened to your shield?"

Rosa walked over to them. "And who is that?" she asked, pointing to a strange digimon battling the tyrannomon by the lake.

"That's Peko." Kuri hurriedly explained. "Something happened to Davis' shield that changed it from Perseverance to Miracles, and whatever it was also gave me the digimental of kindness." She waved off any further questions. "But that's a discussion for another time. We have more pressing issues right now."

"It's not so bad." Sparks said, shrugging. "That digimon-er, Peko, seems to be handling things pretty well."

"That's not what I meant."

There was a series of loud crashes on the other side of the oasis and many of the plants and small bushes there were either trampled or pushed over as five enraged Tyrannomon entered the clearing.

"_That's_ what I meant."

Peko abandoned her battle as soon as she saw the five interlopers and sped over to the other digidestined.

"What's the plan here, guys?" she asked when she reached them.

"I don't know about you guys," Jun said, pulling out her digivice. "But I'm not planning on running. This is our lake." She looked out over the water, to where many otamamon were huddled in the middle in fear. "I'm not letting them have it."

She pressed the screen and in a flash, Sparks digivolved to Leomon. The two of them took off at a run to engage their enemies, followed closely by Peko, Rosa and Monochromon. Kuri lagged back and gave Davis a concerned once over.

"You okay?" She asked.

"I'll be fine." He said dismissively. "You better get over there and even up the odds."

Kuri nodded. "Stay back then."

"I'll try." He promised.

She gave him one last glance before taking off. Davis smiled before tiredly retreating toward a more protected grove of palms.

The battle that followed was fierce. Jun and Leomon served as something of a front line, dodging and delivering fist of the beast king punches between sonic blasts by Kuri and Peko and volcanic strikes from Rosa and Gotsumon. Neither side could gain an upper hand however. For every successful hit the knights could deliver, they were rewarded with one of the tyrannomon blindly charging them to avenge its injured comrade, forcing them into a cycle of attacking and retreating that started to wear on their patience and resolve.

* * *

"Eee, ooo, aaa eee!" Clara shouted, feeling absolutely dumb.

"No, no, no." Terence berated her. "You're doing it all wrong. With this vocal exercise, it has to come from here." He walked over to her and pressed lightly on her diaphragm.

Clara giggled involuntarily at the unexpected touch. Just at that moment the door to Terence's room burst open. Tai stood there with Veemon and Agumon flanking him.

"I don't even want to know." He said, giving the two a passing glance. "Come on. Davis and Kuri need our help. They're in serious trouble."

Without a word, Clara and Terence followed him out, Marta and Pings right behind them.

* * *

"How are they doing?" Willis asked, too busy with his own activities to turn around and look at the screen that monitored the student's activities.

"Not so well." Gennai answered glumly. "While six on six is certainly better than the six on two massacre that almost took place, the battle still doesn't appear to be swinging in our favor. Tyrannomon are particularly large and resilient digimon and it appears the evening of the odds hasn't done much to deter them."

Nai turned away from the screen that both he and Gennai were watching and peered at the map on Willis' laptop. He smiled.

"I have to agree with you there, Gennai. The current odds of six on six have presented us with something of a stalemate, however, _sixteen _against six just might turn this thing around."

Gennai allowed a small grin to cross his weathered face. He didn't need to turn around to know what Nai was talking about. "I should have expected that." He said quietly to himself.

* * *

Davis watched with concern as the battle raged on. Jun and Sparks seemed to be tiring from the constant running and dodging to throw attacks. Kuri and Peko were already somewhat fatigued from their earlier battle and now seemed to be moving a bit slower, which put them about a notch under blindingly fast. Rosa and Monochromon seemed to be holding their own, but their dinosaur like nature was starting to attract more attention from their enemies. They now found themselves fending off attacks much more often than throwing them.

A sudden scream brought Davis' attention back to his sister. She had been knocked to the ground somehow and now one of the tyrannomon loomed over her, his mouth drooling with anticipation. Sparks ran to jump on his back, but was knocked from midair by another one of the large digimon. Everyone else seemed too busy to notice Jun's predicament.

"Nooo!" Davis weakly shouted to no avail as the tyrannomon open its jaws to consume his sister.

Suddenly the giant beast was bowled over as a large fireball struck him squarely in the side. He barely had time to register his surprise with an indignant bellow before hundreds of tablet like stones began to rain down upon him and his allies from above. Davis looked up to see their source, a determined Clara hovering in the air.

Elsewhere, Marta, in the form of Nefertimon, swooped low, almost skimming the surface of the lake before coming to a stop on the shore nearest Davis and letting Terence, Pings and Veemon dismount from her back. She took off to join in Clara's aerial attack as soon as they had done so.

Terence wasted no time, digivolving Pings to Frigimon as soon as his feet touched the ground and running to join the battle as well.

"I bet you have no complaints about me firing Nova blasts now." Tai said, as he and Curtis ran over to Davis. Greymon and Meramon continued on their way to the battle as their partners helped him out of the grove.

"What happened to you man?" Curtis asked.

"Long story." Davis said. "Veemon must've brought you guys at least, right?"

"Sure did." Said the little blue digimon in question as he bounded over to them. He looked at his partner with worry. "Davis, are you ok?"

"Nothing this won't cure." Davis said, pulling out his digivice. He paused, noticing the screen now had three possible options; black, red, and white orbs that represented Raidramon, Flamedramon and ExVeemon, respectively. "I think I feel like flying," he said, pushing the white orb on the screen. As expected, he was infused with a sensation of power that completely absolved all previous feelings of weakness. He turned to Tai and Curtis, the tall form of ExVeemon now standing behind him. "Well, guys, what do you say we end this thing?"

"I'm all for that." Said Tai, "But how? I'm definitely not in favor of killing these guys. They're just confused and doing what comes natural to them."

"I agree." Curtis said. "They're not firing any attacks, it seems. Really, it looks like they're just trying to eat us." He paused, frowning. "Though I'm not sure if that really paints them in a better light."

Davis remembered something Willis and Nai had discussed earlier in the lecture hall, the advice he'd wanted to tell Kuri earlier but couldn't quite recall due to his fatigue.

"We have to get them past the second protection shell." He said. "Once we get them out there, Willis and Nai should be able to change it to keep them out."

"You sure about that?" Tai asked.

"As sure as _I_ can be." Davis said. "They're the ones who said they could do it."

"Then let's get on with it. What's the plan?"

Davis looked at the battle. The tyrannomon weren't fighting now so much as running in circles of confusion.

"The fastest and most acrobatic of us, ExVeemon, Marta, Clara, and me, should act as bait. If they're really hungry, we'll draw them out of here. You guys should herd them from behind. Keep them from scattering."

"Like a cattle drive, huh?" ExVeemon asked.

Davis smiled. "I guess so. Come on buddy, let's get started." He and ExVeemon took to the air.

Curtis and Tai watch them ascend to tell Marta of their plan.

"I thought you were supposed to be the great leader." Curtis teased.

"A person shouldn't lead in situations where someone else is more qualified to do so." Tai said. "I had to learn that the hard way."

Curtis nodded. "Makes sense to me."

"Come on, let's not waste any more time. We've got to get everyone else in on this thing."

* * *

A few minutes later, Gennai leaned back in his chair in satisfaction. "Notice anything about the way they're moving?" He asked Nai, pointing to the clump of dots progressing across the map on Willis laptop.

Nai scratched his chin in thought. "Yeah, they're moving outwards, away from the mansion." His eyes widened. "Towards the second protection shell! This is perfect!" He turned to the younger programmer, sitting next to him. "Willis-"

"Way ahead of you. I already attuned the shell to the tyrannomons' frequencies. Had to borrow the digivice communication band to send the signal out quicker but, eh," he shrugged. "What's a missed call or two in the grand scheme of things?"

Nai leaned in closer to the computer. "So now it's just up to them."

* * *

"Ha! Jurassic Park rejects! Betcha can't catch me!" ExVeemon shouted, swooping in front of the grouped Tyrannomon. A couple snapped at him in frustration and all of them picked up their pace a bit.

One, near the rear of the pack, began to stray away from the group, becoming bored with the flying morsels he couldn't catch. The ground in front of him suddenly exploded with the energy of four different fire attacks. In a mixture of surprise and fear, the straggler ran back into the middle of his group.

"Nice job!" Davis yelled down to Tai, Curtis, Greymon and Meramon from his position in front of the mismatched entourage of digimon and humans. He turned to Clara, who was flying along beside him. "This is going even better than I thought. We all make a great team."

"That we do." Clara agreed. She watched as ExVeemon and Marta boldly flew in and out of the tyrannomons' range, taunting them.

Davis turned his attention to Kuri, patrolling one side of the 'herd' with Jun and Terence. She appeared to be enjoying herself, laughing and talking with her companions between launching sonic blasts in front of any tyrannomon that strayed out of line. She seemed so different from before, as if she'd gotten a new lease on life. Davis smiled also. It did his heart a world of good to know that he'd helped to bring about this change in her.

He looked down at his new shield. He recalled that Kuri's and his shields had been connected during its transformation. She'd helped to bring about the change as much as he had. Maybe now she would realize to power of her compassion, and see the good that lie within her. Having the digimental of kindness in her possession couldn't hurt either, though Davis had no earthly idea how she'd gotten it. He didn't question it, however. Kuri could show a remarkable amount of kindness when she had to. Sometimes it was in the words she spoke to him when he needed encouragement. Or the way she listened to his problems when he needed someone to talk to. There were her smiles, so sincere that their warmth felt like the sun itself when she bestowed them upon him. And then there was her laugh, so clear and engaging, much like her jade eyes-

"Davis!" Clara shouted once more.

He shook his head. "Yeah?"

"I think we're outside the second shell." She said. "This is near where we saw that flare earlier today."

Davis took in his surroundings. "So it is. Lets head back then." He cupped his hands over his mouth to shout to the rest of the group. "This is far enough guys! We're good to go!"

The four fliers waited until everyone had turned back before picking up the rear. The tyrannomon roared indignantly at their sudden retreat and tried to give chase but ran into what seemed to be an invisible wall after a moment. Their bellows faded into the distance as the group continued on its way.

Davis, ExVeemon, Clara and Marta all landed before taking cues from the actions of the rest of the group and devolving back to rookies.

"So, how did it feel to be a champion?" Davis asked as he and Veemon walked over to Kuri and Peko.

"Great," They both responded simultaneously, before laughing.

"You sure seem to be in a good mood." Davis said, nodding towards Kuri.

"Well, how could I not be? And it's all thanks to you, Davis."

"Not just me. It was much you as I that caused you to get that digimental. I saw how our shields were connected. I don't think I would've been able to do much of anything without your power of Compassion."

"Perhaps, but I don't think that new shield of yours is anything to scoff at. It seems to be very powerful, and with a name like Miracles, I don't see how it could have any kind of limit."

Davis picked up the shield and looked upon it once again. "I don't know. I used the digimental of Miracles once-"

"Back when you defeated Kimeramon." Kuri said. It was a well-known story to anyone who'd read _Chronicles._

"Yeah, but it turned out later to actually be Ken's crest of Kindness." A sudden thought occurred to him. "You know, maybe the two are related somehow, Kindness and Miracles."

"Yeah, like Hope and Light-" Kuri stopped, realizing her mistake too late.

"Maybe." Davis mused, showing no signs of an adverse reaction before turning to look at her. "But the real question is, what's the connection between us?"

Kuri started. "What?"

"Every time either of our shields has done anything, we've been together."

"Probably just your, um, inner Miracles acting on me or something."

"I don't think so. In fact, I believe that you're playing a bigger part in making these things happen than me."

"Are you kidding? How could I be playing a bigger part?"

"I didn't get the shield of Miracles until now. I think all along your shield and your compassion have been trying to help me get it." Davis shrugged. "I'm not sure about it or anything, but it's a feeling I have."

"There you go again." Kuri shook her head at his persistence. "Davis, do you really believe half the things you say about me?"

"Why wouldn't I? In fact, why wouldn't you? You saw as well as I did what happened back there."

"I guess I did."

"And that stunt at the combine? That was all you. Same as the time you healed me during our first Combat session. Sure, you've had your down moments, just like we all have. But you can't deny that the highs have been pretty amazing."

"You make a good argument." Kuri admitted, quietly introspective. "And you've stuck by me though all of that." A tone of admiration crept into her voice. "Through the good and bad."

"Of course, what kind of friend would I be if I just abandoned you?"

"The kind I don't think I've ever had." Kuri walked closer to him, "After today, I'm starting to believe that no matter what, you'll never give up on me." She said quietly in a tone that told him she was just coming to terms with the fact and couldn't quite understand it.

"I won't." Davis smiled gently and made a point of looking her in the eyes to convey his sincerity. "Only because I know you're worth it."

"I-I-" Kuri stumbled over her words, not knowing quite what to say. Her eyes began to mist and she hung her head in an attempt to hide any possible oncoming tears. Davis noticed her behavior and placed an arm around her shoulders. After a moment she gave in, leaning into his chest and allowing a few small rivulets to flow freely from her eyes.

"Thank you." She mumbled. "Thank you so much, Davis." She paused, trying to compose her unsteady voice before continuing. "I think I'm starting to realize just how much I really need you."

Davis did his best to hide his surprise at her candid confession.

"I need you too Kuri." He said. "Today showed me that, too."

"See?" Tai said, walking hand in hand with Jun, a good distance behind the pair with the rest of the group. "I told you they were more than friends."

"Tai, there were times when you and I looked like that before we got together. Usually when our emotions were running pretty high too."

"Yeah, and look at us now." He said, raising their clasped hands for significance. "You can't tell me they aren't at least destined to be together."

"I have to agree with him there." Terence said. "Those two are pretty tight."

"Well, time will tell as far as that goes." Jun partly conceded. "But one thing I do see for sure, is that my little brother is definitely growing up."

Tai nodded in agreement. "Coming here seems to have been the best thing that could've happened to him."

He suddenly stopped and pulled out his digivice.

"I set it to vibrate," he said, at Jun's inquisitive glance.

He pressed a button and was greeted by Gennai's voice. "Tai, have your group meet me in the recreation room as soon as you return. It appears we have some things to discuss."

"Okay, see you then." Tai barely got the answer in before the communication cut off.

He turned to Jun and shrugged. "A lot of weird stuff happened today. I guess he wants to explain it."

"I hope so." Terence said. "I can't say I'm opposed to someone finally telling us what the hell is going on."

* * *

Gennai, Nai, Willis, and Counselor Gen were waiting for the group of sixteen when they returned to the academy. Gennai had them sit as Willis and Nai supplied them all with bottles of water. He only watched the group at first, as they took a moment to recover and unwind from their ordeal. Tai noticed this first and put his bottle down.

"So, what's up Gennai?"

"That's a question, Tai, I feel I should be asking you. You all have had quite an exciting day haven't you?"

"That's an understatement, if you ask me." Jun said. "But I guess Davis and Kuri would know better than I."

Gennai turned his attention to the two in question. "Ah yes, Ms. Katsura and Mr. Motomiya. Quite a formidable pair you've become." He smiled and nodded. "Yes, quite the pair. I must say, the possibilities are exciting…"

"Just what are the possibilities, Gennai?" Curtis asked. "What happened to Davis out there to give him the shield of Miracles?"

"Something that, I must admit, was not entirely unexpected." He rose from his chair and shuffled over to a window across the room. "You all must understand, there are things about Davis that go much deeper than the surface. There are qualities within him that entities can sense, and draw them to him."

That caught Rosa's attention. "Entities? What kind of entities?"

"Davis didn't stumble upon the power of Miracles, it sought him out."

"It did?" Davis asked, clutching his shield.

"Yes, and we had an inkling it would, just like before."

"Before?"

"Yes, in Ken's base. Granted, we were the ones who provided it with a means of reaching you by combining it with Ken's crest of kindness to give it tangibility, but it was ultimately the entity that compelled us to do so."

Curtis cut in. "Gennai, I can't help but notice that you're talking as if his shield were alive."

"In a way, it is." Counselor Gen offered, brushing at a small bit of gray fuzz on his otherwise immaculate white robe. "The digital world has its own version of admirable character traits. Usually they manifest themselves as entities of pure energy. A few in particular can bind with certain digidestined, rendering them capable of amazing feats. Miracles appears to be one of these special traits. There are two others like it that we know of, Light and Hope, and one we're not so sure about…"

"So, the crests of Light and Hope searched for TK and Kari too?"

"Wait, wait, wait," Davis held a hand up to stop the conversation. "What's the one you're not so sure about?" He asked, a suspicion sneaking into the back of his mind.

"It's right beside you." Gen said, nodding at Kuri.

The girl looked genuinely taken aback. "But how can that be? Compassion is different from Hope, Light and Miracles. It's my personality trait, not the digital world's. And one I'm only beginning to believe I actually have, at that."

"That's what we don't quite understand. Compassion _is_ your personality trait, and thus quite unlike the other seemingly self conscious crests we've encountered, yet it seems to have found you, much like Davis' shield."

"No it didn't. Gennai gave it to me." Kuri said, pointing to the old man.

"But I didn't give it to you because it was obviously your strongest trait. Other forces compelled me to."

"Other forces?"

"With the help of another, I knew specifically who all the other crests were to go to as soon as you all went through the portals to enter the realm. The process of creating shields takes a large amount of power on our part."

"I thought we powered our own shields." interrupted Clara.

"You do. But it also takes a certain amount of energy to actually create them. A very large amount in fact. However, the process is essentially simple. Problem is, I had only enough power for exactly 199 and the shields to match."

"Let me guess." Tai cut in, "Kuri was the one left out."

"Well, actually, no one in particular was left out. As far as we knew, we simply had one less shield than we needed."

"So how did everyone get a shield then?"

"Over the time between your arrivals and the shield presentation ceremony, our systems somehow accumulated enough power to forge one more shield."

"And then," Willis cut in. "the systems somehow ran an automated program to create the shield of Compassion without any input from us. It was the weirdest thing…"

"Which is why I was so short with you after giving you your shield of Compassion, Ms. Katsura." Said Gennai. "You'll have to forgive me for that. To be honest with you, I wasn't confident I could answer any of your questions regarding it."

"You know, I thought it was weird that you told me that 'I got a good one,' seeing how Counselor Gen has always taught us that all shields were equal."

Gennai smiled. "At the time, that was the extent of my knowledge on the subject. You have to admit, the whole event was rather mysterious."

"If you ask me," Willis said, musingly. "It sounds more like miraculous."

Jun noticed the implication in his voice. "Your point?"

"Maybe Kuri's shield isn't so different from the rest of yours. It seems to me that its possible it didn't find Kuri so much as it was brought here by Davis' shield."

Nai looked to Gennai thoughtfully. "You know, he may have something there."

"I believe so." Gennai concurred. "Perhaps the connection between these two is an important key for us…"

Curtis cut in. "…and Miracles knew that, right? That's why it came here and helped create the shield of Compassion. So she would have a reason to be here. It's not the connection between the shields that's powerful, but the one between Kuri and Davis!"

Gennai nodded as Curtis beamed at his own revelation.

Kuri squirmed slightly in her seat. She liked Davis. He was her best friend, after all, but all this 'connection' business was kind of unsettling. It was like everyone else knew something about the two of them that she had yet to figure out.

"I told you I had a sense about these things." Davis suddenly said to her, interrupting her thoughts.

"What?" She looked at him quizzically. "What in the world are you talking about?"

"The night before we came here, remember? You were having second thoughts about doing this and I really wanted you to come-"

"Yeah, I remember. That seems like so long ago now. Though, I guess maybe you did know what you were talking about after all."

He grinned. "Don't I always?"

Kuri rolled her eyes but gave him a slight smile. She had to admit, Davis had a knack for sensing her moods and always doing what was necessary to bring her out of them.

Curtis raised his hand. "Guys I have one more question," He paused. "Well two actually."

"Go ahead." Said Nai.

"First, why didn't Davis just get the shield of Miracles to start off with? And secondly, where in the word did the digimental of kindness come from?"

"Easily answered. Anytime the entity of Miracles has been made tangible, it has required the most powerful form of energy known to the digital world, your crests and shields. Last time it appeared in our systems, we needed Ken's crest of Kindness to bind with it just to create a digimental. This time, it used the combined power of Kuri's shield of Compassion and Davis' shield of Perseverance to finally make its appearance as Davis' reformatted shield. To put it in laymen's terms, that's just the way it works."

"And the digimental?"

"It was destroyed at one point." Answered Gennai.

"Really?" Tai asked. "How?"

"It was the emperor's doing."

Davis started at that. "Ken? But he never told me about that."

"Destroying the digimental of kindness was a particularly evil act, Davis. I doubt it's something Ken would be eager to recount."

"But why would he do it? Destroy his own digimental?"

"At the time, you all had discovered armor digivolving and were using it as a way to get around his control spires. In an effort to spurn any more of you from finding new ways to digivolve, he sought out the last digimental and had it destroyed before any of you could discover it."

"And when it was destroyed, it went to the wasteland didn't it? That's how it got here, well, pieces of it anyway. Davis shield must've been able to put it back together."

"Very astute of you Curtis. That seems to be exactly what happened."

Kuri pulled out her digivice and stared at the glowing pink orb on the screen. It was still hard to believe that the digimental of Kindness actually belonged to her. "So where do we go from here?" She asked.

Gennai looked upon her with a gentle smile. "Nothing has changed, Kuri. We simply continue with our training and preparation. Only now we are fortunate enough to have a very powerful weapon on our side. One I'm sure will prove to have definitely turned the tide in our favor." He adjusted his gaze so that he was now looking at both Kuri and Davis. "But I digress." He stood up and began to walk across the room. "Right now, you all need to get cleaned up and ready for your afternoon sessions. And also-" He stopped at the door to the boys' wing and opened it. Immediately several bodies fell into the room, Jonathan at the top of the heap. Many others were still standing behind them. "I'm sure your fellow students are dying to hear your story."

Gennai approached the main doors as the boys got up sheepishly and brushed themselves off. "Willis, Nai, Gen." He called, "Let's go. You all have sessions to prepare for also."

The three got up, issued quick goodbyes, and exited the room. Gennai turned to bring up their rear before being stopped by Tai.

"Gennai can I talk to you for a sec?" He asked.

The old man nodded. "Of course, Tai."

The two walked out the main doors also.

"What was that about?" Curtis asked after watching them leave.

Terence shrugged, scowling. "I don't know. I haven't really been listening since Gennai told us we still have to go to our afternoon sessions."

* * *

"So what is it you wished to discuss with me, Tai?" Gennai asked as they stood in the stairwell.

Tai sighed. "Gennai, what am I doing here?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean. When you first contacted me to come here, you made a point of telling me to bring Davis. From the start I think you knew that this Miracles entity was looking for him, to bind with his shield."

"I had my suspicions, yes. But what does any of that have to do with you?"

"Well, don't I seem a little redundant? I mean, am I really that necessary? Now that Davis has the shield of Miracles, isn't he more than capable of leading the group on his own?"

"No."

The blunt answer caught Tai off guard. "Um, why not?"

"Because he is a key, perhaps _the_ key, to us winning this upcoming war. He's too important to our cause to stretch himself by leading alone when he has another destiny to fulfill. I need to ensure that he gets where he needs to be. In my experience, I've only known and entrusted one digidestined, one person, with the responsibility of getting such keys to their ultimate destinations. And thus far, his track record is impeccable."

Tai took the praise with a grain of salt. "If you say so."

"I do." Gennai placed a hand on Tai's shoulder. "I must say, over the years you've developed into quite an outstanding leader. Yet, there are still a few things you need to learn about what it is to be one. You don't always have to be the one to save the day, Tai. Sometimes, you just have to make sure that others that can save the day are in positions to do so."

Tai sighed once again, glancing at the ceiling.

"Tai, you know what I'm telling you is right."

"Yeah," he shuffled his feet. "I guess I just don't want to let anyone down."

Gennai smiled. "You won't." He said simply, before turning and heading up the stairs to the third floor.

Tai was watching his form retreat thoughtfully when he heard a gentle knocking and the door behind him opened a slight crack. He turned to see Jun peeking in cautiously.

"Are you guys done?" She asked.

"Yeah," Tai answered, not moving from his spot as what Gennai had just told him still lingered in the forefront of his mind.

"I, uh, just wanted to see how you were doing." She said, slowly approaching him. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

Jun stopped just short of him, noticing his curt manner. "Tai, you know that we need you, right?"

"What?"

"I figured you might be having second thoughts about your role here in light of Davis' new, um, attributes." She walked around so that she was now standing in front of him. "I just wanted you to know that, no matter what happens with us, you're always the one that everyone here looks to for guidance and courage, including my brother. Especially him, actually."

Tai broke from his reverie and was moved when he noticed the sincere depths of his love's eyes.

"And I hope you know by now," she continued, "that I'll follow you to the very ends of the earth if I have to."

"I know." Tai said, reaching his hands out to her. She moved towards him and he enveloped his arms around her waist. They brought their foreheads gently together, noses barely touching, in a tender position of intimate unity. "As long as I have you, I don't think I have anything to worry about."

"Same here."

They both moved forward, their lips gently caressing in a kiss that meant much more than its physicality.

"That's it." Tai said with a note of finality when they finally broke apart. "I'm definitely skipping class now."

Jun giggled. "I guess we've earned a break." She agreed as they came together once again.

* * *

Kuri stared out of the rec room window, a dozing Peko nestled in her arms, and mulled over the day's events. Everything seemed different now that she had some idea of her role in the grand scheme of things. She was meant to be here. That much she knew. For some reason, Davis' shield had deemed her a necessary part of his life. Or something like that. Kuri shook her head. It was weird thinking of his shield as a living thing, but wasn't that what it was? From what they'd been told, it certainly operated like it had a mind of its own. Kuri looked down upon her own shield, the miraculous 200th. She smiled to herself and made a mental note to tell Davis about her shield's new moniker later, when he wasn't busy going over what had happened to them earlier with the rest of the academy.

Kuri studied Davis from her quiet corner of the room. He seemed perfectly comfortable surrounded by so many people, all of them hanging on his every word. It was a position Kuri could never imagine herself in. She'd never been a sanguine, center of attention type of person. She much preferred to stay on the outskirts of the group, content to simply observe. And though Davis was almost the exact opposite, he never questioned her motivations for acting that way. Unlike Kari, who was always trying to drag Kuri to various social gatherings and goading her to "loosen up," he simply accepted her behavior as part of her personality. Davis was such an accepting person overall. He had a pure heart. Kuri supposed that's what allowed him to succeed with her where many other people had failed. After a while it had become just too apparent to her that he had no ulterior motives with her other than a genuine desire to be her friend.

She watched him as he made illustrative gestures with his hands as he talked. Every so often, he and some of the other students would look in her direction, likely at points in the story where was talking about her. Each time, he made a point of flashing her a smile before continuing. Kuri found herself growing increasingly flattered each time he did so. She even began to return his smiles with ones of her own. It was nice to know he was thinking of her, even with the attention of so many others upon him. Kuri suddenly frowned to herself. Where had that thought come from? She didn't doubt its veracity, but wondered when she started thinking of Davis in such a manner. She didn't have time to reflect on it further, though, as after a moment she noticed Davis wading through the crowd, towards her.

"Hey wallflower." He said after clearing the throng and approaching her.

Kuri gave him a mock annoyed look at the nickname. "Done telling them the story already?"

"Nah, I got up to the part where everybody else came in, and let Terence take over."

The room suddenly filled with laughter.

"Sounds like he's got the comedy part down."

"Well, you know him, always the funny one."

A comfortable silence descended upon them as they watched Terence narrate his account of their adventure, periodically interrupted by Curtis, Clara, or Rosa anytime he strayed from the truth.

After a few minutes passed, Davis asked, "So, how are you doing now?"

"Pretty good actually. I'm feeling much better about a lot of things now."

"That's good. I knew you would, after Gennai told us about our connection. It just proves just how important you are and how powerful your compassion is."

Kuri smiled. "You never quit, do you, Davis?"

He grinned. "Of course not. I wouldn't be me if I did."

"Well, you don't have to worry about me so much now. I guess you could say my eyes were finally opened today."

"That's great. I'm really happy for you, K." He reached toward her and scratched Peko behind the ears as she dozed peacefully. "And I'm also happy for your worn out partner, here."

Kuri stole a glance at Davis as he continued to pet the little patamon. He'd been there for her and done so much to help her that she felt compelled to show his some sort of gratitude for his friendship.

"You know, Davis." She said. "I feel like it's a privilege to have this connection with you. There's no one in the world I'd rather share it with."

He looked genuinely moved by her words. "Thanks, Kuri. I feel the same way."

They shared a smile once more before falling into silence again and simply enjoying one another's company as Terence continued spinning his tale.

* * *

_To be continued… _

Next Up: **The 2nd Combine**. Clara, Kuri, and Curtis have their mettle tested, while Tai's climatic battle against his chief rival is sure not to disappoint.

As always, please review. (I live for those little review notification emails. They're what keep me writing this thing.)


	9. The Second Combine Pt 1

Woohoo! Update time! This chapter was originally going to be a lot longer, but since it was taking too long to finish, and the length was getting ridiculous in comparison with my other chapters, I split it into two, just like the First Combine chapters. Enjoy part I.

* * *

**The 2nd Combine Part I**

**Odaiba**

Cody sat cross-legged on his living room floor, idly munching on a candy bar, immersed in a guest piece TK had recently written for the _Odaiba Times_. The article was something of a review of sorts, updating the general public on what was going on in the lives of the Original Digidestined. As usual, Matt, Sora, and Kari got the longest and most in depth mentions. They were followed by Mimi, Izzy, Tai (a convoluted section of course, as at the time of the article's writing, no one really knew what was going on with Tai), and Davis. Yolei and Ken received a joint mention since, at this point in their lives, all of their experiences were essentially shared. Joe was next, with basically a review of his status in medical school. And then there was Cody. As usual, the one sentence wonder of the article.

Cody wondered why he even bothered to read these things at all anymore. And to think, TK had once been his DNA digivolving partner. Back when they were good friends, anyway. But now things were different. TK didn't really talk to him much anymore. In fact none of his original group of digidestined did. Cody only really kept in touch with Yolei voluntarily, since the two had always been rather close. As a result, he also kept in touch with Ken, and through Ken, Davis.

Davis. There was another thing that bothered Cody. Where in the world was he? Cody knew that most of the other OD's, ring led by Matt, believed that he had simply taken off with Tai for whatever reason. And not wanting to further alienate himself from that group, Cody hadn't argued with them. But somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew that there was possibly more to this than met the eye. Nothing sinister, as that Atuma guy had suggested a few days ago, but mysterious all the same.

Cody had just finished neatly refolding his newspaper and got up to throw it in the kitchen wastebasket when there was a sudden knock at the door.

"I got it, Mom!" He called out as he walked to the door and opened it.

Standing in the doorway before Cody was a tall sandy-blonde haired boy, and a shorter, dark-haired girl. Cody recognized the girl immediately.

"Noriko?" He asked.

"Um, hi, Cody." She said shyly.

"Well, this is certainly a surprise. I haven't seen you in quite a while."

"Yeah." she shuffled her feet as her voice trailed off. "Um, this is my friend, Kin."

Kin bowed slightly and presented a hand, which Cody shook.

"I've heard of you." Cody said, eying him curiously. "You're one of the Green room digidestined, right?"

Kin nodded in surprise. "You've heard of the Green Room?"

"Of course I have. It's not really a big secret, you know."

"But, you've never visited us." Noriko said.

"I've never been invited." Cody answered matter-of-factly. "So what brings you two here? I get the feeling it's not just a social call."

"You would be right." Kin confirmed. "We came here to discuss your, well, _our_, missing friends. We believe we can obtain information concerning what may have happened to them, but we need your help in getting it."

Cody seemed rather intrigued at this. He looked back into the apartment and noticed a flickering shadow in the main hallway, likely his mom busily doing something in the back.

"Can we take a walk and discuss this?" He asked. "I'd rather my mom not overhear us. She gets worried rather easily., and something like my friends possibly missing would really set her off."

"Sure. But you should bring a jacket. It's a bit cold out here."

"Okay." Cody plucked his coat from the rack behind the door before stepping outside and closing it quietly behind him. "Lets talk."

* * *

**Tokyo: Hours later**

Ken sat on his bed and smiled as he looked up from the chemistry textbook he was studying and allowed his gaze to fall on Yolei, snoring away at his adjacent desk. They were supposed to be studying together, but the girl had apparently taken this particular session as an opportunity to catch up on some much needed R&R. The dorm phone, which happened to be positioned right next to her head, suddenly began to ring. Ken was forced to stifle a laugh as his girlfriend jumped at the unexpected noise. She glanced at him crossly before yawning and picking it up.

"Hello?…Cody? Hi!…Yes this is Ken's room…No, we were _studying_ for your information…I do _not_ sound like I was sleeping…yeah, whatever. Here he is."

She handed the phone the phone to Ken. "Cody wants to talk to you."

Ken took it bewilderedly. Cody normally called for Yolei, not him. "Hello?"

"Hey Ken. You busy?"

"Not really. I was kinda of studying, _alone_." He glanced at Yolei, who playfully shook a fist at him. "But otherwise, no. Why?"

"Because I have some information concerning Tai and Davis that you might be interested in."

"Really?" Ken leaned forward. "Other than the 'they ran away' stuff, everyone else has been saying?"

"Yeah." Cody relayed the information Kin and Noriko had given him earlier about the missing persons reports and the lack of police cooperation in trying to find them.

"Sounds like some kind of cover up." Ken said, once he'd finished.

"I agree, which is why we all think it would be best if I contacted Oowikawa tomorrow to see if he knows anything."

"Yeah, we have to get around those roadblocks somehow."

"We? So that means you'll help us?"

Ken paused unsurely. "Honestly Cody, I don't really know why you're telling me all this or why you want my help in particular."

"Because you're a detective, or will be one someday. We could use your knowledge and expertise to help us solve this mystery."

"I don't know. What about the other digidestined?"

"Matt and those guys? We need more evidence first. If we go to them now, they'll just say it's all circumstantial. He's really got everyone whipped into an anti-Tai frenzy."

"Even Kari?"

Cody paused for a moment. "Well, I haven't actually talked to Kari in a while, but I suppose not."

"Eh, it doesn't matter." Ken said, coming to a decision. "I'll help you. I'll catch the next train to Odaiba tomorrow morning, in fact."

"Really? Thanks Ken."

"Sure, anytime."

"Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow, then."

"Alright, Cody. See you then.  
"See ya."

Ken handed the phone back to Yolei, and she placed it back on its receiver.

"So, you're going to Odaiba tomorrow?"

Ken nodded.

"Mind if I ask why?"

Ken relayed everything he and Cody had discussed in their short conversation to her. Yolei took it all in quietly, introspectively looking down as he talked.

"I'm coming too.' She said finally, after he finished.

"But our classes-"

"Forget the classes. Our friends might be in trouble. They need you to help solve this thing, and you'll need me, no doubt, just to keep you sane."

"I have to say, I'm a little surprised." Ken said. "I didn't think you were a big fan of my goals to be a detective."

"I'm not." Yolei said truthfully. "I still think it's crazy. But I also know that it makes you happy and is just as much a part of you as anything else. So, although I'm not a big fan of your Sherlock dreams, I still love them just as much as I love everything else about you." She got up and sat on the bed beside him. "And you know I'll support whatever you do."

"Wow, Yolei." Ken said, somewhat awed. "Sometimes I wonder if I even deserve a girl as good as you."

"Yeah Ken," She sighed. "Sometimes so do I."

At her boyfriend's taken aback look, Yolei giggled, snuggled up to him, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. He laughed too, realizing she was kidding, and turned to face her. He ran a hand lovingly through her lavender locks.

"You always know just the right thing to say to make me feel like I can do anything."

"It's only because I know you can."

They stared deep into each other's eyes before slowly drifting together and enjoying a sensual kiss.

* * *

**Digital** **Realm**

The late afternoon sun was unbearably bright as it radiated down on the many academy students gathered for the 2nd Combine. A few students, such as Kuri, Terence, and Rosa sought shade under the overhang at the steps leading to the mansion's entrance.

Kuri rested her head in her hands forlornly and sighed as she stared out over the clumps of people that dotted the expanse of sand between them and the giant cylinder of light that was the arena. They were all either practicing or discussing fighting techniques with one another.

"This is taking forever," Kuri complained, breaking the relative silence around her.

"I'm sure you'll be going in soon enough, Kuri." Rosa said in a reassuring, yet well-rehearsed, tone. "You just have to be patient."

"Patient? I was patient all morning, and now most of the afternoon. This combine is past halfway over and Tai, Curtis, Clara and I haven't even had a sniff of action. It's getting ridiculous." She stood up, gesturing to further illustrate her irritation. "I mean, I've already waited over five months for this day, and now we've been here for over half a day- hell, this is the _second_ break from action we've had, counting lunch earlier, and none of us have gone. This is crazy!" She kicked up a stray patch of sand on one of the steps.

"Well, that's it," Terence whispered to Rosa under his breath. "The pressure's finally gotten to her. She's completely lost her mind."

Rosa chided him with a slap on the arm. "You know, Kuri," she began hesitantly. "Jonathan and Nadia fought in their tag team match earlier, and they won pretty easily."

"Yeah, I know." The angered girl answered gruffly. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"They, um, practiced a lot with Tai and Jun until it was their turn. You know, maybe you should, uh, be doing the same." Rosa closed her eyes and braced for the tirade she was sure to come.

"I know." Kuri answered soberly. She looked over the crowd of students on the sands, all practicing or helping others prepare for their upcoming battles. Two groups in particular caught her attention; Clara and Curtis in deep conversation with Xian, and Krista, likely discussing hand-to-hand techniques. And Jun and Davis, going over basic maneuvers and attacks with Tai. "It's just, I've been preparing for this battle over the past three months. I don't think of the last minute stuff is really going to make a difference. I'm as ready as I'll ever be."

"Well, then you need to just chill." Terence said with a smirk. "You've got the confidence. Just be patient and let that work for you when it's finally time to fight."

Kuri gave in and dropped back into her seated position on the step with a sigh. She looked across the sands once again, this time at nothing in particular, and did her best not to pay attention to the slowly passing time as she waited for Sensei Enn to finally show up and restart the combine.

After a few moments, Kuri heard the sounds of footsteps approaching her. When they stopped, she glanced up to see a girl with evenly tanned skin and flowing white hair looking back at her, a grin crossing her attractive face.

"Hi, Keyan."

"Hello, Kuri." The diminutive guardian-in-training sat upon the steps also. "You seem disturbed."

"That's an understatement." Terence muttered.

Kuri shot him a glare before turning back to Keyan. "It's nothing really. I'm just ready to get this thing started again so I can finally get my turn to battle."

Keyan nodded in understanding. "You will do just fine when your turn comes. On some of my scheduled rounds as of late, I have observed you and Davis' late night activities in the gym."

Kuri glanced at Terence and Rosa to see their expected raised eyebrows.

"We were practicing my battle techniques." She explained.

"Sure, sure, we understand." Terence said, before turning to Rosa and whispering, "So that's what the kids are calling it nowadays."

The young Mexican digidestined placed a hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh.

"Ignore them." Keyan said, though her eyes betrayed a sense of amusement also. "My point is, you seem more than ready for this exercise. You are shaping into a very formidable warrior, in any case."

"Thanks Keyan." Kuri said, humbled by the girl's praise. "I just wish we could get on with this thing."

"You will, soon enough." Keyan rose again. "And then, I fear you will lament that you have no more time for preparation."

"So where are you off to now?" Terence asked, when he noticed her getting up. "Looking for Willis?"

She looked at him in a mixture of suspicion and mild surprise. "How did you-?"

He winked back at her. "Don't worry," he said. "It's our little secret."

Keyan's eyes widened even further at this and she opened her mouth to ask him where he'd gotten such personal information when Rosa suddenly cut her off.

"Um, last time I saw Willis," She said quickly, trying to derail the conversation before it got them all into hot water. "He was over th-" She paused, squinting in the direction she was pointing. "That's weird."

"What?" Kuri asked, looking out over the sands as well.

"The goons have split up. Jason and Tony left. Now it's just Ahmed and Helga standing out there."

"Great," Kuri grumbled. "My most likely opponent is nowhere to be found. As if my battle hasn't been delayed enough."

Keyan gave Terence one last wary glance before turning her attention to Kuri. "If I were you, I would not worry about your next battle so much as what underhanded scheme those two are likely concocting at the moment."

Kuri twisted her face into a look of consternation as she considered Keyan's words.

"And the plot thickens." Terence said ominously, his tone noticeably more serious than before.

* * *

Jonathan marveled at the golden bracelet he held in his hand one last time before placing it in a wooden coffer, and sliding it under his bed. It was a keepsake from his recent victory in the combine that he had managed to pilfer when Sensei Enn wasn't looking. The bracelet was much easier to take that it would've been at the last combine, mostly due to the fact that this time around, all the battles had been tag team bouts, thus leaving more of the small, golden rings to keep track of.

Of course, Nadia hadn't quite approved of Jonathan's theft, but she didn't really argue the point. Jonathan allowed himself a wry grin. He could tell he was growing on that girl. Ever since he'd convinced her to accompany him on that eavesdropping mission a few months ago, she'd been steadily falling down a slippery slope into the arena where his somewhat dubious moral standings resided.

With a nod, satisfied that his souvenir was safely tucked away, Jonathan left the room and went downstairs, where his digimon partner was waiting at the door for him.

"How's it look Razor?"

"Coast is clear." The Gizamon answered, as he peeked around the door to the hallway beyond.

"Good. Let's be on our way back to the festivities then."

Jonathan headed for the door when Razor suddenly stuck an arm out, stopping him.

"Wait a second, mate. I think I hear someone."

"Oh no. It's not Sensei Enn is it?"

Jonathan ran to the opposite side of the door and chanced a peek out. He frowned.

"I should say not. I wonder what those fellows are doing in here."

In the hall stood Jason and Tony, conversing with two identical looking hulking figures.

"So it's agreed then?" Said one of them. "We have a deal?"

"Cause we can easily walk away from this thing." Said the other.

Jonathan recognized the voices immediately as belonging the Peterson twins; Two large, military trained digidestined that normally got along well enough with everyone, but whose sheer size and muscular physique was more than a bit intimidating to most academy students.

"Yes, of course we have a deal." Jason answered, obviously a little annoyed. "You participate in the battle alongside Tony here, providing your extensive military planning and expertise to him, and I'll set up a 'ahem' rendezvous between you and Helga."

"That's fine for Flint there, but now, what about me?" Said the first twin. "What will I get out of this?"

Jason shrugged. "I don't know, Shard. Name your price."

Shard mused for a moment. "I don't know. We'll see how the battle goes, and then I'll name my price."

"What?" The normally stoic Tony exclaimed. "What kind of deal is that?"

"One in which I fear you have no real choice." Said Flint, speaking up on behalf of his brother. "Not if you want the services of my brother and I, and our Sharmamon." He pointed to the two small, ogre-like, club-wielding, digimon standing between them.

"Then I do have a choice." Tony said. "Rana and I can win on our own."

Shard snorted. "Ha! While you and your Modokibetamon partner may make a decent team, you'll stand no chance against the Katsura girl. I've seen her in action. She's good, real good." He paused a moment to produce a powerbar from his shirt pocket, unwrap it, and take a bite. "You should count yourself lucky we have to remain at rookie level during the battles, or else she'd really eat you alive in her Prairiemon form."

"And I believe your friend here knows that." Flint added. "Don't you, Jason?"

"Fine," Jason gave in after a moment. "You can name your terms after the battle is finished. But on one condition."

"And what's that?" Shard asked suspiciously.

"You have to win."

""Won't be a problem." The twins said simultaneously, before reaching forward and shaking Jason and Tony's hands.

"Pleasure doing business." Flint said. He gave them a mock two-fingered salute, then turned and retreated down the hall with his brother.

Jason and Tony watched them go quietly.

"Do you really think we have to do this?" Tony asked once they were out of earshot, nervously running a meaty paw though his greasy mane.

"Of course I do. It will mean nothing when I beat Tai, if my team has an overall losing percentage."

"Why are you so sure that I'll lose?"

"Because Flint was right. Ever since their little outing a couple months ago, Kuri has found a new dedication to her training that I'm afraid you, my indolent friend, can't even begin to comprehend. I, too, have seen her practicing with Davis. She'd eat you alive."

If Tony was offended, he didn't show it.

"But," Jason continued. "With the help of the Petersons, who are models of dedication to training in their own right, the balance shifts drastically. Remember, they're the sons of the infamous American General, Derrick "Rock" Peterson himself. With them, I'm sure you'll be able to defeat Katsura and whatever unfortunate chumps Enn teams her up with with relative ease."

Tony nodded as they began walking out of the hall. "But what about the battle itself? You sure you can set it up?"

"Positive. Enn won't be a problem. You know I have certain influences with him…"

Their voices faded away as they rounded a corner.

Jonathan looked down at Razor.

"I don't like the sound of that one bit." He said. "Looks like we need to warn our friends about this before it's too late."

The Gizamon simply nodded in reply.

When the coast was clear, both quickly exited the room.

* * *

Outside, most of the academy had gathered around the outskirts of the arena and were once again waiting for Sensei Enn to arrive and announce the next combatants. Kuri paced back and forth impatiently while Davis watched her in amusement. She stopped when she noticed his look.

"What?"

"Nothing." He said innocently.

"Davis. I know you too well for that. What do you find funny about this?'

"You."

"Me?"

"Yep. After all that training and talk about being the best when this combine came around, you're still just as nervous as everyone else battling today."

Kuri gave him a deadly stare. "I am not nervous. I'm just ready to get this over with already."

"Sure. Whatever." Davis shrugged. "If pacing around and wringing your hands is the way you prep for battle, who am I to argue?"

"The only thing I'm going to be wringing around here," Kuri began advancing on him. "Is your neck."

Davis ran away, laughing as he dodged between their friends with Kuri in hot pursuit.

"Hey!" Terence yelled as they brushed past him. "Watch it!"

Curtis, standing beside Terence, watched the two as they entered into a playful fight.

"He did a good job of getting her to lighten up."

Terence looked down at his brother. Curtis no longer had his large untamed afro. Instead, he now had his hair pleated into an elaborate pattern of cornrows that would inhibit him less when it came time to battle.

"Aw bro, are you jealous? If you want, I can call Rosa over-"

"Shut-up."

Terence shrugged. "Oh well, looks like she's coming over anyway."

Curtis looked up and saw that Clara and Rosa were indeed walking over to them.

"What's up guys?" Rosa greeted. "You ready for your battle Curtis?"

"I suppose." He mumbled half-heartedly.

Rosa frowned slightly. "How's he holding up?" She asked Terence.

"Not so great. Curtis has never been the fighting type-" He paused, his attention on Rosa's overly anxious cousin. "Clara, are you okay? Your hands-"

"Oh, you noticed too huh?" She said, attempting to hold one hand with the other and switching them back and forth. "I just can't get them to stop shaking." She smiled unconvincingly. "Guess it's getting so late I'm starting to get pre-fight jitters."

Terence frowned in concern and extended his hands. "Come here angel. Let me see them."

Clara approached him nervously. 'Angel' was the nickname he used for her in private, when they were together in their secret singing lessons, because, he insisted, her voice was divine. She wondered how Rosa and Curtis would react to him using it publicly.

Terence didn't seem to care however, as he took her hands into his and began to hum a soothing tune. He massaged the top of her hands with his thumbs while holding her palms with his forefingers. Clara closed her eyes and allowed the therapeutic massage to take effect on her. She noticed that the song he was humming was "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," one of her favorites.

After a while, Terence asked, "Better?"

Clara slowly opened her eyes to look upon his handsome face. "Yes." She said breathlessly. She looked down at her hands and noticed they were no longer shaking. In fact, she was now holding his hands more than he was holding hers.

"Thank you." She said shyly, releasing her grip.

"Anytime," Terence responded, reaching up and stroking her cheek with the back of one of his hands.

Clara closed her eyes and bit her lip in an attempt to steel herself, so as not to pounce on him right then and there. It was a sort of game they'd begun playing as of late. Both had obviously had a desire to break their pact of friendship for a while now, but neither wanted to be the one to actually initiate it. So instead, they usually flirted this way. One trying to break the other down. Their relationship had become so amiable, with none of the bickering between them that took place months ago, Clara had no idea how she was holding out.

"Um, is there something going on between you guys that we should know about?" Rosa asked, watching them intently.

"No." Clara responded quickly. A little too quickly. "No. Nothing at all."

She looked back at Terence for further confirmation, but he only shied away quietly. There was an expression in his eyes that Clara hadn't seen before. On closer inspection she noticed that he actually seemed to be a little hurt. She could do nothing about it however, as at that moment, Jun and Tai decided to walk over to them.

"Hey guys," Jun greeted. "Ready for your battles?"

Curtis grumbled something intelligible and Clara didn't respond, her mind still on Terence.

"I guess that's a no, then?" Tai said. He looked around. "Where're Kuri and Davis?"

A sudden shout of pain rang out over the crowd and Davis became visible in the sea of students. He walked towards them, Kuri behind him, holding his arm behind his back.

"Say it." She urged him. "Come on Davis."

"Okay, okay, you're not nervous!"

She let go. "Thank you."

Hr rubbed his arm where she'd been holding it. "I think we trained you a little too well."

"Well, you certainly don't seem to be too upset about your upcoming fight." said Jun, looking at Kuri.

"How can I be with friends like Davis that do their best to keep me distracted?"

Davis smiled sheepishly. "You can see through me that easy, huh?'

"Like a window."

Davis rolled his eyes. "Well, what about the rest of you guys? Tai, Clara, Curtis? You all are ready?"

"You know I am." Tai said, a hint of deadly determination in his voice. "I'm always ready for a good fight."

"And you two?" Davis turned his attention to Clara and Curtis.

Curtis shrugged. "I guess. Wish I could be more like those guys though."

He pointed to where all their digimon were assembled, taking part in their usual rituals to pump each other up.

"Yeah, this stuff never seems to get to them." Clara agreed.

At that moment, a sudden hush descended over all the academy students. Sensei Enn had finally reentered the arena and stood poised to call out the next combatants.

Tai narrowed his eyes as he saw Jason standing near the point where Enn had walked in, a supremely smug expression upon his face.

"Something's up." He said. "Jason looks a little too happy over there."

"You got that right, mate." Jonathan said as he walked up behind the group, noticeably short of breath.

Everyone turned to look at him.

"He's set up a battle between Kuri and that big oaf Tony over there."

"I expected that much." Kuri said with a shrug. "We all did."

"But, that's not all. I, erm, listened in, on a conversation he had a few minutes ago. He's recruited the Peterson twins to his cause as well.

"Those two barrel-chested, steroid pumping, freaks of nature?' Terence said. "But how? Only one of them can fight with Tony."

"I fear we're going to see a bit of a rule change coming up, then." Jonathan replied. "And also, I believe he'll pair Kuri with other, particularly younger or weaker partners."

Sensei Enn cleared his throat importantly. "The next combatants will be involved in a more interesting match than those we've had previously. This will be three on three." Excited murmurs began to pass through the crowd.

Kuri looked at Jonathan. "No kidding."

"We can't let him get away with this." Davis exclaimed. "He's setting her up!"

Tai placed a hand on his shoulder. "Let's just wait and see who the combatants actually are before we do anything."

Sensei Enn continued. "Anthony Romero! Flint and Shard Peterson! Report to the arena!"

The three did so, resembling very much an offensive line from a football team.

Enn handed them their bracelets and spoke up again. "Kuri Katsura! Your presence is also required in the arena!" He paused as if in deliberation, before a devious smile played across his face. "Clara Sanchez, Curtis Dumars! Join her!"

"What?!" Jason practically screamed. "That's not what I told you!"

Enn glanced over at him casually. "What you told me is of no consequence, Smith. This is my combine and I decide who battles. If you believe that your chosen team stands less of a chance of winning because I didn't match them up against relative weaklings, then they are truly pitiful indeed."

Jason scowled from his position at the edge of the arena but didn't reply. There was essentially no point in arguing. Though Dumars' kid brother and the Sanchez girl were more formidable combatants than he would have liked, he felt his team still had the strength advantage and would likely prevail in the end anyway.

"Jason seems angry." Jun observed. "I don't think Curtis or Clara fit into his plan."

"I don't care!" Davis shouted. "This whole thing is still a sham! We need to tell Gennai and get it stopped!"

Tai stepped in front of the enraged knight. "Hold on there, Davis. Rein it in. I don't think that's your decision to make." He looked at the three chosen to combat. "What do you guys want to do?"

Where Curtis and Clara seemed a bit apprehensive, Kuri was resolute.

"I want to fight." She said. "I don't care who they put me up against. If I don't believe I can win, then I don't deserve to be a Knight."

"But Kuri-"

"I mean what I said Davis. There's no way I'm changing my mind about this and you know that."

"Do you guys feel the same way?" Jun asked Curtis and Clara.

Both nodded slowly. "If Kuri feels so strongly about this, then I'm with her." Clara said.

"Same here." Curtis echoed her sentiments.

"Okay then, I guess you better get your digimon and get going then."

As Curtis and Clara went to collect Taps and Marta, Davis pulled Kuri to the side.

"Are you really sure you want to do this?" he asked.

She nodded. "Of course I am." She paused, noticing Davis' concerned look at her answer. "Don't worry." She said reaching out and touching his arm. "I'll be fine."

"I know. It's just, they're cheating-"

"And so are we, sort of." Kuri smiled. "I know you haven't forgotten about our connection, have you?"

Davis shook his head. "Of course not."

"Then we both know if things get really bad in there, there's no way you'll let me lose, just like I wouldn't let you."

"All right," Davis conceded. "It's just…well, I worry about you."

"I know you do, and I know how you feel. I care about you too, you know."

They looked at one another in silence, unsure of what there was left to say, but not wanting to part just then.

Sensei Enn's impatient bellow for the combatants to hurry up unceremoniously broke the moment.

"That's my cue." Kuri said, though she didn't turn to get Peko just yet.

The evening wind bean to pick up, causing her hair to ripple and sway in the cool breeze.

Davis was transfixed and it took him a moment to regain his speech. "I'd say, 'break a leg' or 'knock 'em dead' but-" He shrugged.

She laughed. "I see your point, but I think 'good luck' will suffice in this case."

"Okay then. Good luck, Kuri."

"Thank you." She flashed him one last smile before turning and heading off.

Davis watched her go, a mixture of emotions that had become all too commonplace over the past few months flooding through him once again.

Clara and Curtis were already waiting with Taps and Marta at the edge of the arena when Kuri and Peko joined them. The three of them entered and approached Sensei Enn and their opponents together.

"About time.' Enn remarked when they arrived. "Now, the rules for this match will be different from the others. You will only have to have your bracelets pulled twice to warrant a disqualification."

"Twice? What kind of crap is that?" Clara exclaimed. "Why are we the first ones to fight under these rules?"

"Because you are the first ones to be involved in a three on three match, and I obviously don't want to wait an eternity for it to come to a conclusion." He pulled three bracelets from his robe pockets and handed them out to the combatants. "Please try to live up to the example the previous battles today have set forth for you. This combine has been markedly better than the train wreck that was the first. Keep it that way."

With that, Enn turned and left them to wait for his signal.

"Don't worry sweetheart." Flint, distinguished from his brother by his shield of Discipline, said to Clara. "We won't hurt you.'

"Much." Shard added with a guffaw, his own shield of Determination glinting in the waning sunlight.

Clara watched with barely contained anger as the pair turned and went to take up their positions.

Tony lingered behind, fixedly looking at Kuri.

"What do you want?" she asked, acidly.

"It's a shame what I'm going to have to do to you today. We could've been great together."

Her eyes widened. "Are you kidding me? I wouldn't be with you if you were the last man-er, beast on earth."

Tony seemed indifferent at the insult. "Davis is lucky to have such a fiery girl, then. Unfortunately, he's going to have to watch you lose on this day." He turned and followed the twins.

"Get it right, Romero!" She shouted to his back. "I won't be the one losing today!"

Curtis walked up beside her. "So, to be correct, he's going to lose, but you _are_ Davis' "fiery girl?'"

Kuri looked at him irately. "One correction at a time," she grumbled. "Come on, let's get ready."

The three and their digimon grouped some distance away from their opponents.

"So, do we have a plan or something?" Peko asked.

Kuri kept her eyes on Sensei Enn, taut and anxious. "Curtis?"

"I'm not sure. I'd rather see what their plan is first, then we can maybe develop some countermeasures."

"Plans? Countermeasures?" Marta asked. "Why don't we just go out there and kick some ass?"

"Marta!" Clara exclaimed

"She has a point." Kuri said, not taking her eyes off of Enn. "For now we need to just battle and use our training. We'll come up with something else if it's needed."

Taps seemed surprised. "We can do that?" He asked.

Marta sighed. "You're too used to thinking things through. Sometimes you have to just act."

"Like now.' Kuri said. "There's the signal. Let get on with this."

The group of six moved forward slowly, taking in their surroundings as they did.

The arena environment was markedly different than before. The large stone blocks and boulders were still there, but now everything was covered in sand instead of meadow grass. Where there was once forest, there were now small clusters of decaying stone structures and tiled groundwork that resembled the ruins of ancient civilizations.

It was from one of these clusters that Tony, Shard and Flint finally emerged. With confident smiles they stepped into the open, prepared to enter into a standoff with their enemies.

"What do we do now?' Curtis asked.

Kuri frowned. "I hate this stare down, dramatic type stuff. Get ready to scatter."

"What?"

Kuri didn't explain further, and really didn't have to as, with a violent fling of her arms, she threw a flurry of Boom Bubbles in their adversaries' direction.

The six were barely able to split apart before Tony and Rana began firing retaliatory water gun knifes, strikes of dangerously high pressure water, into their midst.

"Was that really necessary?!" Curtis shouted to Kuri from his position behind a boulder.

She shrugged, having taken cover behind a block across from him. "Had to get this thing started somehow!" She ducked, as blasts of water sent sand and bits of rock flying around her.

"Looks like he really wants to get to you!" Clara shouted. She had worked her way over to the same boulder as Curtis.

"That could work for us." Curtis said, in thought. He looked up. "Hey Kuri, draw his fire!"

"What?!" Kuri shouted, flinching as more bits of rock and water flew past her. "As if I'm not doing that already?!"

"Yeah, well keep doing it, and lead him away from here!"

"Why?!"

"If you get him away from here, Clara and I can take on Shard and Flint! They only have body attacks!"

Kuri nodded to him in understanding and moved to the opposite side of her block. When the time was right, she and Peko took off at top speed, making sure Tony could see them. As predicted, he and Rana pursued them.

"Okay," Curtis said, getting up. "Time to do our part."

He, Clara, Taps and Marta quickly jumped out and began throwing their respective attacks while running towards the rapidly approaching Peterson twins. The twins split up and found objects to take cover behind as soon as they saw the blasts of steam and heard the howling attacks rushing towards them.

"Now what?' Clara asked.

"You and Marta take Flint, Pings and I will get Shard."

"Okay…which one's Shard?"

Curtis paused in thought. "I actually don't know. Tell you what, you take the one on the right, I'll take the one on the left."

"All right."

With that, the two went their separate ways, towards the areas where their assigned targets had taken cover.

Curtis cautiously approached where he thought he'd seen his twin run off to, his hand up and ready to throw a Solid Steam attack at a moment's notice.

"Where is he?" Taps whispered.

"Somewhere over here. He came this way."

Suddenly a form leapt out from behind a rock directly in front of them, somersaulted, and landed behind a pyramid shaped block to their right.

"Whoa. He's good." Taps commented, moving forward even more carefully now.

"Tell me about it." Curtis frowned worriedly. There was something about this he was missing. Something obvious-

Their target leapt out again, this time running at full speed for a larger block some distance away. Curtis and Taps fired off four steam attacks but all of them missed wide before he dove behind his new cover.

"He's really fast." The tapirmon said.

Curtis nodded. "It must be a result of the connection between him and his sharmamon. He has a heightened athleticism, which really isn't good, since he was already in top shape to begin with."

Taps looked at his partner in confusion. "Speaking of which, where is his sharmamon?"

Curtis slapped his forehead. "I knew there was something we were forgetting." He quickly turned and took in a comprehensive scan of their surroundings before frowning, perplexed. "But if they were trying to get the drop on us, now would've been the time to do it."

"So what do we do?"

"Well, they've obviously got some kind of plan working. I think we need to get to our twin here before they fully put it into motion."

Curtis and Taps stalked forward quickly, a new sense of urgency in their actions.

* * *

Clara moved slowly, cautiously. She really had no idea what she was doing at the moment. She knew that somewhere in the scattered group of rocks and boulders in front of her, one of the twins had taken cover. Beyond that, she was lost. What she would do when she found him, how exactly she was going get his bracelet. These were questions that Clara couldn't give a good answer to. Nevertheless, she continued to move forward with Marta at her side. The Salamon wore a look of pure determination on her face, eager to confront whatever they would face. For the moment, Clara truly envied her.

Clara jumped, as a slight movement in her peripheral caught her attention. She turned towards it, hands raised and at the ready, and was surprised when she saw nothing there but a couple of small, jutting, rocks.

"What's up?' Marta asked.

"I'm…not sure. I thought I saw something, but…never mind."

Clara slowly turned her head away from the scene, focusing her attention back on the task at hand.

"So," she began, addressing he partner. "You have any idea where he went?"

"Somewhere over here. We have to be close." Marta sniffed the air intently. "Really close."

"But I don't see anything."

"Because he's most likely hiding like a coward. Keep your eyes peeled. His scent is very strong and this nose doesn't lie."

Clara entered into a crouch and slowly inched her way forward into the area of boulders and objects where their opponent was most likely taking refuge. She snuck up to a medium sized block and placed her back against it, scooting along until she could see around the corner.

Upon seeing nothing she asked Marta. "Are you sure he's over here? I don't see anything."

Marta sniffed the air again and perked up her ears. "Oh, he's definitely here. He's on the other side of that block."

Clara nodded, taking in the information. "Okay, here's the deal. You go around to the other end of the block, I'll go around this way. Then, when the time comes, we'll get him from both sides."

"Sounds good to me." Marta said, promptly stalking off to her appointed position.

Marta sniffed the air curiously as she made her way to the other side of the block. Every once in a while, when the winds shifted briefly, the scents she smelled would change slightly. There was something familiar about them. Something she'd be able to identify if only they didn't come and go so quickly.

Putting the thought aside, she slunk up to and peeked around her corner of the block. Nothing. Another quick sniff told her their guy was definitely hiding on the other side though. She glanced back to her partner for confirmation of their next move. After a moment, Clara nodded and disappeared around the corner. Taking the cue, Marta did the same on her end.

She stayed low and stalked forward, intent on keeping the element of surprise on their side. Marta paused, however when she noticed a different smell on the ground than what she'd previously received through the air. Two scents, actually. They were very similar and yet distinct at the same time. As she continued forward, she noticed that the two scents split from one another, with one veering slightly away from the block, and the other continuing around it. Marta scrunched her face up in confusion. Not only was there something infuriatingly familiar about these two scents, but she knew their behavior was telling her something also. If only she could put her finger, or in this case, paw, on it.

Marta went over the scents in her head once more. They didn't smell human. Which meant that they could only be digimon. Digimon whose odors were vague because she had yet to have much contact with them…The Sharmamon. Marta jerked her head up. Her eyes widened in realization. The way they acted… They were leading them here. It was an ambush!

The salamon's discovery came a bit too late, however, as two green forms quickly sprung from seemingly nowhere and descended upon her in attack.

* * *

Kuri ran over a rather large, flat expanse of land, Peko flying along at her side, as Tony and Rana continued launching attacks all around her. The sand kicked up violently from their barrage, coalescing into small bits of mud when it combined with the copious amount of water.

"Where are we going?" Peko asked, swooping low as yet another shot went streaming over her head.

Kuri looked around desperately. It was a question she hadn't given much thought to, as at the moment she had most of her attention on dodging. She spied something in the distance, a grouping of deteriorated sculptures and blocks.

"Head for those ruins!" she shouted, pointing in their direction.

Peko nodded without further comment and continued forward at her partner's side.

* * *

Curtis crept silently along, his head swaying in different directions as he tried his best to keep a cautious eye out for the digimon partner of the Peterson twin he and Taps were currently pursuing.

"I don't like this." Taps said, glumly.

"I agree." Curtis said in much the same tone of voice. "It's like we're completely at their mercy. I mean, it's pretty obvious they have something planned the way this guy keeps taking off any time we get remotely close to him. He seems to be stalling for some reason."

"Or maybe he's leading us into a trap."

"Possibly," Curtis mused. "But not a very effective one if it's just him and his sharmamon. It's more likely- There he goes!"

He and Taps ran forward firing several attacks at the figure that once again emerged from behind one boulder and dashed behind another

"This is getting ridiculous." Curtis exclaimed in frustration as all their attacks missed once again. "He's only running and hiding! When is this supposed to turn into an actual battle?"

Taps shrugged as best a tapirmon could. "So what do you want to do?" He asked. "Do we keep after him?"

"What other choice do we have?" Curtis said resignedly. "We have to at least keep track of him, don't we?"

Taps sighed. "I guess so."

* * *

Clara sprung out from her side of the block confidently, a hand outstretched toward her target, who was waiting there, just as Marta had suspected.

"Freeze!" she shouted. "Don't move, you –whichever one you are."

The well-built young man looked at her with a smug expression. "I'm Shard actually. And what exactly are you planning to do? Arrest me?"

"No, I-" Clara spared a glance around in search of Marta. "I-"

"Are missing a digimon partner, I see." He finished for her. "Which tells me that things have gone as planned for my side."

Clara looked at him in surprise. She swallowed a lump in her throat and did her best to keep her breathing and heart rate even.

"You better tell me where she is." She said with false bravado.

Shard only smiled as suddenly two green ogre-like digimon walked around the opposite side of the block, a limp white form hanging between them.

"Marta!" Clara practically screamed. "What have you done to her?"

"Yes, Stone, Granite, tell her what you did to the little salamon." Shard said mockingly.

"Nothin' just knocked her out cold, like we were supposed to."

The two roughly tossed Marta's limp form to the ground, where she rolled to a stop.

Shard looked supremely pleased. "Well, that takes care of that part of our trap. Now we can move on to Ms. Sanchez."

At the mention of her name, Clara tore her eyes away from the helpless form of her partner. She backed up slowly as the two digimon took up flanking positions beside Shard.

"Now, there's two ways we can do this, Clara. The easy way…or the hard one. Please pick the hard way. I could use a decent fight."

She continued to back away. ."B-but, I can't fight you. Y-you're so big. W-what could I do, one against three?"

Clara's eyes began to water as she looked at Shard with an expression of fear. "Please don't hurt me. I'm not made out for this kind of stuff. I don't want to fight." She sniffed. "I just want to get my partner and leave."

Shard's demeanor softened a bit. "Just surrender then, darlin'. Give me your bracelet and I promise I won't hurt you."

As he walked forward, his hand outstretched, Clara saw her opening. With a quickness that betrayed her appearance, she grabbed him by the wrist, twisting it just the way Krista had taught her, and used her leverage as she bent down to flip him over her back. He landed with a rough thump in the dirt.

Before either Shard or the sharmamon could properly react to her sudden attack, Clara ran over to where Marta lay and scooped her up, firing several howling attacks back over her shoulder as she did so. She glanced back to see that one of her attacks had hit one of the green digimon, causing him to fall and trip up the other.

She didn't take time to revel in the small victory, however, and continued to run as fast as she could away from the scene, desperately clutching her unconscious partner.

After a while, Clara came to a stop, confident she'd built up a good amount of distance from her adversaries.

"I hope you're okay, my little nina." She said, stroking Marta's unmoving form. A lone tear ran down her cheek. "I'm so sorry I let them do this to you."

Clara looked down at her shield. "I don't even deserve this," She mumbled, before sighing and bowing her head. "Just be all right Marta. Please, just be okay."

* * *

Kuri stopped her flight upon reaching the ruins and ducked behind one of the elaborate sculptures at their entrance. Peko stopped also and hovered over her partner's head.

"What in the world are you doing, hiding here?"

"I'm not hiding. I'm waiting."

"We're getting the jump on Tony, then?"

Kuri nodded.

Peko hovered a little higher, to peek out over the sands. "Well, get ready, then, 'cause here he comes."

No sooner did Peko finish her warning than Tony's burly form suddenly appeared at the ruins entranceway, Rana beside him. Both were panting heavily. They cautiously entered, looking around uncertainly.

"Now!" Kuri shouted.

Peko shot forth like a bullet, ramming into Rana with extreme force, and sending them both tumbling well away from their partners.

Tony ignored them and turned to fire an attack at where he'd heard Kuri's voice, but yelped in pain as an expertly timed roundhouse knocked his hand away. He drew back, rubbing the hurt wrist with an angry scowl on his face.

"Why don't we do this without the fancy water effects." Kuri said, entering a fighting stance.

"Fine with me." Tony grumbled. "Your funeral."

He threw a crushing overhand right, which Kuri easily dodged.

"We'll see about that." She said, back flipping out of the way as he threw a second punch and delivering a glancing blow to his jaw with her foot on the follow through.

Tony gave his jaw a cursory rub. "You're quick." He said. "But, that means nothing against me."

He threw another punch, this time missing by an even wider margin than before as Kuri dodged, spun around it, and gave him a perfectly aimed elbow to the ribs.

"And you're slow," she said, as she leapt back out of his reach before he could grab her. "Which means I'm probably going to kick your ass."

Tony, angered by this statement, lunged forward with deceptive quickness and managed to grab Kuri's arm. Before she could react, he flung her as hard as he could across the ruins and into a stone wall. She hit it with a loud yell before crumpling into an injured, kneeling position on the ground, dirt and gravel from the decaying wall falling all around her.

Tony laughed gruffly. "Not so cocky now, are you?' he said, strolling towards her confidently. He was taken aback when she slowly lifted her head and looked at him, a blazing anger in her eyes.

"You're going to pay for that." She said lowly, both a threat and a promise in her tone, as she rose from her kneeling position.

"And just what are you going to do to me, squirt?" Tony asked mockingly.

"This."

Kuri quickly launched forward from where she stood, running toward her adversary at great speed.

Tony entered into a defensive stance, expecting more fisticuffs action. He smiled, believing Kuri to be enraged past the point of reason. He could easily crush her now.

Just before the moment of impact, the moment when he could deliver that one punch that would put her down for the count, Kuri leapt high into the air. Higher than Tony reasonably expected she could. He therefore wasn't prepared when she suddenly delivered the first part of her jump kick, a sharp blow to his temple. He also wasn't prepared for the second component of her attack, as she used his body a vertices, enabling her to turn in mid air and give him one more kick, this time to the back of his skull, before landing and somersaulting to a stop.

Kuri watched with satisfaction as Tony stumbled forward and fell to his knees. She got up a ran towards him again, this time leaping into the air and leading with both feet as she delivered a double footed jump kick to his side, fully sprawling him out on the ground.

Kuri gathered herself almost as soon as she landed the blow and leaned over Tony, reaching out and tugging his bracelet. Before she could pull it twice, however, he reached out and grabbed one of her legs, bringing her to the ground also. Wasting no time, she quickly rolled to her feet, reentered a fighting stance and waited as her portly opponent laboriously pulled himself up.

Tony looked at her with a fatigued wariness, his head obviously swimming from the successive blows.

"I told you, you would pay." She said, flatly.

Tony gave Kuri a glare, anger oozing throughout his otherwise unbalanced features.

"You got lucky." He said, as the two began to circle one another. "It won't happen again."

"We'll see."

* * *

Outside the arena, Tai seemed genuinely impressed with Kuri's fighting style.

"I had no idea she was that good." He said to the rest of the group.

"Her biggest strength is her quickness." Davis said beaming with pride. "And as you saw, she can take a hit and keeps on coming. In fact, if you're ever sparring with Kuri, you almost _don't_ want to hit her, because that's when she really gets serious."

"While, that's all good and well for Kuri." Jun said, stepping forward to get a better view. "Things aren't going as well for the rest of her team, especially Clara and Marta."

She glanced at Terence and, as she suspected, the concerned expression on his face told her that he wasn't listening to a word they were saying.

"No they're not." Rosa said gravely, echoing much of Terence's concern but apparently still being capable of participating in conversation. "I just hope that Marta's okay right now."

* * *

Clara continued her vigil, watching over her unconscious partner in extreme worry.

"Come on Marta, wake up!" She pleaded, stroking the digimon's docile face.

Marta responded by stirring slightly, mumbling incoherently under her breath. After a moment she opened her eyes and squinted as they were assaulted by the evening sunlight.

Clara breathed a sigh of relief. "You're okay."

"I…I wouldn't say that." Marta grumbled. She grimaced and let out an involuntary whimper of pain. "My head is killing me."

A gruff voice interrupted their conversation. "It should be. I whacked it pretty good."

Clara looked up to see that the two sharmamon and Shard had already caught up with her and were approaching her confidently with murderous stares.

"You!" Marta tried to shout, but it came off as a hoarse whisper. "You're dead meat!"

She leapt from Clara's arms, but upon hitting the ground, quickly lost her balance and fell to the side with an injured howl.

"Marta!" Clara shouted, scooping her partner back up. "You can't fight in your condition."

"Tell me about it." The salamon croaked.

"Aw, that's too bad." Shard said. "And maybe, if you hadn't pulled that little stunt back there, I might've taken mercy on you and wouldn't' have done this."

"Done what?" Clara asked, glaring at him as she clutched Marta.

She had hardly finished the brief question before Shard had crossed the distance between them with lightning fast speed.

"This." He said, picking Clara up by her uniform collar, carrying her to the nearest boulder, and violently slamming her back up against it.

Clara let out a scream as sharp pain shot up her spine with the blow and involuntarily dropped Marta to the ground. Shard continued to press up against her, only showing signs of satisfaction when her eyes began to well up with hurt tears. He reached out with the arm that wasn't holding the girl and casually pulled her bracelet.

* * *

"Son of a bitch!"

Davis and Tai struggled to hold Terence back as he tried to run to Clara's aid, not by futilely trying to enter the arena, but by going after Sensei Enn and Jason, whom he blamed for her current mismatch.

"Terence, I know it's hard, but you have to stay out of this." Tai attempted to reason. "It's Clara's fight to win or lose."

Terence didn't seem to listen to Tai as he continued to struggle against he and Davis' grips on his arms.

"At the very least," Davis said, "you should know that we're not going to let you do this, so there's no use in fighting."

Terence let up a bit at this, but it was still apparent that he would take off as soon as they released him.

Rosa, by comparison, seemed to be the picture of calm.

"Are you okay?" Jun asked, noticing her demeanor and fearing the girl may have gone into some kind of shock.

"I'm fine."

"You're not concerned about Clara?"

"No. She'll get out of this. She just has to quit acting like a little girl in there and start fighting back."

Everyone stopped and looked at the girl. Even Terence quit fighting against his holders.

"Are you serious?" he asked.

Rosa nodded. "Sure am. I just wish there was some way I could tell her myself."

Davis bit his lip in thought as he stared back towards the arena. He spared his golden shield a quick glance, his mind whirring.

Jun noticed her brother's behavior and walked over to him discreetly.

"Davis, that would be cheating." She whispered.

"What would?" He asked, feigning ignorance.

"You know what. However you're planning to use your shield-"

He shushed her, looking around anxiously. "Look Jun, if I use this I promise it won't be cheating. Besides, I owe Kuri anyway. And I don't think you would say that we won our match by cheating, would you?""

Jun seemed conflicted. "Well, just hold off on it, then. Let's see if it's really necessary first."

* * *

Shard leaned in close to Clara's distressed face, smiling confidently.

"One more pull, and this is all over for you darlin'. Amazing how easily a bit of military planning beat you and your friends, isn't it?"

When it was obvious Clara didn't know what he was talking about, Shard continued. "Divide and conquer. A strategy dad taught us since me and Flint were four. Right now, while my brother leads Dumars on a merry little chase and that fatass keeps Katsura busy, I'm picking off the weakest member of your team, with the added help of my brother's sharmamon, of course."

He reached forward and Clara closed her eyes in defeat, apologizing mentally to the teammates and friends she had let down as she accepted her fate. Suddenly Shard screamed out in pain.

"My leg!" he shouted, releasing her as he began to dance around. "What the hell is on my leg?!"

Clara looked down to see her partner doggedly biting into Shard's ankle and hanging on for dear life.

"Dammit!" he said, giving his leg a particularly hard shake and finally knocking Marta off, sending her flying through the air.

Clara took the momentary distraction as an opportunity to take off at a run towards where the little white digimon had landed and scooped her up, hardly taking time to slow down. She heard the footfalls of Shard and the Sharmamon as they already began to give chase.

Clara struggled to keep herself from panicking. Her digimon was unconscious once again, and she had no idea what to do next. A sudden thought occurred to her. Clara pulled out her digivice and pressed the first symbol she recognized could help her. She wasn't sure that this was allowed, since, as far as she could recall, she had yet to see anyone else at the combine do it, but as of now, that really didn't matter to her. She needed help, and she needed it now.

* * *

Curtis and Taps inched through the obstacle course of boulders, backs to one another as they both kept a cautious eye out for any possible ambush.

"He's somewhere in here," Curtis said quietly. "I know I saw him run this way."

"Me too." Taps said. "Keep sharp."

Suddenly, Curtis felt his digivice begin to vibrate in its clip on his belt. He reached down and plucked it off, careful to keep vigilant in his search for Flint. Saving his surprise at the incoming communication for later, he pushed the button to receive it.

"Help me!" A voice hollered on the other end.

"Clara?"

"Curtis please, they set a trap for me! Shard's catching up! Hurry!"

The communication cut off there. Curtis frowned and looked at Taps.

"That's it." He said. "We're outta here. We have to go help Clara."

Taps nodded in agreement and together they both took off towards the direction Clara had gone when they'd split up earlier. As they were running, however, Curtis tripped and fell to the ground as something caught his leg. He turned back to see Flint on the ground behind him, a hand desperately clutched around his foot.

"You're not going anywhere."

Curtis kicked him roughly in the face and he let go.

"Taps, go on ahead and help Clara if you can." Curtis said, getting up from the ground. "I'll handle this guy."

"But-"

"No buts! Go!"

Taps reluctantly turned and continued on his way.

"How valiant." Flint said as he rose from the ground also, wiping a forearm across his mouth. "But you're going to pay for that kick."

Curtis ran towards him without a retort and attempted to throw a punch. Flint blocked it, and the two more that followed, easily. He even found time to smile.

Curtis momentarily let his guard down as her looked at the twin incredulously.

It was all the opening Flint needed. He delivered a forceful punch to Curtis gut, before following it up with an uppercut to the chin that actually lifted the young digidestined into the air and deposited him in the sand some distance away.

Curtis groggily tried to get back up from the ground, but fell down again. Upon attempting a second time, he was finally able to stand up, though somewhat wobbly. He forced himself to look at Flint while raising two shaky fists in timid fashion.

Flint laughed heartily. "Shaman Hammer attack, kid. You didn't stand a chance." He turned serious again. "But there will be time for review later. Let's end this."

He walked towards Curtis menacingly as the latter began to back away.

* * *

Things weren't going well for Tony. His opponent was just too damn fast.

Seconds ago, he had finally managed to grab the girl around her waist, but was stymied when she countered with a kick to his groin, a four jab combination to his face, and when he released her as a result of the assault, a vicious jumping roundhouse to his head. As of now, it was all Tony could do to stumble out of her reach, keeping the relentless girl away from his bracelet.

After succeeding at creating a bit of separation, Tony looked at Kuri, such a beautiful girl and yet such a deadly one at the same time. Her body, both lithe and lethal. Her face, that of an angel on the surface, but with a demon like thirst for his defeat underneath. A thought occurred to him.

"They were right." He said quietly.

"What?" She asked, appraising him acutely with her eyes.

"None of your business. Come on."

She continued to come after him, landing hits where she could, missing some, and sometimes even taking a few. None of Tony's hits really amounted to much, however, and, in truth, it didn't seem that he really wanted them to. He persisted in a pattern of alternately throwing punches and backing away when Kuri countered, not making any earnest attempt to truly go on the offensive.

* * *

"He's stalling now." Tai said, still keeping a cautious hand on Terence's shoulder as he watched the two fighters oppose one another. "He's not fighting as hard and he seems to be just trying to keep her busy."

"It's almost as if he knows what's happening to Clara and Curtis." Jun observed. "And that if he just stalls for time, the battle will be theirs."

Davis made a decision at this point. He held his shield within his hands, closed his eyes and began to concentrate, ignoring commotion around him. He thought about Kuri, about their connection, about compassion…

* * *

Kuri began to tire of this exercise in futility. Every time she got near Tony, he would only back away, blocking and dodging whatever blows she threw at him, never really making any attempt to strike back.

After the last round of uneventful attacks, Kuri withdrew a bit, catching her breath and bending over slightly.

"Getting tired?" Tony riled.

"Yeah, of you acting like a coward."

"Oh, _I'm _the coward? Who's the one stopping for a rest?"

Kuri flashed him a furious stare before recovering her stance and preparing to attack once more. She was just about to make her charge when her vision suddenly became slightly spotty and her head a bit dizzy. Kuri backed up a looked around, wondering if perhaps this was the result of some unseen attack, and was genuinely startled at what she actually did see.

Standing before her was Davis. Well, not actually Davis, but some kind of transparent golden equivalent. Kuri squinted and had to blink a couple of times before she could actually believe her eyes.

"Davis?"

"I'd say in the flesh but…" He appraised himself, raising a hand in front of his face and marveling at its sparkling golden translucency. "Man, this shield can do some weird stuff, huh?"

Kuri quickly recovered from her shock. "If everyone sees you-"

"Relax, I don't think your tubby friend over there can even see me."

Kuri looked at Tony and noticed that Davis seemed to be right. Her stout adversary was looking at her in bewilderment, likely wondering why she chose this moment to have such an in depth conversation with herself.

"I, uh, will beat you like a rag doll!" She shouted to him, trying to maintain her credibility. "Just let me prepare my deadliest move."

"Let me prepare my deadliest move?" Davis guffawed. "You've got to be kidding me."

Kuri rolled her eyes and talked to him out of the corner of her mouth. "Just what the hell are you doing here, anyway?"

"I came to help. Just like you helped me before."

"What? Why? I'm handling things just fine in case you haven't noticed."

"Yes, you are. But that means nothing in the big picture."

"What does that mean?"

"I can't say. It would be cheating if I told."

Kuri glanced at him briefly before returning to faking a standoff with Tony. "So, then how are you supposed to help me?"

Davis walked around Kuri, so that he was now between she and her opponent. "By telling you that you have to be a leader right now."

"What?"

"You have to take charge and lead your team. Kuri I know you're more of a loner, used to a lot of doing things by yourself. You mostly prefer it that way. But right now, you have to be a part of the team. You have to lead them because they need you to."

"But-"

Davis shook his head to stop her. "I'm right on this one K." He said as his image began to fade away in a shimmering display, specks of golden glitter floating throughout his image. "Just lead them. Lead them like I know you can…"

And then he was gone.

* * *

Davis reopened his eyes outside the arena and saw Jun looking back at him, hands on her hips while she tapped a foot in annoyance.

"What?" he asked innocently.

"You did it, didn't you?"

"Maybe-"

"Davis."

"Okay, I did, but I didn't help her cheat. I promise."

Jun looked at her brother with extreme skepticism.

"Honest, Jun. Come on, would I lie to you?"

She crossed her arms.

"Okay, dumb question. Just trust me on this one then, sis."

"As if I have a choice." Jun said with a sigh. "Fine. I believe you. Let's just see what happens from here."

* * *

Kuri looked at Tony with disinterest, still reflecting on Davis words. "Be a leader." What did that mean? The more Kuri thought about it, the more she knew she wouldn't find out by staying here. Coming to a decision, she put two fingers to her lips and whistled loudly.

Seconds later a multicolored, flying ball came soaring in from the other end of the ruins, distant streaks of water being shot at it from the ground. One of the shots clipped Peko, sending her tumbling to the ground in front of her partner. She turned towards where the shot had originated from, grumbling.

"Forget, it Peko." Kuri said forcefully. "We have other things to do at the moment."

"Like what?" The patamon asked indignantly as she righted herself.

"Helping our friends. I get the feeling they might need us right now."

"Well what are we waiting for, then?"

Peko took to the air quickly and headed for the opening where they'd entered the ruins. Kuri turned on her heels and began to run after her.

"Cowards!" She heard Tony shout as they ran. "Come back and fight!"

The distressed, desperate tenor of his voice told Kuri she must've been doing something right. Worriedly she began to wonder just how much trouble Clara and Curtis had gotten themselves into.

She reached for her belt and unclipped her digivice.

"You're not thinking of using that, are you?" Peko said, swooping beside her as they crossed the expanse of open sand between the ruins and the area where they'd left their partners. "Won't that get us disqualified?"

Kuri stared at the device. "I'm not sure. But if Curtis and Clara are in as much trouble as I think they might be, it doesn't really matter."

* * *

Clara continued to run, her legs aching, her lungs burning, her eyes tearing from a mixture of the desert wind's assault and her own despair. She couldn't think about anything but how much she wanted to be anywhere but here, clutching onto her partner for dear life as two ogres and a madman chased her. She wanted to go back to normalcy, as much normalcy as there was in being trained to be a part of an elite fighting force of digidestined, anyway. She wanted to be with her friends again. She wanted to be with Terence. God, how she wanted to be with him. If she could just get out of this, the games would be over. Clara no longer cared how famous he was or how many girls wanted to be with him as well. He was hers, and she would damn sure make sure of that as soon as she got out of this mess.

Clara pulled a sharp turn around a boulder and stopped in sudden surprise when she saw a Sharmamon already there, waiting for her.

"Nice job Stone." A voice behind her said. Clara turned to see Shard and the other sharmamon, apparently Granite, approaching from the other direction. "Now we can end this."

The three began to close in around Clara when, seemingly out of nowhere, a stream of steam engulfed them all, stunning and knocking them backwards momentarily.

A small, gray and brown digimon suddenly appeared on the scene.

"Taps!" Clara exclaimed in relief. "But where's Curtis?"

"He got held up." The tapirmon said before firing another attack. This one missed as his three targets quickly leapt out of the way.

"Held up?"

"Yes. He's fighting Flint. Alone." Taps made the mistake of glancing back towards where he'd left his partner in worry. It was all the opening the sharmamon needed to pounce on him and restrain him from throwing any more attacks.

"No!" Clara shouted, beginning to back away as her situation once again turned bleak. Surprised, she suddenly felt something shaking on her waist and reached down to pick up her digivice. She pressed a button and immediately heard Kuri's voice.

"Clara! What's going on? Are you all right?"

"No!" The girl answered quickly, still backing away as Shard began moving towards her. "Marta's unconscious, Taps has been captured, Curtis is fighting Flint by himself, and Shard's about to take my bracelet! We need your help Kuri! Now!"

"I'm not sure if I can reach you in time." Kuri said honestly before pausing for a moment. "Look Clara, I want you to protect Marta and Taps."

"But I can't. They're-"

"Yes you can. Look at your shield."

Clara did so, glancing down at the small silver object as the late day sunlight danced off of it.

"Now _protect_ them. Do you understand me?"

After a moment, Clara answered with a resolute, "Yes."

"Good, I'll be there to help as soon as I can."

The communication cut off. Clara glanced at her unconscious partner in her arms, at Taps, being violently restrained by Stone and Granite, and finally at Shard. Her eyes grew hard, cold. Her face firm and determined.

"You will harm them no longer." She said, her voice markedly different than before. A faint, yellow glow began to issue forth from her shield. She bent down and gently placed Marta on the ground behind her. "I won't allow it."

Shard looked at Clara unbelievingly and stopped a couple feet away from her. "You're in no position to tell me to do anything, darli-"

He was stopped by a sudden, sharp punch to the mouth.

"And don't call me darlin'."

"You'll pay for that." He threatened, raising a fist.

Clara answered Shard's threat with a hard kick to his shins, a knee to his abdomen, and a solid push to create space between them. She didn't give her stunned opponent any time to respond before throwing a howling attack so concentrated that its soundwaves literally picked Shard up and slammed him against a nearby boulder. As he slumped to the ground, Clara turned her attention to the two Sharmamon holding Taps.

"Let him go." She said forcefully, the glow from her shield becoming more brilliant by the second.

"M-make us." One of them said, his heart obviously not in it.

"Have it your way." Clara began to walk towards them when a voice interrupted her.

"No, allow me!"

Marta suddenly ran from behind her partner and furiously leapt onto Taps' captors, a dervish of growling, biting, punching and kicking that had the two running away in no time.

"Marta?" Clara asked. "How-?"

"Your shield." The salamon responded. "I don't even have so much as a headache anymore." She turned to where Shard dizzily lay on the ground. "Now, if you'll excuse me."

Marta sauntered over to him and pulled his bracelet. Before she could pull it again, however, he flung him arm, tossing her off. Marta landed neatly on her feet and prepared to throw a howling attack, but before she got the chance, Shard groggily rose to his feet with a shout of, "Retreat! Regoup!" and stumbled away as fast as he could, unaware that the sharmamon had already left.

Marta was about to give chase when Clara stopped her. "No. We have to go help Curtis." She said. "Let's move. Taps, show us the way."

The tapirmon eagerly took the lead and led them away, back the way he had come.

* * *

Curtis slowly got up from the ground once again, every joint in his body aching maddeningly.

"Why don't you just take my bracelet Flint?' He asked angrily, his voice muffled by a swollen lip. "You've had plenty of chances to."

Flint laughed. "And ruin this fun? I think not. Come on kid. Come at me again. I swear each time is better than the last."

Curtis approached the overconfident Flint once again, trying desperately to remember everything his brother had taught him about boxing, though it had yet to actually help him. He moved in cautiously weaving and moving so as to avoid being hit before throwing a quick jab. Just as before, Flint blocked the punch easily and countered with one of his own that sent Curtis sprawling into the sand. Curtis began to slowly get up as Flint patiently waited for him, smiling devilishly. He groaned, wishing more and more that he could just stay down. His digivice suddenly began to vibrate once again. Curtis reached down to answer it.

"Probably Clara, wondering where I am." He mumbled to himself before pressing the screen.

"Curtis, what's going on? Are you okay?" Kuri's voice came through.

Surprised, Curtis took a moment to answer. "I, uh, not really."

"What's wrong?"

"I'm fighting Flint, and well, I'm just not as good a fighter as he is, plus he's like twice my size."

"So you're getting beat like you stole something?"

Curtis' glanced at his opponent, who looked to be growing suspicious of why he was facing away and apparently talking to himself. "You could say that." He whispered.

"Then why are you fighting him? Think about it, Curtis. Is there anything smart about what you're doing?"

"Well, I guess not."

"Then do the smart thing."

"Which is?"

"Think about it."

With that the communication was severed. Curtis reclipped the digivice and turned to look at Flint as he got up from the ground. The smart thing? What in the world was that? He slipped into thought. Nothing he had thus far tried against Flint could qualify as the smart thing. He'd tried several different types of boxing, some innovative moves of his own-none had worked. A thought occurred to him. Why in the world was he fighting this way anyway? The goal of this battle was to win, not prove who was superior at hand-to-hand combat. Curtis' shield began to glow an even, dark blue. He knew what he had to do.

"Don't tell me you're backing off now." Flint chided. "And we were having so much fun."

"Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere." Curtis said, standing as tall as he could.

"Then lets continue, shall we?" Flint began to walk towards him menacingly.

Curtis shrugged. "Okay, but you asked for it."

He stretched forth his hands and a bright, white light shot forth from them, speeding across the distance to Flint and surrounding him.

"What the-" Flint exclaimed, unable to move. "Awakening Light attack? This is cheating!"

"No," Curtis said simply, throwing his opponent aside with a gesture. "It's winning."

Flint hit the ground rather hard, but took no time in getting back up angrily. "I'll kill you, little punk!" He shouted, running at Curtis.

Curtis calmly formed another attack, solid steam this time, and hit Flint head-on as he irrationally ran towards him. The impact knocked his burly adversary head over heels. Flint hit the ground with a loud thump and groaned as he writhed in pain.

Curtis gave a slight, sympathetic wince before walking over to his fallen opponent and tugging at his bracelet.

"Stop right there!"

Curtis turned towards the source of the shout and saw Shard walking towards him, the two sharmamon flanking his sides. "Get away from my brother!"

Curtis began to back up as they approached him. Shard gave his fallen sibling a once over as Flint gradually began to get up from the ground.

"What did you do to him?" He demanded.

"This is a battle." Curtis answered. "Stuff happens."

"Oh really, huh?" said Shard. "Then how would you like it if we made 'stuff happen' to you?"

The quartet started to move in on Curtis, Flint gingerly bringing up the rear. The meditative digidestined had serious doubts that his new fighting strategy could successfully take on all four of the brawlers at once.

"I wouldn't like it." A female voice carried to them. "And I'd make certain you paid for it."

Curtis turned around to see Clara, Taps, and Marta entering from the other end of their clearing. He smiled gratefully.

Shard suddenly seemed a little less sure of himself than a few seconds ago. He turned to his teammate. "Brother, we should retreat so you can recover."

"Don't tell me you guys are backing off now." Curtis said with a smirk as Taps ran to his side. "And we were having so much fun."

Flint looked at him irately. "You wish." He said. "We can still beat you." Try as he might, Flint just couldn't make the statement sound as convincing as it should have been.

At that moment, an object zoomed in over all of their heads, circled around, and let out a loud whistle before coming to a landing between Curtis and Clara.

"Peko!" Clara said, recognizing the patamon. "Where's Kuri?"

"Right here," a voice said.

The group looked up to see the girl in question vault a medium sized boulder to their right and land in front of them.

She gave them a once over. "I see you guys are doing fine now."

"Yeah, thanks to you." Both Clara and Curtis answered at the same time.

Kuri dismissed them. "Nah, you did all the work." She looked over at Shard, Flint, and their sharmamon, all of whom now seemed very apprehensive. "Looks like I was missing the party."

Just then, a large figure lumbered up behind the twins, followed by what appeared to be a pissed off giant frog.

"But, I guess I'm not the only one crashing." She added with a frown.

"You coward!" Tony shouted after sighting her. "You ran away!"

"Oh, I'm sorry." Kuri responded with a sweet smile. "Didja miss me?"

He ignored her teasing. "No more of this! We fight here and now!"

"Fine with me!" She shouted back, before turning to Curtis quietly. "Got a plan now?" she asked.

"Sure do," he responded. "These guys like structure. It's how they almost beat us, with military planning and strategies."

"So how do we beat that?" Clara asked.

"With pure, absolute chaos. Don't concentrate on any one person. Hit whoever's close. Just do crazy, unpredictable stuff. They won't know what hit them."

"Heh, sounds fun." Peko said, rubbing her hands together.

"I agree." Kuri said. "You guys just make sure Shrek, Quasi Modo, and Kermit don't interfere. We're gonna get those bracelets."

"Will do." Marta said. "Besides, I still owe those sucker punching little bastards."

For once, Clara didn't chide her partner for her language and simply nodded. "Let's do it."

As one, the group turned to face their opponents, who also seemed to be in the midst of trying to formulate a plan.

"Looks like they're not ready," Taps observed.

"Too bad for them. Chaos waits for no one." Kuri said, beginning to inch forward. "Attack!"

At her command, the entire group surged forward with a loud yell.

* * *

As Davis watched the proceedings a small smile crept onto his face. "This battle's pretty much over." He said.

"What makes you think that?" Terence asked, only now starting to come down from his emotional high of a few minutes ago.

"Look at the way they're fighting now; unpredictable, free." Tai said. "It's the one thing those guys can't handle."

Jun nodded thoughtfully. "Tai's right. And by the way things look like they're going in there, this should be done with pretty quick."

* * *

Shard took a swing at a passing Kuri, but missed as she ducked, continued running, and leveled his brother with a boom bubble. He tried to run to go after her, but was stymied when something white tripped him up by running between his legs shouting, "Heads up!"

As he stumbled forward, another something smacked him over the head, as it flew by, laughing. Shard barely had time to look in the direction it had gone before he was hit full force by an unseen solid steam attack, which sent him completely to the ground. When he unsteadily tried to regain his feet, Shard was finally nailed with a puppy howling attack that put him down for good.

The dazed twin's vision was swimming by the time he saw three floating Claras walk up to him, calmly bend over, and take his bracelet. He allowed his head to fall to the ground unceremoniously, and closed his eyes in defeat.

Flint could only have been so lucky as to receive Shard's defeat. Ever since an initial boom bubble had struck him in the back and sent him to the ground, he'd been unable to get up. Different digimon and attacks kept hitting him so randomly that he had no time to focus on any one, or come up with any kind of course of action. At one point, he could've sworn that one of his own sharmamon had even run over him in its haste to escape whomever he was battling at the time. Flint curled up with his hands over his head in an attempt to buffer against the various blows.

Suddenly, the attacks stopped. Flint looked up to see Curtis standing over him, likely preparing to take his bracelet.

"Not so fast, Dumars." He said, his speech a little slurred as he got up, swaying. "You're not getting my-"

Flint was unable to finish the sentence as Curtis hit him with a vicious right cross that put him right back into the sand. He groaned as he felt his bracelet being plucked from his arm and sighed when he came to the realization that his part battle was over and that he had lost.

Tony just watched the carnage before him in horror as he continued to back away from the chaotic scene. How things had gone so horribly wrong, he didn't know. One moment, they were executing a well thought out, precise plan, and now, everything had pretty much gone to pieces. He watched Shard go down and shortly after be disqualified. Not long after him, Flint went down too. Now, Tony realized, it was just he and Rana left. He continued to back away until he suddenly came into contact with something solid behind him. Tony turned to see a large boulder there, standing tall and still, almost mocking the hopelessness of his situation. Turning back around, Tony was alarmed to see that all of his adversaries had turned their attention to his plight and were now closing in around him. He knew there was only one thing he could do.

Kuri smiled indulgently as she watched her portly opponent squirm before her, the rather large rock behind him preventing him from running away.

"Seems your team has been pretty much beaten, Tony." She said darkly. "Want to settle this thing one on one now and find out how much of a 'coward' I really am?"

Tony stepped forward, as if about to accept her challenge, but then unexpectedly reached up and removed his own bracelet from his arm. He dropped it into the sand in front of him.

"I know when I'm beaten," he said. "You win."

The luminous walls of the arena faded away and the sound of applause from hundreds of academy students wafted in over the thin desert air.

"I should have never gone with this dumb plan in the first place." He continued, ignoring the spectacle. "Jason can take his 'superiority' and shove it."

Having said his piece, Tony turned and began to walk out of the arena.

The three victors watched him go with looks of amusement.

"We won!" Clara shouted after the moment had passed. She shared a high five with Curtis. "We beat those big brutish-"

Clara suddenly stopped short, noticing the Peterson twins approaching them. Both looked a bit worse for wear, but were standing under their own power nonetheless.

"Good battle." Shard said, extending a hand towards Clara. She took it warily and shook.

"Likewise," She said, eyeing her former opponent circumspectly.

Shard laughed. "Don't worry, I don't bite. I'm much different out of combat than in."

"Same here." Flint said as he reached out and shook Curtis' hand. "You took your hits like a man and kept on coming. I'm sure you'll make a damn good Knight when we're finished here."

"Thanks." Curtis said sheepishly. "Um, you too."

"Stone, Granite, let's go." Shard said. "I need an aspirin, bad. Someone left me with quite a headache." He gave Clara a parting wink as the twins departed with their sharmamon.

"They didn't seem so bad." Kuri remarked as she watched them leave.

"Yeah, well you didn't have to fight them like we did." Curtis said, wearily rubbing his sore jaw. "It wasn't fun."

"Tell me about it." Clara said in agreement. "Let's get out of here."

The three and their digimon turned and began to head for their anxiously awaiting circle of friends when Sensei Enn suddenly stepped in front of them. He gave them a cold, emotionless stare.

"You were the first to use your digivices in battle." He said.

Kuri, Clara, and Curtis exchanged apprehensive glances.

"Yeah, so?' Kuri finally said. "Is that a problem?"

"No. I just feel it necessary to tell you that you won't be commended for the act, as it reeked of desperation rather than ingenuity."

"Sensei, you really must stop with the compliments." Kuri deadpanned. "I'm blushing. Now, can we go?"

Enn seemed somewhat infuriated at her sarcasm but nevertheless stepped aside after collecting their bracelets and allowed them to leave. When the three met up with their friends, they were greeted with the usual enthusiastic accolades and pats on the back.

"Great job!" Tai said, clapping as he walked up to Kuri. "You're a much better fighter than I could've imagined."

Kuri ducked her head at the praise. "Well, it's all thanks to Davis really."

Davis walked up behind Kuri and draped an arm over her shoulders. "Oh no you don't." He said. "For once in your life K, you're taking credit for doing something good."

She smiled at him before turning back to Tai. "Well, in that case, thanks Tai."

Davis nodded in approval. "And your teammates weren't so bad either."

"I'll say." Jun concurred as she helped Clara brush some stray sand off of her uniform. "You guys were great."

"Well, if Kuri hadn't called when she did-" Clara began.

"You would've kept acting like a little girl." Rosa finished for her as she approached her cousin and gave her a hug. "Glad somebody brought you back to your senses."

"That she did." Clara agreed with a slow nod.

Terence put an arm around his little brother and beamed. "And don't forget this guy." He said. "That punch he delivered at the end was perfect."

Curtis tried to shrug it off, but couldn't help but smile a bit. "You know, the digimon were pretty good too." He said in an attempt to deflect the praise.

Jun nodded. "They sure were. They played as big a role as their partners in this particular battle." A sudden thought occurred to her and she turned to Clara. "And Marta's doing just fine now, I take it?"

"I think so." Clara said, looking down at her partner. "Aren't you?"

"Yeah." The salamon responded. "But if it weren't for your shield, I still wouldn't be able to see straight. Those sharmamon hit pretty hard."

Clara nodded with a grimace as she rubbed her neck. "So did Shard."

Terence's expression turned grim when she said this and he rushed to her side to look her over. "He didn't hurt you did he?"

"No, I think the suit did its job protecting me, but some things just take longer to heal y'know."

Terence turned in the direction of where the twins had retreated to, post battle. "Someone should put a hurting on him," he said menacingly as he began to walk in their direction.

Clara discreetly waved off the approaching Tai and Davis and stepped in front of Terence, putting two hands on his chest to stop him. "We already 'put a hurting on him,' if you recall. Plus, we won the battle."

"Yeah but..." He tried to go around her but she nimbly stayed in front of him.

"But what, Terence? We've been through this before. You're going too far again. This isn't the time for revenge."

"But he hurt you. He has to pay." Terence began to move forward again, actually forcing her backwards now.

"Terence look at me." Clara reached up and held the sides of his face when he didn't respond. "_Look _at me." She said again, forcing his head down so that he had no choice but to gaze directly into her eyes. "I know you're doing this because you feel like you have to defend me. I know you only want to rip Shard apart over there because you care about me so much…and you know what I have to say about that?"

"What?"

"This." She abruptly rose on her toes and captured his lips with her own, bringing Terence into a kiss so thoroughly disarming that in mere seconds his aggressive posture disappeared, his fists unclenched, and his arms instinctively wrapped themselves around her waist. Clara then broke the kiss almost as suddenly as she'd initiated it and she pulled back, searching his eyes nervously, wondering if she'd done the right thing and fearing the repercussions if she hadn't. If Terence was surprised at her actions, he did a damn good job of not showing it. Instead, he simply pulled Clara tighter to him and moved in for a second kiss. With a relieved smile, she obliged him, this time allowing him to take the lead and effortlessly melting into his embrace as if she'd done it a thousand times before. They remained that way for a while.

While Tai and Jun laughed and gave the two a celebratory round of applause, Curtis and Rosa looked on, their mouths hanging wide open.

Rosa tried to speak first. "Well I-I…um-"

"Dayum." Curtis finished for her. "Way to go Terence."

"Well, it's about time." Jun said when the couple parted and turned to gaze back towards the group. "You've been playing games with each other for what seems like forever now. Finally, one of you made a move. Nice job, Clara."

Embarrassed, Clara turned and buried her face in Terence's chest to hide her blush. He smiled and affectionately ran a hand through her walnut hair.

"I guess that ends my teasing you about her." Tai said. "And it was such good material too."

Jun elbowed him in the side.

"But seriously though." He said, furtively rubbing the spot. "Congrats guys. I know you'll find the same happiness with each other as I have with Jun."

He clasped hands with her and pulled her close to him.

"So you guys are really together now?" Rosa asked her cousin.

"We better be." Clara said, looking at Terence pointedly. "I don't just give out freebies."

Terence laughed. "You've been my angel for some time now, Clara." He said, taking her hands into his. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

Kuri shook her head with a smirk and turned to Davis, whose arm was still around her shoulders. "Man, add them to Tai and Jun and the gag factor just doubled around here."

"Well, I think it's awesome." Davis said, grinning as he took in the new couple, "Normally I'd say this would be cause for celebration, but-"

"You'd say that about just about anything." Kuri interrupted.

"_But_," He continued, giving Kuri a reprimanding look, "we can't celebrate just yet. There's still one of us left who has to battle today."

Everyone's gazes turned to Tai.

"That's right." Terence said, his hand still clasped with Clara's as they walked back into the midst of the group. "Do you think you're ready for it, Tai?"

The former OD leader nodded. "It's getting late." He said, looking up as twilight descended upon the Realm. "And as Jason is likely saying, pretty soon, I guess I'm going to have to face my nemesis and my destiny."

_To be continued…_

* * *

Next up: The 2nd Combine Part II: Tai finally has his climatic battle with Jason and Cody participates in a revealing conversation with the spirit of Oowikawa.

As usual, please review.


	10. The Second Combine Pt 2

Hey guys! New chapter is up. Sorry for the delay, but it took me awhile to figure out exactly how I wanted things to go in this one. Enjoy!

* * *

**The 2nd Combine Part II**

"So what made you do it? What was it that made you break the ice and, as Jun said, make the first move?"

As twilight fell across the Realm, Terence and Clara walked hand in hand with one another, a ways away from the other students and the arena, only feeling inclined to return whenever Tai's name was finally called.

Clara looked at him in amusement as she mulled over the question.

"I'm not exactly sure." She admitted. "It was just, in there, in that battle, when things were looking pretty hopeless, I kept thinking about you and how I wanted us to be together and…" She trailed off and looked away.

"And what?" Terence urged, placing a hand under her chin and gently tilting her gaze back towards him.

"And…well, I've never felt that way about anything before." She looked at him shamefully. "I know it's pretty stupid, with me being nearly twenty and all, to have never fallen for someone like that."

"No, it's not. I'm the same age as you, older by a little bit, actually, and I can say the same thing."

Clara scoffed. "Please, you've been a star since you were sixteen. Millions of girls would give up just about anything to go out with you. And I know for a fact that you have gone out with many."

Terence nodded. "True. But I never felt the same way about any of them as I do about you."

"Yeah right."

"It's true, Clara. I'm sure you know that I've always had a reputation as a player, womanizer, whatever you want to call it."

She nodded with some reluctance.

"Well, you don't get a rep like that acting the way I have over the last five months. Clara, since I first saw you here, I haven't even considered talking to any other girl- which is pretty amazing in itself, considering our prior history."

She smiled a little.

"And I certainly haven't approached you like I would any other girl. In fact, I've been acting like a schoolboy, flirting and arguing with you, finding excuses for us to spend time together, and so on. And for the past few weeks, I've been too scared to take the next step, even though I wanted to with all of my heart. Can you imagine that? Me? Scared of a girl?" Terence shook his head with a smile. "I thought there was a chance you might not share the same feelings for me-"

"Oh Terence." Clara interrupted and impulsively hugged him. "You should've known better. Of course I feel the same way about you."

Terence returned the hug. "I know that now angel. I know that now."

They didn't fully disentangle from the embrace, instead keeping their arms around one another and pulling apart just enough to look into each other's eyes.

"Okay, tell me truth on this one last question." Clara said.

Terence gulped. "Alright, shoot."

"How many other girls have you called angel?"

"None."

Clara looked at him skeptically.

"It's the truth." He said seriously. "You're the only angel I've ever known."

The disbelief in her expression remained.

"Call me crazy, but you have an angel's voice, an angel's eyes, an angel's heart, and when you digivolve, you even have an angel's wings. If you're not an angel, you're the closest I'll ever come to meeting one. You're _my_ angel."

"Smooth, Dumars." She said leaning towards him, her hazel eyes sparkling with a mirthful allure that briefly took his breath away. "I like that."

He leaned down to meet her, gently bringing their foreheads together. "Mmm, do you now?"

"Yeah," Her hands came up and fingers entwined around the back of his neck. "Almost as much as I like this…"

They began with a series of small, quick kisses, gradually becoming longer and more intense until the two were so involved with one another that they were soon completely oblivious to the world around them.

* * *

Jun watched Tai as he looked at the battle currently taking place within the arena, his mind obviously elsewhere. She walked over, stood slightly in from of him, and smiled as he instinctively wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his head on her shoulder.

"You okay?" She asked.

Tai sighed and waited a while before answering. "I guess."

Jun read volumes in his response. "What's wrong, sweetheart?"

"Nothing, I-" He sighed again.

Jun twisted around in his embrace so she could face him. "Tai, tell me what's going on."

He looked away, towards the arena for a moment. "I'm just wondering why so much has to ride on this one battle. Why does this prove if I'm worthy of a leadership role here?"

"It doesn't. Don't listen to Jason's rhetoric. This battle means the same for you as it does everyone else here. It prepares you for the combat and dangers you will face as a knight. That's it."

"Maybe to you, but not in everyone else's eyes."

"So? Does it really matter what everyone else thinks of you?"

Tai nodded gravely. "If I'm to be taken seriously as a leader here, I have to earn their respect as a Knight. Not just as an OD."

Jun took in what he said thoughtfully before turning around again and leaning back into his shoulder. "You're right. I guess I was looking at it from a somewhat selfish perspective."

"It's okay." Tai nuzzled her neck in reassurance. "Nobody sees me in quite the same way you do."

Jun closed her eyes and smiled. "You mean you're not the light of anyone else's life? You're not the last thing anyone else thinks of every night and their reason for getting up every morning?"

"I hope not. Otherwise, I'd have a very serious stalker on my hands."

Jun slapped his arm lightly in mock reprimand before allowing herself to quietly slip into a mode of tranquility as she rested comfortably in Tai's embrace. She languidly allowed her gaze to drift over the arena, where two more teams of students were locked in violent combat, and over to Curtis, Rosa, Kuri, and Davis, who were all seated on the ground, talking quietly amongst themselves. She calmly watched them for a few minutes before turning her attention back to her equally silent mate.

"You're going to win, Tai."

"Hmm?"

"You're going to win this battle. And you know why?"

"Why?"

"Because you have to. You never fail when something has to be done."

"Well, I appreciate the vote of confidence, but I don't think Jason is anyone to be taken lightly."

"I agree. He's not. In fact he's one of the best fighters at this entire academy. He's worked tirelessly to improve his skills over the time we've been here, and it really shows. He also-"

"Okay, Jun, I get the point." The irritation in Tai's voice was almost palpable and it caused Jun to smile a little. She found it cute.

"But you're still going to beat him." She said, reaching back and gently caressing the side of his face.

"I hope so."

They were interrupted by a sudden scream of anguish and several shouts of triumph as the light provided by the cylindrical walls of the arena began to fade away. The fight within was over and there now remained only two people out of the entire academy that had yet to battle.

After walking in and dismissing the combatants, Sensei Enn stood in the middle of the arena importantly and surveyed the suddenly anticipatory sea of faces looking back him.

"Well, it seems we are now only left with the battle for which you've all been waiting." Enn took a dramatic stance, trying to extend the moment as best he could. "Jason Smith! Tai Kamiya! It's time."

Jun turned around to face Tai. "You're up."

"Yeah." He said, stretching. "I guess it's time to finally get this thing over with."

Before he could move forward, however, Jun placed her arms around his neck and forcefully brought his head down. She then enveloped his lips with her own in a very deep kiss, pressing up against him passionately until he responded with equal fervor. Tai seemed a little dazed when she finally pulled back.

"For- uh, good luck." She said, somewhat abashedly.

"Man, I could use some good luck more often."

Jun smiled seductively. "You'll get a lot more tonight if you get in there and beat this guy."

"Ah, a conditional promise. The essence of love."

"Just get in there." She said, stepping aside.

"Go get him Tai." Davis said. "And give him our regards."

Tai noticed that he, Kuri, Rosa, and Cutis had gotten up and walked over to lend their support.

"Yeah," Kuri added. "Time to make it four to zero."

"And make all of us eight and zero overall." Rosa said.

"Nothing beats undefeated." Curtis agreed. "Um, hence the name."

Tai was humbled by their show of support. "I won't let you guys down." He said.

"Then what are you waiting for?" Terence said walking up behind him with Clara at his side.

"Yeah, Tai." She added, "Go take him down!"

With nods of acknowledgement and amid shouts of encouragement from the throng of academy students around them, Tai and Agumon sprinted into the arena, anxious to face Jason once and for all.

Enn sneered at them when they arrived. "Far too eager for my tastes, Kamiya. This won't quite be the walk in the park I'm sure you've grown used to."

Tai ignored the abrasive instructor's comments and instead looked past him at Jason and Frost.

They returned his glance with cold stares.

"I'm sure you feel that you've already enjoyed some measure of success, since your team has managed to defeat mine three successive times." Jason said, his voice carrying no discernible emotion. "Perhaps your friends were simply better prepared than mine. A stroke of serendipity in your favor, no doubt. But make no mistake. Tonight you will face someone who is every bit your equal if not better. Tonight, we'll truly find out who is the best Knight here."

Tai looked at his rival evenly, an understated volatile glint in his eyes. "That, we will." He agreed.

Neither took their eyes off the other as Enn fitted them with their bracelets.

"Start the battle, sensei." Jason said as soon as he finished.

"See here, Smith. Don't presume to tell me-"

"Start the battle." Tai reiterated.

Enn grew indignant and was prepared to further protest their impudence when he noticed the explosive amount of tension passing between the two.

"Okay," he said, a wry smile forming on his face as something occurred to him. "As you wish. The battle will start as soon as I exit the arena."

With that, he left them at a brisk pace. All four combatants watched him depart and turned towards one another when Enn's form finally shimmered and disappeared as he passed through the outer walls of the arena.

"As they say," Jason said, beckoning Tai with a gesture. "Let's get it on."

Tai accepted the challenge for hand-to-hand combat by approaching Jason in a martial arts stance.

"Frost, keep him out of this." Jason said, nodding towards Agumon as he and Tai began to circle.

"Agumon, do the same." Tai commanded.

The two digimon began size each other up in the same manner as their partners.

Tai returned his attention to Jason, making sure to pay close attention to his torso and body movements so that he could better predict what his calculating opponent was about to do.

Jason quickly feinted left, then threw a right-handed jab. Tai blocked the sly maneuver expertly and spun off of it into a quick leg sweep. Jason jumped to dodge the attack easily, countering with a stationary jump kick that Tai was able to lean back and avoid before rolling to the side as Jason immediately followed up the attack with a more elaborate three-kick combo.

Tai somersaulted to his feet after successfully dodging the blows.

"That all you got?" He antagonized. "Come on. You can do better than that."

"Didn't anyone ever teach you not to play with fire, Kamiya?" Jason said, a deadly inflection in his speech. "You might get burned."

He launched himself at Tai in a flurry of vicious punches and lethal kicks. It was all Tai could do to block and dodge the expertly thrown blows, each one coming quicker than the last. He jumped a sweep, ducked two jabs, blocked a third, leaned back to avoid a roundhouse, then caught Jason's leg as he spun around and threw a second. Jason reacted swiftly and jumped, throwing a flying roundhouse with his free leg. Tai let go of the one he was holding and quickly cartwheeled out of the way as the kick came within inches of his head.

Tai went from the cartwheel into two back flips and a jumping backwards somersault in a confident display of acrobatics that served to put distance between him and his opponent. He landed in a kneeling pose before bringing his gaze up from the ground slowly and resting it determinedly on Jason.

"Come on Smith," He said calmly. "Quit trying to hit me and _hit_ me."

Jason took the barb in stride. "I could say the same to you, Kamiya, except you aren't even trying to hit me. Pot, meet kettle."

This time, Tai charged at Jason, throwing a series of attacks that would have felled a lesser fighter easily. Jason, however, managed to avoid and parry them all with a series of impressive blocks and dodges. After Tai's initial volley, Jason found the opening to throw some attacks of his own. Soon enough the two were embroiled in and elaborate dance of punches, kicks, leaps, blocks, dodges, and flips that went by so fast and furiously that they seemed almost a blur.

* * *

"Man, this is intense.' Kuri commented absently, absorbed by the action inside the arena. "Tai and Jason seem really evenly matched."

"Tell me about it." Davis agreed with a grumble. "I didn't think Jason was so good."

"Tai will be fine." Said Jun confidently. "He just has to work a little harder."

Terence cocked an eyebrow at her. "You sure have a lot of confidence in him."

"Of course I do. If I, of all people, don't, then who will?"

"Now, where have I heard that before?" Kuri muttered to herself with a smirk, before turning her attention back to the battle.

* * *

Tai and Jason separated and stared each other down once again, both breathing heavily from their efforts. Random orbs of fire and ice flew around them; the work of their battling partners.

"It would seem we are evenly matched." Jason said as he wiped a few beads of sweat from his brow. "Not as invincible as you thought, eh Kamiya?"

"Things are not always what they seem." Tai said understatedly, launching himself towards his aggravating opponent once again. This time, instead of throwing an impressive array of martial arts moves he'd learned from Xian, Tai simply dove forward and grabbed Jason at his torso, bringing them both crashing to the ground.

For his effort, Tai was rewarded with a numbing knee to the gut as Jason struggled to gain the upper hand in what was now a crude wrestling match between the two highly skilled knights in training. They rolled on the ground kicking up sand and clouds of dust as each struggled to alternately free themselves yet maintain a solid grip on the other. Gradually, Tai began to gain leverage, thanks to his slight weight advantage over Jason. Once on top, Tai reared back to deliver a crushing punch, but was stymied when his opponent was unexpectedly able to bring both his knees forward into his torso and flip him overhead.

Tai hit the ground roughly and didn't have much time to recover before Jason quickly pounced on him, flailing and pulling at his uniform as he struggled to gain purchase on his bracelet. Tai was just able to plant a forearm in his zealous opponent's chest before he could accomplish his goal. The struggle continued, now degraded into a tug of war with Jason reaching for Tai's bracelet, just inches out of his grasp, and the latter doing his best to hold him off.

"You can not…stop the…inevitable." Jason said, grunting as his hand inched forward, getting tantalizingly close to his target.

Thinking fast, Tai took advantage of Jason's extreme concentration on his bracelet and quickly swung forward and clubbed him with the very arm he was trying so hard to reach.

Jason crashed into the sand beside Tai and quickly rolled to his feet. Tai did the same.

Jason chuckled quietly. "Always so damn predictable Kamiya."

"What are you talking about Smith?"

"Dismissed it, did you?" He casually brushed some sand away from his uniform. "Maybe a trick of your mind? No, Kamiya. I did pull your bracelet."

Tai glanced down at the golden band on his arm in alarm. He had felt _something_ as he knocked Jason clear of it. But could his adversary really have those kind of quick reflexes and presence of mind?

"Don't look so surprised. I couldn't reach the blasted thing, so I waited for you to bring it to me, as you predictably did." Jason smiled fiendishly. "One down. Two to-."

Tai didn't let him finish, launching forward with a flurry of punches that caught his opponent completely off guard. Jason took the first two fully on the chin before he was able to block or dodge the rest. He staggered backwards a bit when Tai's assault ended and tried to regain his bearings.

"It would seem that someone is becoming very angry." Jason said mockingly. "Not that it will help you-"

He was interrupted as Tai once again came at him, this time feigning another punch combo, countering when Jason made to block it, and dropping into a low leg sweep. Jason's form met with the ground roughly and Tai leapt upon him again.

The unprepared digidestined turned to guard his bracelet a second too late as Tai deftly tugged it before being thrown aside. Both combatants rose from the ground slowly, Tai wearing a sly grin to match his adversary's scowl.

"Guess we're even now." He said.

"Time to change things up, then." Jason responded without missing a beat. He deftly tossed a ball of blue energy through the air, directly at his opponent.

Tai was barely able to dive out of the way as the ice attack streaked past him. He shivered, noting that the temperature had dropped several degrees in the attack's wake.

"So you want to play that way, huh?" Tai grumbled, hands bursting into flame and his eyes blazing as he got up from the ground. "Let's play."

The air between them suddenly lit up with blasts of orange and blue as both combatants took turns alternately throwing and dodging fire and ice attacks. Several times, the attacks would hit each other, creating large blasts of steam where they impacted.

* * *

"I have to admit, this is starting to get really entertaining." Terence whispered to Clara outside the arena. "But I don't know how Jun's keeping so calm."

Clara turned and glanced at the girl in question. She noticed that, though Jun's body language gave off an aura of peace and confidence, her eyes, darting back and forth as they concentrated keenly on the ongoing battle, told a different story.

"She's not."

"What do you mean? Look at her. She's just standing there-"

"It's a girl thing sweetie. Trust me."

Terence gave in to her intuition with a nod. "If you say so." He suddenly smiled. "Sweetie, huh? I like that. That's hot."

She playfully rolled her eyes. "Shut-up."

* * *

Tai dove behind a boulder as a stray blizzard attack blasted into it, covering the hulking rock in a thin layer of ice. He rose and fired a couple of pepper breaths at a similarly hiding Jason before taking cover again. With his back to the boulder, Tai ignored the several other blizzard attacks that flew overhead and briefly searched the landscape for his partner, but unfortunately could find no sign of him or his struggle with Frost. Wherever Agumon was, Tai hoped he was faring okay. Forcing the concern aside, he turned and blasted a few more attacks towards his opponent's approximate position.

* * *

Hunched over from his position, high atop one of the largest boulders in the arena, Agumon sniffed the air intently. His ears perked up and his senses piqued as he concentrated on trying to ascertain exactly what had become of his foe and what he was up to. In short order, he received his answer. There was a tell tale muttering below, the source being an obviously irritated Frost. Agumon concentrated as the snowagumon's words gradually wafted up to him.

"Stupid orange digimon. 'Keep him out of this, Frost.' What the hell kind of orders are those? Is that all the enjoyment I get? Missing a real battle because I have to keep this coward occupied?" As he walked, his head continually swept back and forth as he tried to figure out where Agumon had gone. "And, of course, he just runs off. My only source of entertainment was fighting this joke, and now I don't even get to do that."

Frost suddenly stopped almost directly under Agumon's position and pointed his nose upwards, concentrating as his took in the surrounding scents. "Wait a second..."

Agumon, seeing his element of surprise beginning to slip away, leapt from the boulder with a shout and landed roughly on top of his adversary. The two became a ball of fury, growling and snarling as they clawed and bit at one another and rolled across the sand.

Agumon was finally able to create some separation between them by planting a large foot on Frost's snout and forcefully pushing him away. He then fired a few pepper breaths, but grunted in frustration as Frost quickly got to his feet and dodged them all.

"Gotta do better than that to best me, Orange."

The snow-white digimon fired some retaliatory blizzard attacks and smiled as Agumon scrambled to get out of their path and took cover behind a small, pyramid shaped block.

"Hey buddy," He chided. "If you can't take it, I'd advise you not to dish it out!"

Agumon peeked around the corner to see Frost smiling gleefully as he confidently approached his position. Agumon's eyes narrowed in anger at his opponent's cocky behavior and he quickly leapt from behind his cover, this time concentrating and firing a pepper breath that was five times the attack's normal size. He followed it up with two more regular ones, which spun around the original behemoth and left a helix trail of smoke as the collection of attacks sped toward Frost.

The snowagumon was just able to get out of the path of the large middle fireball but was unable to move fast enough to avoid the peripheral attacks and, as a result, was nailed full on by one of the normal sized pepper breaths.

Agumon pumped a fist in celebration. "Hey pal, if you can't take the heat, I'd advise you to get out of the kitchen!" He shouted.

Frost slowly got up from the ground, smoldering from the hit. The smoke rising from his figure combined with his narrowed eyes and seething breaths to give him a very convincing visage of anger.

"So that's how you want to do this, huh? Altered attacks?" He shouted. "Fine then. My turn!"

Agumon prepared to fire another volley of pepper breaths but paused suddenly as he saw Frost concentrate a rather large blizzard attack before him and release it into the air. Agumon watched, perplexed, as the massive blue sphere slowed down, high in the air, and began to spin rapidly before descending in his direction.

Instinctively, the orange digimon turned around and began to run just as the giant orb started to fire hundreds of small frozen stalagmites into the ground around him. Agumon leapt, dodged, and ran as fast as he could as the icicles continued to barely miss his fleeing form. After a few seconds of this, Agumon chanced a glance back and saw that the sphere of ice was gradually becoming smaller while it fired the frozen daggers at him in rapid succession. Though encouraging, the orb's diminishment was still progressing bit too slowly for his tastes. Just as he was trying to formulate a plan to remedy this, one of the projectiles suddenly grazed Agumon's shoulder, knocking him to the ground. He looked up at the frozen orb bearing down on him in dismay, sure that one of the frosty spears would rip into him at any second.

Agumon quickly acted, doing the first thing that came to mind. He fired a large pepper breath directly at the hovering object and watched in satisfaction as the fireball sped along, destroying any falling icicles in its path, before finally impacting with the sphere. Both disappeared with a loud crash and a terrific blast of water and steam. Agumon let out a heavy sigh and pulled himself up from the ground. He looked towards Frost, now some distance away following his flight from the attack.

"Is that the best you got?" He shouted. "You'll have to do better than-"

Agumon stopped short, noticing something in the distance that looked very much like the attack Frost had just thrown at him. The time, however, the cerulean orb simply ascended into the air like before, but then exploded in a flash of icy particles, which were made brighter by the light of the arena walls glinting off of them as they slowly drifted back to the ground.

Agumon tore his attention away from the wondrous spectacle to see that Frost had turned around and was running towards whatever its source was.

"Crap! It was some kind of signal!" Agumon said in realization as he began to give chase. He grimly noted the large amount of distance now between him and his foe. "I just hope I can get back in time to help Tai."

* * *

Tai ducked as yet another blast splashed over his cover, showering bits of ice around him.

"Damn it." He muttered. "I am not getting anywhere this way."

He stood up quickly, fired off a few blasts of fire, and ducked again before Jason retaliated.

"This long-distance shooting stuff is getting old quick. And it seems like Jason's in it for the long haul." He sighed. "Well I'm not going to be the one to get overanxious and screw up. If he wants to draw this thing out, then so be it."

For a few more minutes, Tai continued in the game of cat and mouse, alternately firing at Jason and taking cover from his blizzard attacks. It was just when the monotony of the battle's proceedings became so overbearing that he began to entertain thoughts of wildly charging across the expanse between he and Jason that Tai heard a strange noise to his right. He turned his head in the direction and looked around keenly. Seeing nothing, Tai shrugged and chalked the noise up to his mind becoming stressed due to battle and starting to play tricks on him. He turned and peered across the sands, towards the boulder he was pretty sure Jason was hiding behind.

"If I could just get over there to him somehow-"

Tai paused, hearing a noise again. This time he didn't think it was a product of his psyche.

"Agumon?" He said cautiously. "Is that you?"

"Guess again," came the curt reply.

Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, a large, white, clawed foot bore down on Tai and struck him directly in the chest. The startled digidestined had no time to react as Frost leapt upon him and frantically began gnarling and clawing at him. Tai tried to use his arms to push the frenzied digimon away but found it too hard to gain any kind of hold on him. Instead, his actions only seemed to help Frost in his attempt to pull his bracelet, as the snowagumon bit down upon the golden band as soon as Tai raised his arms. With some effort, Tai was able to jerk his arm away, but not before his attacker had gotten a good pull.

Apparently unsatisfied with his accomplishment, Frost quickly leapt back upon Tai and attempted to bring the battle to a swift end. It was all Tai could do to keep him at bay with one arm, while keeping the bracelet just out of the digimon's reach. With no other recourse for getting rid of the relentless digimon, Tai fired a close range pepper breath, doing about as much damage to himself as he did his opponent. Still, the attack served its purpose of knocking Frost away and, when the spots finally faded from Tai's vision, he discovered that the digimon had made a full retreat, his dinosaur like footprints leading across the sands toward Jason.

Now having time to realize what had just happened, Tai punched the boulder beside him forcefully in anger and ignored the subsequent pain that shot through his fist and up his arm.

"Damn it, Agumon, where the hell are you?" He grumbled.

* * *

Jason watched Frost approach him with a smile.

"You fared well, I trust?"

"Yeah," Frost replied. "I did all right I guess." He rubbed the spot on his side where Tai's attack had hit him. "I pulled his bracelet in any case."

"Good, that means one more pull and we can take our rightful places as top Knights at the academy."

"Yeah, well it looks like your plan worked out pretty well. When you sent up the signal, he was so busy fighting you that he didn't see me coming until it was too late."

"Of course. Compared to me, Tai is essentially an idiot savant. Though he may be quite adept at physical warfare, he is rendered essentially useless when he enters into a combat situation that requires planning and mental acumen. I knew he would be caught unprepared by our plan." Jason took a cautious look around. "Really, the only variable I was unsure about was whether you would be able to get away from his equally inept partner."

Frost shrugged. "That was easy. I kept him busy with a well-timed icicle blast. No problem."

"Good. Now we just-"

Jason was cut off as the sudden weight of a certain orange digimon came down upon his back. Agumon acted quickly, jumping onto Jason's arm and tugging at his bracelet before he could even figure out what was happening.

"How's that for inept?" The enraged digimon shouted just before Jason was able to elbow him off and into the sand.

Agumon quickly got up and leapt at him again, but this time his opponent was ready and on his knees in a defensive stance. Their hands clasped in a vice like grip as the two began to grapple with one another.

"Where in the world did he come from?" Jason grunted as he began to gain the upper hand in their struggle.

"I don't know. He has a knack for jumping off of stuff." Frost answered, giving Agumon a furious glare. "But don't worry. I'll get rid of him." He began to charge a substantial blizzard attack.

"No-" Jason began to protest, though a bit too late. He and Agumon dove in opposite directions just as Frost fired his attack and covered the ground where they had been wrestling in an icy film.

Agumon got up first and set off at a run away from the scene, taking the moment of confusion as an opportunity to escape.

Jason got up in time to see the fleeing digimon's form. "Frost," he began, trying in vain to quell his anger. "_This_ is how it's done."

He stretched a hand forth and began to form an attack.

* * *

Tai was still seething over what had just taken place earlier, when he suddenly heard a familiar voice scream out in pain.

"Agumon!" He shouted, getting up and running towards where the sound had emanated from.

Taking heed of nothing else, Tai immediately ran to his fallen partner as soon as he spotted him lying in the expanse of sand between he and Jason's defensive positions.

"Agumon, are you okay?" Tai asked, dropping to his knees when he reached him.

Agumon let out a labored breath. "Jason…hit me in the back…"

"What? Are you hurt badly?" Tai began to gently prod his partner, checking to see if anything was broken. Agumon suddenly reached out and tugged at the sleeve of his concerned partner's uniform.

"Tai…he's still behind me..."

"What?" Tai looked up in the direction Agumon had been coming from just in time to see two blue spheres of frozen energy hurtling towards him. "Oh."

Tai leaned back, his knees bending as far as possible, and lay almost horizontal to the ground as the two attacks sailed over, just inches above his body. As soon as they passed, he scooped Agumon up and began to run back toward his boulder. Blizzard attacks flew all around them as he sprinted across the sands, sometimes hitting the ground in front of him and forcing him to leap over their frozen wakes. Once he reached the other side of the boulder, Tai gently placed Agumon down and took a moment to catch his breath.

"What happened?" Tai asked after the moment passed.

Agumon propped himself up against the large rock. "Well, when I saw Jason throw up that signal to Frost, I did my best to follow him back here. I saw his footprints heading towards where your attacks were coming from, but I was so far behind I figured there was no way I'd reach you in time to help. So, I decided to sneak up on Jason, maybe get his bracelet first. I half succeeded. I pulled it once."

"So did Frost." Tai said with a grimace.

"Sorry about that."

"Don't be. You did well to go after Jason. I was the one who should've been on my toes-"

"KAMIYA!" The shout rang out over the arena clear and evenly.

Tai stood up and peeked over the boulder. Jason was standing in the middle of the clearing with Frost flanking him. In his hand was a charging blizzard attack, gradually growing larger in size with each passing moment.

"Come out and fight, Kamiya! I know your digimon's out of the battle. That attack I hit him with was dead on."

Agumon grunted. "I've had worse, much worse. That guy really overrates himself."

"Yeah, that he does." Tai agreed, a thought occurring to him.

"Frost won't interfere." Jason continued. "It'll just be you and me, mano a mano."

"Yeah right." Tai said skeptically before turning to his partner. "Agumon, do you think you can still fire an attack?"

"Well, I suppose. Not a very strong one-"

"It doesn't have to be. I've got an idea."

"Uh oh."

"Trust me. This is going to work."

Agumon nodded. "Okay, what do I have to do?"

"Position yourself on the other side of this boulder. When I go out there to talk to Jason, look for my signal. That's when I want you to fire at him."

"But Tai," Agumon protested. "I told you my attack won't be a very strong one in my condition. It won't have much of an effect on him."

"I know. But you won't be hitting him exactly. I want you to aim for that blizzard attack he's charging up."

"Oh," Agumon nodded in understanding. "I get it."

"Good, now get ready."

Agumon shifted to the other end of the boulder and peeked around the edge. "Okay Tai," He whispered. "I've got a straight shot."

"Okay then, here I go."

Tai slowly walked from behind the boulder and into the open. Jason appraised him with a smile.

"Come to face your destiny, have you Kamiya?"

"You could say that."

"But you're unprepared." Jason said, indicating with a nod the lack of an attack forming in Tai's hands. "Just as I expected."

Tai ignored the verbal jab. "What kind of guy shoots a digimon in the back, Smith? Is that the 'honorable' way you fight?"

"Please, this is combat. There is no honor in battle. Only victory and defeat. That is something I know, Kamiya, and you apparently don't. Another reason I'm more suited to lead the Knights into our upcoming war."

Tai scoffed. "In your dreams."

Jason raised the hand bearing his blizzard attack high over his head. The sphere had grown to enormous size and even he seemed to have some difficulty controlling it.

"We shall see my dreams become a reality, then!" He screamed, chest heaving and arms trembling as the power of his attack threatened to overwhelm him. "What do you say to that?!"

Tai remained calm and unconcerned with the fact that Jason seemed to be on the verge of blowing him away. "Two words, Smith." He said, not breaking a sweat. "Fire away."

As soon as the words left Tai's mouth, a small orange ball of fire streaked out from the other side of the boulder he was standing in front of and headed directly for his opponent. Jason barely had time to acknowledge this unexpected variable before it smashed into the large attack he was forming and caused him to disappear under a terrific explosion of steam and water.

Seeing the moment he'd been waiting for come to fruition, Tai charged forward, sprinting right into the rather thick cloud of vapor.

* * *

"I can't see what's going on." Davis complained. He squinted futilely. "The steam's too thick."

"I think that's what Tai was going for." Kuri observed. "It certainly caught Jason off guard."

Rosa stepped up beside them, also trying to peer into the opaque mist. "But Jason's pretty tough. Even in that mess, he's not going down easy."

"Tell me about it." Curtis agreed. "That guy's a lot better than I thought."

Jun took in what they were all saying quietly. She stared at the large cloud of steam in the middle of the arena anxiously, hoping for Tai to emerge from it at any moment. After a few more nerve-wracking moments had passed, he finally did, stumbling and coughing as he exited the sauna and fell to his knees in exhaustion.

"Oh no." Jun exclaimed to herself. "He's been hurt."

With a groan, Tai collapsed completely to the ground, slowly turned over onto his back, and closed his eyes. Just when it seemed Jun would completely lose her wits, he found the strength to raise an arm. At its end, dangling from his index finger, was Jason's bracelet.

The entire academy absolutely exploded with wild cheers. Raucous shouts and praise filled the air as they all immediately began to celebrate Tai's apparent victory.

Amid the rampant rejoicing, Jun bowed her head and allowed herself a relieved sigh. "Thank God." She whispered.

An elated Davis suddenly picked her up and twirled her around, laughing. "You weren't worried, were you sis? Didn't you know that we can't be stopped? 4 and 0 against Jason and his lackeys!"

Jun smiled at her brother. "Okay, okay, you can put me down now, Davis."

He sheepishly did, still grinning from ear to ear. Curtis approached the two, his expression noticeably more sober than everyone else's.

"What's going on over there?" He asked, pointing to where Professor Nai and Willis sat outside the arena. They were working on the latter's laptop and seemed to be confused and very frantic about something.

"I'm not sure," Davis answered, his mood growing serious as well. "But it doesn't look good."

* * *

Tai recovered gradually from his fight inside the cloud of steam. It hadn't been too hard, since, as he expected, Jason was caught completely unprepared and confused by the maneuver. The conditions inside were what sapped most of his energy. Struggling to remove Jason's bracelet in such a hot and suffocating atmosphere had left him completely fatigued. Tai raised his head slightly as he heard footsteps approaching. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Agumon gingerly running over to him.

"Way to go, Tai!" the digimon exclaimed. "You did it!"

"Not just me, Agumon." Tai said, grunting as he forced himself into a seated position. "You played big part, too."

"Yeah, but it was your plan that worked perfectly."

"_His_ plan?" a voice moaned.

Tai and Agumon looked up as Jason's haggard form became visible through the rapidly dissipating haze. "I lost to a plan made by _him_?"

Frost walked beside him, looking equally tired.

"Yes. You lost to a plan made by me, Jason." Tai answered angrily. "I hope this puts some things in perspective for you."

Jason and Frost flopped to the ground opposite Tai and Agumon.

"It does." Jason admitted dejectedly. He sat in silence and stared down at the sand between them.

After a few moments passed, Tai started to actually feel some level of pity for his once proud adversary

"Look Jason," He began. "It's not like this is the end of the world-" Tai stopped suddenly in realization and looked around. "Hey, why is the arena still closed? Isn't the battle over?"

Jason looked up sharply. "Curious." He said, before adding ruefully, "This likely has something to do with Enn. Probably punishing me by making me spend more time in here with you."

Tai was about to respond indignantly when Frost suddenly sat up straight, his senses piqued.

"You guys hear that?" The white digimon asked in alarm.

"Yeah. I do." Agumon responded after a moment of listening. "And it's getting louder."

Tai and Jason looked at the two digimon in confusion.

"I don't hear anything." Tai said.

"Then just wait." Frost responded, placing an ear to the ground. "Because whatever it is, it's coming this way."

After a moment, the digimon's assertions were confirmed as a low level rumbling began to fill the arena. The sand surrounding the quartet began to vibrate and shift violently. Something sounding like a mix between an anguished roar and a scream emanated from the ground under them and gradually got louder.

Tai was the first to get to his feet. "Guys, I think we should move. NOW!"

No one argued with him as the group stood as one and backed away from where they discerned was the epicenter of the disturbance.

"What do you think it could be?" Agumon asked nervously.

Jason shook his head. "I'm not sure, but something tells me we're going to find out very soon."

Almost as if on cue, the ground before them burst forth in a mighty explosion of dirt, sand and dust. An ear splitting roar rang out over the arena as a humongous serpentine body gradually emerged from the gaping hole. As the dust settled, it's teal body and gold plated face made the giant digimon easily identifiable to even the least knowledgeable of digidestined.

"A seadramon." Tai said in a half awed, half dismayed voice. "How in the hell did it get here-?"

"Save the irrelevant questions for later Kamiya." Jason said, backing away from the snake like beast slowly. "Right now, I think that thing wants to eat us."

Tai looked up at the seadramon, then back at his apprehensive companion. "Nonsense, Jason. We can't just assume the worst of every digimon that finds its way into the realm. For all we know, this seadramon might be agreeable-"

Another loud, screeching roar assaulted their ears. The giant serpent bent low and glared at Tai, opening its mouth to reveal rows of gleaming, razor sharp teeth.

"On the other hand, you may have a point. Scatter!"

Everyone ran in different directions, splitting just before the seadramon fired an ice blast attack into their midst.

* * *

"Argh! Why won't this damn thing work?!"

Willis pounded his laptop's keyboard in frustration, before turning to Nai. "The arena is in some kind of lock down mode and this computer doesn't have the power to override it. The only way I can take it down is with the main system back in the mansion."

Nai helped Willis up. "Well then, let's not just sit here talking, come on. Tai and Jason can't run from that thing forever." Together they sped off towards the mansion, leaving the laptop where it was.

* * *

"Where are they going?!" Jun screamed frantically, watching the two depart across the sands. "They're just leaving them in there?!"

Curtis walked up beside her. "I doubt it." He said. "They probably just need a more powerful system than Willis' laptop to get the walls to come down for some reason."

"I wonder what that 'reason' could be…" Kuri said, squinting as she looked at Sensei Enn across the arena. He seemed to be positively enjoying himself, doing everything but licking his chops as he watched the boys' predicament inside.

Davis walked up beside her. "I know what you're thinking, but that's something to worry about later. Right now we have to focus on helping get Tai out of there."

"That's a nice thought, but how?" Terence asked, running a hand over the forcefield that was the arena. "That wall's pretty damn strong."

Rosa agreed. "Yeah. We can't just knock it down…can we?"

The hope in her voice was infectious.

"Hmm…" Davis mused, walking up to the semi-transparent wall of light. "I wonder."

He felt around its surface a bit before rearing his fist back and delivering a powerful vee-punch. The wall rippled and wavered outwardly from his point of attack. Davis studied the affect, noting that it took a few seconds for the barrier to return to normal.

"I think that might have hurt it a little." He observed.

As soon as he uttered the words, a second set of ripples appeared in the wall. Davis looked down to see that Veemon had joined him.

"Then let's take this thing down!" The blue digimon said enthusiastically.

Davis spared his partner a proud smile. "Right." The two began to punch the barrier repeatedly in rapid succession.

Soon, they were joined by the attacks of hundreds of other academy students and digimon following their example. After a couple minutes the wall began to undulate and waver greatly under their massive assault. As Jun began throwing slamming attacks at the barrier, she lamented the fact that Willis and Nai had neglected to restore their ability to digivolve before running off to the mansion. She expressed her displeasure at that decision with a few choice, four-letter words. Clara paused in her barrage of petty punch attacks to consider Jun's complaints. An idea occurred to her. Without a word, she took off and left the group. Everyone, their attention focused solely on attacking the arena wall, was too busy to notice her departure.

* * *

Tai leapfrogged a rock and quickly changed direction just before the beast chasing him lunged for him, crashed into the sand, and became even more enraged. Tai continued to run, not looking back for fear that the sight of the angry seadramon bearing down on him might cause him to falter. He leapt another boulder, this one substantially larger than the last, and surprised himself by accidentally crashing into a hiding Jason.

Jason grunted loudly. "Kamiya, will you watch where you're going?" He complained.

"Easy for you to say, Smith. That thing's not chasing after you!"

Jason turned to look over the boulder and his eyes widened in surprise.

"Get down!" he yelled, pushing Tai down as he dove himself.

A split second later, the giant stone exploded in a rain of rock and gravel as the seadramon speared through it, barely slowing down as it screamed over them.

"Whoa." Tai exclaimed, eyes on the serpent as it wound its way into the distance. "Thanks Jason."

"Um, yeah, well…" Tai's savior was obviously uncomfortable with receiving his gratitude. "What do we do now?"

Tai pulled out his digivice. "Well, we can't call anyone through the arena walls." He looked at the screen. "But maybe we can digivolve now."

Jason shrugged. "Worth a try." He muttered, obviously not really enthused that the plan would work.

Tai pressed his screen and was slightly crestfallen when he felt no change.

"Any luck?" He asked Jason.

The dark haired digidestined shook his head. "Nope."

"Okay then, since that won't work, I think we need to regroup with our digimon. This is definitely a case where strength in numbers is needed."

"Fine. But whatever we do, we need to do it fast, before that thing returns."

Tai nodded in agreement. "Okay. Let's go."

Together, the two set off as quietly as they could in search of their digimon partners.

* * *

Willis and Professor Nai arrived on the third floor of the mansion out of breath. They raced to the main operations room and burst the door open to find counselor Gen already seated in front of the massive mainframe system inside.

"Gen!" Nai exclaimed. "What are you doing up here?"

The perpetually cheerful counselor turned to face them, his face uncharacteristically sour. "What do you think? I'm trying to get that darn arena down."

"Yeah, but why aren't you outside?" Nai continued as Willis ran up to the system and forced Gen aside as respectfully as possible.

Gen moved back and let the young computer whiz take over. "I couldn't stay outside and watch any more of that bloodbath Enn calls 'training.' Those kids were seriously hurting each other out there. I came in here to get away from it all, but when the alarms went off…" He walked over to a window that faced out towards the arena and looked out grimly. "Just look at what happened. I told everyone this was a bad idea. I knew something like this would happen. I just knew it. If we don't hurry, two of our best knights won't make it out alive." Gen paused and wiped a hand over his face to calm himself. "How's it coming along, Willis?"

"Well enough," He answered. "You were doing a pretty good job Counselor. You got through most of the firewalls, but there's also a few backdoors in here to reach the main security systems." Willis sighed as his fingers flew over the keyboard. "I can't help but think that most of this is my fault, though…"

"How so?" Nai asked.

"If I'd only had the foresight to extend the perimeter protection shells underground, that seadramon never would've gotten in. Furthermore-" Willis paused a moment to work on something that needed his complete attention before returning to his multitasking. "I shouldn't have based the arena design on the innermost shell. Both have a built in system that locks them down when any of the breach alarms go off. That's fine for the inner shell, since it means only authorized people and digimon are allowed to enter or exit the mansion, but the arena locks _everybody_ in or out. I should've seen this coming and taken that particular security measure out of its code."

Nai nodded. "You still shouldn't blame yourself for this Willis. Let's just call it a 'live and learn' experience."

Willis grunted and began to reply, but started suddenly as the large screen before him changed colors.

"I'm in!" He shouted. "I got into the arena's operation program."

"Good." Gen said. "Now, take it down."

Willis progressed through a series of keystrokes before cursing loudly.

"What's wrong?"

"It's too strong. The only way I can take the arena down at this point is to degrade its signal and power amplification. Right now, it's simply too strong for those measures to have much of an effect." With a few clicks, he brought up a different screen, which featured a thermometer like graph. "Right now, its power level is here." Willis pointed to the top of the graph, where the red section, representing mercury, almost reached. "I need it to be about half of that before I can take the arena walls down."

Nai leaned in over his shoulder and frowned. "This presents us with a dire problem then-" He stopped suddenly. "Wait-I think it just moved."

"What?"

"The power level. I think it just moved down."

They both watched the screen intently, and sure enough, after a few seconds, the red bar dropped another fraction.

Willis looked up at his mentor in surprise. "What do you think could be making it do that?"

"I think I have a pretty good idea." Gen said, still staring out the window and watching as hundreds of determined academy students kept up their barrage against the arena's seemingly impenetrable walls.

* * *

Clara looked at the gibberish on Willis' laptop screen in frustration.

"What was I thinking?" She muttered to herself. "I don't know how to work this thing. I might as well be the seadramon for all the good I'm doing."

She slapped at the keyboard in exasperation and gasped as a small point of bright light appeared in front of her. Transfixed, Clara watched as the light split into the different colors of the rainbow and began to swirl around itself. Another small point, resembling more of a shadow than a color, split off from the rest and began to absorb each one, one by one, until they all coalesced into one large shadow and gradually dissolved away.

"Man, what is it with you and starlets, huh?"

Clara took her attention away from the spectacle and looked up to see that Curtis had run over and joined her.

"Came to help," He explained. "Um, whenever you tell me exactly what it is you're trying to do."

"Well, I was trying to find a way to let us digivolve, but I can't understand anything on this damn machine."

Curtis frowned and nodded "Mind if I have a crack at it?" He asked, seating himself next to her.

"Sure," Clara waved a hand at the computer. "It's all yours. I don't see why I tried to use it without you, anyway."

Curtis smiled. "It was a good idea to try out. No one else thought of it." His hands went to work on the laptop's keyboard and mouse. "Now, let's see if we can get something done in time to help Tai."

* * *

Tai and Jason crept along silently, weaving in and out of the various boulders and blocks as they searched for their partners. Jason suddenly stopped and cocked his head, having apparently heard something that caught his attention.

"What is it?" Tai asked.

"I thought I heard Frost-wait…there. I hear him again."

"I hear him too." Tai glanced around in confusion, looking for a spot of white anywhere. By a stroke of luck, when Tai turned to scratch his head, he looked directly up at the snowagumon, who was perched atop a pyramid, hissing down at them.

Tai elbowed Jason and quickly pointed upwards before his former adversary could respond in kind. Jason looked up in Tai's indicated direction and was surprised when he discovered his partner's position. Together both he and Tai ascended the pyramid to join him.

"Frost," Jason whispered loudly. "What are you doing up here? You're not planning something foolish are you?"

Frost seemed indignant at the comment. "Of course not. That seadramon's flying low, looking for us, so I decided to go high. And as far as doing something foolish goes, I'm not planning anything half as dumb as his partner." He nodded at Tai.

"What do you mean?" Tai asked. "What's Agumon doing?"

"Look for yourself." Frost pointed into the distance. "He's over there."

Tai looked in the direction and saw Agumon's silhouette perched atop another pyramid some distance away. "What's so dumb about that? He's doing the same thing as you."

"Yeah, but just wait. Last I saw, the seadramon was headed in his direction."

Concerned for his partner, Tai started to climb down the pyramid. A clawed hand reached out and stopped him.

"You don't understand." Frost said. "He _wants _it to come in his direction."

"What? Why?"

"Just watch."

Tai turned again and watched Agumon. After a few seconds passed, an elongated snake-like form emerged from the shadows and headed towards his position. The seadramon didn't see Agumon, as it continued to search along at ground level and began to slither past him. Abruptly, Agumon entered into a readying stance, resembling an Olympic sprinter waiting for the starting gun.

"He wouldn't." Tai gasped.

"He couldn't." Jason added.

Suddenly, the orange digimon pounced onto the seadramon's back and held on tight as the large serpent went into a fit of bucking, swaying, and thrashing about wildly.

"He did." Frost said with a smirk.

"What is he thinking?!" Tai exclaimed.

"I don't know, but they're coming this way!" Jason yelled.

He and Frost began to slide down the pyramid as fast as they could.

Tai stayed put and watched intensely as the seadramon approached him with a screaming and flopping Agumon on his back. No way was he going to let his partner face that monster alone.

"Kamiya, what are you doing?!" Jason shouted from the ground. When Tai didn't answer him he added to Frost, "He's just as daft as his partner."

Tai waited patiently for the right moment, flinching a couple times as the seadramon whipped its body back and forth and began to pass him. Seeing his opportunity, Tai jumped with a supreme effort and landed on the creature's back, just behind Agumon. He held on tight, as the seadramon's bucking and thrashing threatened to send him flying across the arena.

"What were you thinking, Agumon?!" He yelled after gaining some semblance of control. "Jumping on 'oof' a seadramon's 'ouch' back? That's stupid!"

The smaller digimon looked back at him angrily. "Well 'ugh' then what does that make you for following me?"

Tai considered the question and looked around. The seadramon had started climbing hundreds of feet into the air. When its ascension stopped, both Tai and Agumon held on as tightly as they could, anticipating what was coming next.

"I must be insaaaaaaaaaaaaaane!" Tai screamed out just as they rolled into a swooping dive.

* * *

"He's insane!" Jun shouted, unable to watch Tai's plight and continue her attacks on the arena at the same time. "What in the world is he thinking?"

"I don't know," Davis answered. "But we need to keep working at this wall. It's the only way we'll get in there before Tai and Agumon get themselves seriously injured, or worse."

Beside him, Terence threw another ice-covered punch, but looked at Davis skeptically. "I don't know if this is working, Davis. This wall doesn't seem like it'll be coming down anytime soon."

"It has to." Davis answered, unfaltering in his attacks. "It's the only hope we have."

At that moment, his digivice began to vibrate. With the hand that wasn't busy throwing vee-punches, Davis reached down to answer it.

Willis' tinny voice came through. "Davis, keep up the attack on the arena! It's weakening the walls! In a couple more minutes, it'll be weak enough for me to completely take down!"

The message ended as abruptly as it began.

"Well, I'll be damned." Terence remarked, more amazed at the timing of the call than the actual message. "Let's get to work, then."

Davis nodded and continued his assault as Jun rejoined them.

* * *

Curtis continued to work with Willis' computer, whizzing through folders, windows, and programs like a proverbial hot knife through butter.

"Wow, you're doing a lot better than I ever would have." Clara said in awe as she watched him work.

"The credit goes to Willis. This operating system is a breeze to work through. He really did a good job in creating it." He gestured at the screen. "See, look. I'm already in the digivolutions program. Now I just have to figure out where to change the permitted levels…"

After a few more seconds, a window came up with two familiar characters on it.

"Tai and Jason's shield symbols." Clara commented. "What are they doing there?"

"Hmm." Curtis peered closely at the screen. "It says 'pending evolutions.' Maybe they already tried to evolve their digimon, but the process won't take place until I make the necessary changes to the system."

Clara shrugged. "'I guess."

After a few more seconds of work, Curtis muttered, "Figures. There's always a catch."

"What's wrong?"

"Well, I found the program for allowing evolutions, but unfortunately, due to the stress the system's going under right now, the changes won't take effect for another couple of minutes or so."

Clara frowned and glanced back at the arena. "They might not have that long. You think you could speed it up?"

"I suppose I can try."

* * *

Tai and Agumon clung to their host like experienced rodeo cowboys as it flung them around like rag dolls.

"Did you have a plan?" Tai yelled to Agumon over the seadramon's roars of protest.

"Of course not, did you?"

Tai shook his head and grimaced as his bones were jarred by the seadramon's constant bucking. "No, but I couldn't just watch you fight this thing by yourself."

The seadramon's wild movements suddenly stopped. He calmly floated in midair, high above the sands below.

"I think he's getting tired." Tai suggested.

Agumon smirked. "If that's the case, then I'm going to say that that was my plan all along."

Tai smiled a little. "Well, now we just have to convince this big guy to take us back down to the grou-."

Tai words were cut off when the giant digimon suddenly took off at high speed, literally taking his breath away.

"What's he doing?!" Agumon screamed over the roar of the wind whipping around them.

"I don't know!" Tai looked ahead to see where the seadramon was heading. In the distance, he spied the arena wall, which they were quickly approaching. The wall was pulsing, randomly changing colors, wavering, and seemed to be weakening, though it still looked alarmingly solid. "He's heading straight for the wall!"

"What? That's crazy!" Agumon protested. "He wouldn't just run into a solid wall head on!"

"I don't think it'll exactly be head on!"

"What do you mean?"

Tai didn't answer as he tried to formulate a plan in the few seconds he and Agumon had before the seadramon attempted to smash them into the arena wall. After a moment of thought, Tai reached out and grabbed his partner with one arm.

"Hey!" Agumon protested. "What are you doing?"

Tai ignored him and concentrated on the seadramon's path, watching as the gigantic wall continued to approach. The serpent began to turn slowly, positioning itself so that its back, and its interloping passengers, were facing the barrier.

"Hang on!" Tai yelled, grasping his partner tightly with one arm, and letting go of the seadramon with the other. The two slid down the creature's back quickly and managed to move far enough to be out of harm's way when it finally slammed into the wall. The jolt from the hit, however, knocked them completely free. Tai was just able to reach out a grasp a fin from the seadramon's tail before he and Agumon plummeted completely to the ground. The force of the sudden stop caused Agumon to fall from the solid clutch of Tai's arm. At the last second he had to reach up and grab his partner by the hand.

For a moment of silence, the two simply hung there, suspended high up in the air, their lives tenuously depending on the strength of Tai's grip. Tai grunted as he struggled to hold on and sweat beaded on his brow. Feeling the unexpected weight on its tail, the seadramon contorted itself so that its golden armored head could face them. It growled deeply and started towards them, opening its crushing jaws wide.

Suddenly a splash of blue collided with the serpentine digimon's head, followed by another. The seadramon turned indignantly to see who dared attack it. Tai looked also, and was gratified to see Jason and Frost diligently launching blizzard attacks from the top of a pyramid.

The seadramon began to head toward them, pulling in a sharp intake of breath as it did so. Tai noticed that the large digimon seemed was forming a formidable ice blast attack and grimaced. He was unable to launch a pepper breath with both his hands being full… but his partner could.

"Agumon-"

"Already on it." The digimon answered, breathing deeply and forming a large, concentrated ball of fire. He released the blast with a yell and nailed the seadramon directly in the jaw with it. The attack was enough to throw off the mammoth digimon's aim and send its ice blast hurtling harmlessly through the air.

The seadramon looked back and gave the dangling Tai and Agumon a furious glare. With an angry roar it contorted its body in a whip like fashion, flicking the two off of its tail and sending them hurtling directly at Jason and Frost. They barely had time to scream before the group crashed together with terrific force and tumbled roughly down the sides of the pyramid until they violently collided with the ground. The seadramon dove low over them, screaming out its fury as it passed.

Jason was the first to stir of the quartet lying in the sand. He groaned and rubbed his head.

"Kamiya, what the hell were you thinking with that move? You accomplished nothing but anger him more."

Tai tried to answer, but only let out an anguished moan as pain oozed from every part of his body.

"About the response I expected." Jason said, getting up from the ground with some difficulty. "Come on. We all have to find some cover."

With a lot of effort, Tai managed to roll from his back onto his hands and knees before recovering his ability to talk. "You guys go on ahead. I'll catch up."

"What? Are you mental? That thing'll be coming back soon enough."

"They're both busted up pretty bad, Jason." Frost said, looking over Tai and Agumon. "I don't think they can go anywhere at the moment."

Jason jerked his head up as another tell-tale seadramon roar sounded across the arena. He squinted and obviously saw something he didn't like in the distance.

"Well they're going to have to, since our friend's headed back this way." He placed his hands under Tai shoulders and tried to heft him up.

Tai groaned. "Smith, what are you doing? Go on without me. Find cover for yourself."

"Kamiya, do you think I got this shield of Valor for nothing? I'm not leaving you lying out here. Now, come on."

Frost began to help Agumon up in similar fashion when he looked up and saw that the seadramon was bearing down on them at breakneck speed. "Jason, we're not going to make it in time! Look!"

Tai looked up from his position on his knees, one arm being supported by a stooping Jason. Squinting with one eye closed, he saw the giant airborne snake coming at them with a volatile intensity in its eyes.

"This is going to be rough guys." He mumbled. "Get ready."

* * *

Willis leaned in closer to the giant mainframe screen. The meter it displayed was getting tantalizingly close to the point where he would be able to take the arena down. He reached down to his belt and unclipped his digivice.

"I think it's about time for me to tell Davis."

"Tell him what?" Nai asked.

"It's about to come down. He needs to get ready."

* * *

Davis re-clipped his digivice after talking to Willis and raised his voice to address the entire crowd.

"Okay guys, they just told me that we're getting really close! Don't give up! Keep attacking! We'll get them out of there soon enough!"

He turned back to his own efforts but paused, feeling that he was being watched. Davis glanced to his left and saw Kuri giving him a look of pure admiration.

"What?"

"You're a natural at this, you know."

Davis smiled slightly. "Thanks," he said, allowing himself a bashful moment before turning completely serious again. "Now this thing is really close to coming down, so get ready."

* * *

Curtis sat back from Willis laptop with a sigh.

"I've done all I can," He said. "Shaved a little bit off the load time for the changes."

Clara looked over his shoulder, but didn't really understand much of the DOS-like language that now took up the computer screen.

"So, when will we all be able to digivolve?" She asked.

"Any second now, I suppose." Curtis shrugged. "Just get ready."

* * *

Too weak to run, Tai watched the demonic image descending upon him with a raised head and clinched jaw. If this was how his end was to come about, he would face it like a warrior, just like Xian had always taught them. Jason, Frost and Agumon were still flanking him as he knelt on the ground. For any of them to come out of this confrontation alive, Tai knew it would require nothing short of a miracle.

Suddenly Tai felt a lurch in the pit of his stomach that ran throughout his body like a surge of power. His senses returned to him in full and the pain in his body quickly ebbed away.

"Greymon evolution activated." The voice in his digivice stated.

"Hyogamon evolution activated" Jason's echoed.

Two familiar flares of lights flashed behind him- the light of digivolutions. Jason glanced at Frost's form, which resembled something like an ice-covered ogremon.

"We digivolved," he said. "But how?"

Tai never took his eyes off the seadramon, still heading for them at a high velocity, with that dangerous glint in its eyes.

"We'll ask those questions later. Right now, everybody hit him with all you've got!"

As soon as he uttered the words, two nova blasts streaked through the air, immediately followed by two giant, boulder-shaped, chunks of ice. All four attacks hit the seadramon head-on simultaneously and with a roar of pain, it began to tumble from the air from the impacts.

Tai noticed that although the seadramon had been knocked down, it hadn't lost any of its momentum, and was still headed directly toward them in its descent.

"Move!" he shouted. "His body's still gonna hit us!"

No one had to be told twice. Jason, Frost, and Greymon quickly leapt to the sides and out of harm's way. Tai however, was still on his knees and by the time he got up, only had the option of simply turning around and running. He did so, not even faltering when he heard and felt the mighty crash of the seadramon's body hitting the ground, or slowing down when he heard the following loud thumps that told him the body was still rolling and bounding along at great speed behind him. Tai pressed on, directly towards the arena wall only a few yards in front of him that was undulating and changing hues with remarkable intensity. Tai knew that the wall was somehow weakening, and as he fled the giant serpentine body rolling behind him, he repeated a desperate mantra of, "Come down, come down, come down…"

Abruptly, when he was only feet away, the wall gave in to Tai's wishes and disappeared in a brilliant flash of light. When the barrier vanished, Tai could see many academy students lined along what had once been its perimeter.

"Move!" he shouted. "Get out of the way!"

They all did so, madly scrambling to get out of the seadramon's trajectory as the courageous digidestined sprinted through their ranks. Once Tai was sure he'd cleared them all, he chanced a glance back and saw that, although the seadramon's body was quickly losing momentum, it was still managing to gain on him. Coming to a decision, Tai suddenly slid to a stop and ducked low to the ground, covering his neck and closing his eyes as the massive body bounced just inches over him. Once he was sure it had passed, Tai stood up again and watched as the creature finally slowed to a stop some distance away. He threw his head back and sighed in relief.

Jun was the first to reach Tai once the action had finally come to an end. She hugged him fiercely, allowing tears to stream down her cheeks.

"I almost lost you." She whispered, as if scared to even say the words.

Tai returned her gesture and kissed her on the forehead. "I'm all right, sweetheart." He assured. "I'm all right."

Davis passed the two of them with a glance and continued down to the seadramon's unconscious body.

"Geez Tai," He shouted upon reaching it. "You couldn't have saved any for the rest of us?"

The creature suddenly stirred and gave a low groan. Davis instinctively nailed it with a vee-punch to the head that put it back down for the count.

"Spoke too soon!" he shouted sheepishly.

Tai rolled his eyes good naturedly as he continued to embrace Jun.

"It's just as well you won that battle, Kamiya."

Tai looked up to see Jason approaching him through the crowd of onlooking students, Greymon and Frost stomping along behind him.

He nodded towards Davis. "I fear I would've had to compete with him for the mantle of leadership as well." Jason stuck out a hand at Tai upon reaching him. "And I suppose you've proven to me today that you're actually up to the task."

Keeping one arm around Jun, Tai reached out and took Jason's hand with a smile.

"Now, this doesn't make us friends, Kamiya." Jason warned. "More like…allies."

"Even my allies call me Tai, Jason."

Tai's former adversary smirked. "I'll have to work on that one."

"Oh this was remarkable!" shouted an excited Gennai as he walked into the crowd, followed by a typically dour looking Sensei Enn. "A splendid display of your abilities as Knights."

"Hey, what happened to you guys?" Terence asked as they approached. "We could've used your help."

Gennai smiled. "You didn't need our help. None of the instructors, not even Nai, aided you in this predicament, and you all came through with flying colors." He began strolling through the crowd. "From Willis' work in finding a way to bring down the arena, to Davis leading an academy-wide charge to attack the structure, which proved absolutely vital in Willis's effort. From Clara and Curtis having the foresight to re-activate Tai and Jason's ability to digivolve, to those two and their digimon being able to defeat a rampaging seadramon. You all showed your mettle today, and proved through teamwork and persistence, that you're definitely capable of becoming a formidable fighting force. Wouldn't you agree Enn?"

Sensei Enn reluctantly nodded and grumbled something under his breath.

Gennai clapped his hands together enthusiastically. "So, as soon we get this digimon moved out beyond the second protection shell, and extend our shielding underground this time, I deem you all worthy of enjoying a much deserved weekend."

"I was already planning on enjoying this weekend." Terence muttered to Clara, who had rejoined the group along with Curtis. "All he just did was add hauling around a big ass, unconscious snake to it."

She giggled and sidled up to him. "Trust me Terence, this'll still be the best weekend you've ever had here."

"Ooo, I like the sound of that." He responded, momentarily biting his lip to hold back a goofy grin. "Let's get this hauling over with, then."

As everyone set to work transporting the seadramon by the moonlight, Tai led Jun to the side and continued to hold her reassuringly.

"I'm okay Jun." He repeated. "I made it out fine."

"I know." She admitted. "It's just that, you came so close."

"But I'm still here."

"Yes…"Jun didn't seem convinced that the fact that Tai currently stood before could assuage her fears that he was almost taken from her forever. Seeing his love's trepidation, Tai simply held her tightly for a while.

"I promise I'll never leave you, Jun." He said, after a few minutes passed. "I love you too much. You know that, right?"

Jun nodded and after a moment finally cracked a faint smile. "And I love you too much to let you go, Tai."

"So, where does that leave us, then? How do you feel?"

"Better. At least I know that, as Knights, we'll still face all obstacles together." She sighed. "And, I guess, that's the best I could hope for."

With a kiss, Tai agreed, and together they walked back into the group, to aid in putting the last of the day's events behind them.

* * *

**The Digital World **

Cody sat perfectly still on the cobbled stone floor of the old temple, his legs crossed and eyes closed in meditation. Ken and Yolei stood behind him, accompanied by Hawkmon and Wormmon for protection. The Green Room kids had chosen to remain outside, respecting what had to be a very personal moment for the youngest OD.

Cody continued to concentrate. He thought about his father, about the events of seven years ago. How he stayed at Oikawa's side as the man's body pixilated into the spiritual being he was now…

_"Cody…"_ The voice seemed to come from everywhere, but Cody knew he was the only one who could hear it.

"Hello Oikawa."

_"My, it has been a while since our last chat, hasn't it?"_

"Yes, it has."

_"So, how are things with you? How is your grandfather?"_

"He's doing well. And I'm doing all right, considering."

_"Considering what?"_

"Well, I must be honest, this isn't exactly a social call Oikawa."

_"I feared as much. You seek answers regarding your missing friends, do you not?"_

"Yes." Cody answered hopefully. "What can you tell me about them?"

_"Nothing."_

"What?"

_"I can tell you nothing."_

"You can't tell me because you don't know, or because you're keeping it secret?"

_"I cannot answer that question Cody."_

"Oikawa-"

_"Listen, Cody. I understand your concern for your friends, but right now you must look out for yourself. Dark times lie ahead and soon your world will fall under great peril. You will need to be strong, and smart. Watch out for yourself and have faith that the situation with your friends will take care of itself."_

"But I need to know-"

_"What you seek, I cannot reveal. I am sorry Cody. Remember what I have told you and gird yourself. I must go."_

"Wait, don't go-" Cody stopped himself. He could feel the mental link between himself and the Digital World's guardian sever and knew there was no point in continuing.

Cody hung his head for a moment before finally rising from the ground.

"So?" Yolei asked hopefully. "What did he say?"

"Nothing that could help us find Tai or Davis. It sounded as if he knew something about them, though, and just couldn't tell me."

Ken frowned. "Well, that does strike a blow to our plans. I guess we'll just have to do a little sleuthing ourselves to uncover the evidence we need."

Cody nodded absently. "But he told me something else. He said that there were dark times on the horizon for our world. Something's coming that's going to threaten us all…"

"That doesn't sound good." Yolei observed. "But we've been there before."

"True, but something about this feels different. More serious, if that makes any sense. And to think, someone else tried to warn me about this."

Ken turned to him. "Really?"

"Yeah," Cody reached into his back pocket and pulled out a slightly worn business card. "And I think I misjudged him. Perhaps I should take Mr. Atuma up on his offer after all."

_To_ _be_ _continued_…

* * *

There ya go guys. Next Up: **Holidays and Harbingers.** The Knights take a much needed break from their constant training, while their friends in the real world attempt to unravel the mystery of what happened to them and uncover much more than they bargained for. I think I'm going to have the most fun writing this chapter, so keep an eye out for it.

As always, Please Review! Thanks.


	11. Holidays and Harbingers Pt 1

Hey, Knights fans. Here's the first part of Holidays and Harbingers. Part 2 will be up next week. Enjoy!

* * *

**Holidays and Harbingers - Part I **

**Odaiba **

Ken looked over the assortment of faces seated around him in approval. Their features could barely be seen in the soft glow of the portable lamps many of them had brought to this secret meeting in the Green Room. Night had fallen some time ago, much earlier than usual due to the thick rolling clouds that seemed to be perennially overhead now.

"What's this meeting about, Ken?" Jiro asked, tugging his jacket tighter around himself to provide protection from the nipping wind that flowed through the drafty factory.

Ken walked over to and peeked out of one of the building's large windows. "It's not so much what this meeting is about as what I hope to accomplish with it."

Jiro scratched his head. "How are the two mutually exclusive?"

"Yeah," Noriko agreed. "That doesn't make much sense."

"It's not supposed to." Yolei cut in and explained. "Ken's got some kind of detective scheme up his sleeve, and he's not really being forthcoming with anyone." She glared at him. "Not even me."

Ken gulped and shuffled his feet.

Kin jumped in. "Well, in any case, someone needs to stop Kado from going around letting it slip to people that you know something about our friends' whereabouts when we actually don't."

"No, that's exactly what I want." Ken said in a low voice.

"What?" Kin looked at the former digimon emperor suspiciously. "What kind of plan is that?"

"One that just might work," said Cody, who until that point, had been quietly observing. "Just trust Ken on this."

Kin shrugged and sat back with his arms crossed. "Fine, we'll see."

"A car just pulled up and someone's getting out." The deep baritone of Kentaro boomed from the door. "A guy and a girl."

Ken tensed up and produced a two-way radio from his pocket. He brought it to his lips and paused when Kentaro spoke again.

"Its TK and Kari."

Ken sighed and allowed the hand with the radio to drop back to his waist. "Let them in."

With a gesture of welcome, Kentaro stepped aside as the two entered into the dim glow of the green room interior.

"Yolei?" Kari asked in surprise upon seeing her DNA digivolving partner. "Is that you?"

"Of course it is." Yolei answered crossly. "Unlike you, I tend to want to help when my friends are in trouble."

Kari looked taken aback with the barb.

"Look, let's not get off on the wrong foot here." TK said, acknowledging Ken and Cody with nods. "We just ran into this kid with a weird looking dog in the park and he said that if we came here, we could find out what happened to Tai and Davis."

"And Kuri and Jun too." Noriko added angrily. "Or do they just not matter to you two?"

"Of course Kuri matters to me." Kari said defensively. "But I had no idea Jun was gone as well."

Noriko rolled her eyes. "Why does that not surprise me?"

Kin stood up and raised his hands. "Enough guys. Lets calm down here." He turned to TK. "I thought your brother had convinced you guys that they all just ran away together. Something change your mind?"

Kari answered for him. "Look, I think I should know my own brother better than Matt." she said indignantly. "I know he wouldn't run away for this long a time over something so stupid."

"But, would Davis?"

Kari looked at Noriko in confusion. "What?"

"I knew you wouldn't know." She turned back to the rest of the group. "She doesn't even know he saw them making out. What help are they going to be?"

Cody gave her a quieting glare.

Kari's eyes widened, in shock. "What? H-he saw us? I-"

"Didn't know?" Yolei finished. "Yeah, I figured. Look Kari, TK, there's a lot of stuff you guys didn't know about what's been going on here. I don't get it. Ken and I have an excuse for not knowing all this stuff. We've been across the country. But you two, I just don't understand. How could you just turn your backs on your friends?"

Kari looked particularly shamed by Yolei's words. She hung her head. "I-I'm sorry guys. I think we maybe let them influence us too much."

"Them?"

"The older guys." TK explained. "They're so different now. It's hard to really explain. It's like they've fallen in love with their own celebrity or something. They didn't pay much attention to Tai because, to them, he was still stuck in the past. Tai still cared about the digital world too much, they would say. He wasn't moving on with his life. They pretty much turned their backs on him."

Kari joined in. "To the point that they believe all this stupid stuff Matt is telling them now." She shook her head in disgust. "Well, we're not going to be a part of that any longer."

TK added, "Looking around this room, I can tell that we've been on the wrong side of this situation all along. We want to help you guys."

Cody walked up to the two, his acute stare breaking them both down. "Welcome aboard." He said, simply. "We could use all the help we can get-"

Ken's walkie-talkie suddenly crackled to life. The gruff voice of Stingmon came through.

"Ken, I've got something."

Ken picked up the radio and spoke into it. "What's up?"

"There's a guy out here on the east end. It looks like he's got some surveillance equipment. NVGs, amplified microphone, the works. I'd bet money that he's trying to spy on you guys."

"Good job. Stay on him." Ken whispered. "I'm coming outside to check it out." He turned to the rest of the group. "Everyone, stay here."

"What's going on?" TK asked.

"I'm about to get some insight into what happened to Tai and the others."

They both began to move towards the door in a crouch

"But, that kid said you already knew."

"That was just a ploy."

"A ploy?"

"Yes. To get guys like this joker outside to come out of the woodworks."

"What?"

"I figured the people who knew where our friends were wouldn't appreciate it if we found out. We start spreading the word that we know more than they want us to, they'll show up to see if it's true."

They reached the door and Ken peeked out into the street. "Now, I'm going out to find this guy. Stay here TK."

"Are you crazy? You can't go out there alone."

"I won't be. Stingmon will cover me. And it'll be a lot easier for him to look after one person than two."

Ken slipped out the door before TK could argue further.

He looked up and down the deserted, darkened street outside and saw nothing out of the ordinary.

"Around the corner." Stingmon whispered from his radio.

Ken nodded. He knew his partner was watching him from the roof. He headed to the edge of the expansive factory building and took a leaning glance around the corner. The spy was there, clear as day, sitting in a black sedan on the opposite side of the street. Placing his hands in his trench coat pockets, Ken casually walked out and began to cross the street, whistling as he did. He figured he could probably sneak up on the guy if he played his cards right and gave him a wide berth as he crossed the street. He just had to hope the guy was still too busy concentrating on the green room-

Suddenly, the sedan's engine revved, and in the middle of the street, Ken was bathed in the intense glow of its halogen headlamps. When the sound of tires squealing violently against pavement reached his ears, Ken dove forward, out of the street just milliseconds before the car would have hit him as it sped by and rounded the corner.

"Ken, are you okay?" His radio cackled.

Ken looked up and saw the dark form of his partner descending toward him. He waved him off. "I'm fine Stingmon! Stay on this guy! We need to see where he goes!"

Stingmon quickly obliged and ascended back into the night sky. Ken took no time to watch him go and got up quickly. He ran back to the front of the green room and saw TK outside waiting for him.

"I thought I told you to stay inside!"

"Let's not argue about that. I just saw the guy drive past me, we can still catch up to him if we hurry!" TK ran over to his car, a forest green Porsche 911 Turbo he'd received as a perk from his publisher, and opened the door. "Come on!"

Ken didn't need to be told twice. He hurried over and jumped in the passenger side. "Where're the other guys?"

"The big guy at the door's holding them in." TK explained as he started the engine, put the car in gear, and peeled off into the street. "We're clear."

Ken picked up his radio and called to his partner. "Stingmon, directions!" He listened for a moment before turning to TK. "Take a right at the first light!"

TK did so, downshifting to second and allowing the car to slide into the turn before peeling off again.

"You're pretty good at this." Ken observed.

"I should be. I was taught by two of the most irresponsible drivers around, Matt and Tai."

Ken nodded at the explanation as they sped off, now heading right into the heart of Odaiba.

* * *

**Digital Realm **

Jun sat in one of the rec room's plush, high backed chairs and stared out over the Digital Realm's new winter landscape. The realm had gone back to its original layout, with thick forests and a larger lake, but now it was all blanketed in snow, giving the place a familiar feel for those students that were from more arctic climates. The sky was usually overcast, lending everything a kind of dreary haze. Jun felt it actually made everything seem even colder, which was why now, despite being inside, she clutched a large thermos of hot chocolate nestled in her lap.

Jun got up from her chair and walked over to the large view window. When she reached it, she looked down into the expanse of snow between the mansion and the distant forest and saw what was probably the largest and wildest snowball fight to ever take place, anywhere. Students ran or flew here and there, accompanied by their ultimate or champion level digimon in what seemed to have turned into a contest between the boys and girls.

Jun couldn't help but grin as she watched their revelry. Most everyone had reached their ultimate digivolving level by now. It wasn't quite the production for them that it had been for the original digidestined. Most of them had long ago exhibited enough of their traits to open up the ultimate digivolving level for themselves during the combines or other training exercises. When the time came, it was just a matter of Willis allowing them to reach it. Jun peered downward and tried to see if she could spot all the ultimate digimon from her group of friends.

She saw Clara first, swooping through the air alongside Marta, in her Silphymon form. Chasing them, tossing snowballs, were Davis and his partner AeroVeedramon, an adept, large aerial digimon form that Veemon had never taken before. The four of them swooped, looped, and dove through the air with great skill. It was apparent to Jun that they were definitely the best flyers out of the entire academy.

Looking in another direction, Jun saw Curtis and Taps, who had digivolved to BlueMeramon, a more powerful version of Meramon that was covered in significantly hotter blue flames, rather than orange. They were standing their ground as Rosa and Vermillion, a larger, more powerful, brown version of the triceratops-like Monochromon, heaped giant waves of snow at them. Jun could tell that Rosa was becoming frustrated because Curtis and Taps kept melting the snow away before it could actually reach them.

Pings and Terence were sneaking up on the perturbed duo from behind. Terence had smartly decided to remain in their champion form of Frigimon instead of digivolving Pings to the giant teddy bear-ish Monzaemon. Jun knew that though this move had an obvious tactical advantage, it was equally motivated by Terence's constant complaints that his ultimate level partner was "too damn cute."

Next, Jun saw Kuri speeding along the ground weaving between everyone alongside Peko in her Prairiemon form. The two hadn't been able to digivolve to ultimate because of Peko's unique digital makeup, but Professor Nai had told them it was still quite possible they'd be able to warp to a mega form someday, and that armor digimon were just about ultimate level anyway, so it wasn't too bad. Jun was proud of the way Kuri had handled this bit of news, taking it in stride and not blaming herself for it. Since her and Davis' Tyrannomon adventure months ago, she had really matured a lot.

Sparks leapt up onto the windowsill beside Jun and looked out at the action below.

"Man, glad we're not out there." He muttered.

"Are you being sarcastic?" Jun asked, knowing her digimon was always one for having fun.

"Nope, I'm serious. Who wants to go out there and get their fur all cold and wet? Even if I digivolved to GrappLeomon, it would still be annoying. Plus I want to see if you can pull this thing off with Gennai. I've got plans too y'know."

"Sure you do." Jun smiled, reaching over and scratching her partner behind the ears.

Suddenly, a figure floated over to their window and hovered just feet away. Jun recognized it immediately. She picked up her digivice when it began to vibrate.

"Tai!" She greeted. "What are you doing over here?"

"I just wanted to see how you were doing." He said. "I can't come any closer or I'll automatically devolve and fall out of the air, thanks to Willis."

Jun nodded. "Where's Metalgreymon?"

Tai shrugged. "I dunno. He's such a slow flyer, I just left him taking on a bunch of girls over by the lake."

"Tai, that doesn't sound very leader like."

"Yeah, well I'm taking a break. I'd hope everyone could get along fine in a snowball fight without me."

Jun laughed.

"So," Tai continued. "Have you talked to Gennai yet?"

She shook her head. "No, he hasn't arrived yet."

"Well, when he does get there, I hope you can convince him to go along with your plan. These constant training exercises are getting tiring. And the briefings are wearing on everyone's resolve."

"Yeah, tell me about it." Jun pointed out of the window at the spectacle behind him. "That's the kind of insanity that happens when you work people too much."

To tell the truth, Jun would've been out there too if she wasn't currently waiting on the academy's headmaster. She wasn't any more immune than anyone else to their recent cycles of constant training sessions and briefings. The briefings were what wore on her more than anything else. Every few days all the academy students would be called to the auditorium so that they could be given the latest intel reports on the actions of the conglomerate of rich businessmen and unseemly characters who were positioning themselves for world dominance and using the digital world as a dark means to accomplish their goals. These sessions usually lasted anywhere from one to four hours, and were really draining as it made the work the Knights had to do upon leaving the academy seem almost insurmountable. It also shook Jun's faith in mankind because, not only were the men planning evil deeds, but it seemed they only needed to pay off high ranking government officials to avoid prosecution. That any man would willingly help bring about his world's demise for the sake of profit was a very depressing thought to her.

"Hey, you okay?" Tai asked.

Jun snapped out of her reverie. "Yeah, I'm fine." She noticed something outside the window, past Tai. "But you won't be."

"What?"

"Here comes Kuri."

"What are you-"

Tai was cut off as a well-aimed snowball spattered into the back of his head.

"Oh, I'm so going to kill her." He said, turning around. Tai briefly glanced back to Jun and wished her good luck before taking off back into the fray.

Jun smiled and walked back to her armchair. It wasn't much longer before the main doors to the rec room opened and Gennai stepped through. The old man smiled and walked over to her, his arms outstretched. Jun stood up and hugged him before he sat beside her in an adjacent chair.

"So, my most intuitive student, what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Well, um…, I'm not sure where to start."

"The beginning is what I always use."

"Okay. Well, it's like this. This term's halfway point is coming up in a few days. The last couple of terms, we've had the combines at this point and well, I was wondering…what do you have planned this time around?"

Gennai looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well, Professor Nai has suggested we have a more extensive briefing. Of course, Sensei Enn wants you to go through an even more brutal than usual training exercise-"

"See, that's what I was afraid of."

"I beg your pardon?"

"With all due respect, Gennai. We just can't take anymore of this. All these training exercises and briefings are really beginning to wear everyone down. In short, everyone's getting burned out on all of this. We really need some sort of break to boost morale."

Gennai nodded slowly in understanding.

"All right, let's say you do. What is it that you suggest?"

"Well, I was thinking, maybe we could have some kind of celebration. You know, we've been here for eight months now. Even though we'll all be technically a year older when we leave here, the world won't recognize us as such, and thus we haven't recognized birthdays. We don't have holidays because the seasons and days here are, well, different, to say the least." She paused and tried to judge Gennai's reaction. The man was utterly unreadable however, and just continued to sit and listen to her talk.

"So, I figured we should have some kind of, well, holiday of our own."

"A holiday?"

"Yes, specifically a Christmas themed one, seeing what the realm currently looks like. Or maybe just a holidays, winter solstice type thing, considering all the different cultures we have represented here. I've been planning it all out for a while now actually. There'll be a dance type party, perhaps some traditional gift giving the next morning. Just something to give everyone a sense of relaxation and refresh them a bit."

Gennai calmly folded his hands on his lap and looked at the girl acutely. "So, what you're saying is, you'd like to, for a short while at least, forego your responsibilities as Knights in training, delay your extensive combat exercises, and ignore our intelligence gathering, for the sake of having an extended party?"

Jun squirmed nervously in her seat. "Well, when you put it that way-"

"It sounds wonderful!"

"What?"

"You're absolutely right Jun. You all do desperately need some type of break. If there's one thing I remember from my days being trained as a guardian, it's that too much training can lead to apathy on the part of the students. Why, I had a friend back in those days, who absolutely abhorred our instructors."

Jun favored her elder with a curious smirk. "Gennai, I've never heard you speak of your days as a guardian in training. There were more of you back then?"

"Yes," Gennai answered, a wistful quality in his voice. "That was back before our ranks were devastated by the forces of darkness, leaving me alone. I believe that KiAdjae, the friend I was speaking of, is still around however. He left us some time before most of the fighting started in earnest. I sincerely hope to find him one day."

A somber beat passed before Gennai arose from his chair and clapped his hands together. "But I digress. I'm sure you have plans for your holiday celebration already?"

Jun, still absorbed in the somewhat depressing mood of his tale, nodded absently.

"Good. I'll give you the rest of the week off and call an assembly to inform the students. I suppose you should talk to Digitamamon and set up the catering for the party and perhaps speak with a certain friend of yours with regards to the musical entertainment."

Jun finally smiled and stood up. "Thank you Gennai." She said, impulsively hugging him again. "This will do everyone a world of good."

"I believe you may be right, Jun. Well, except for Enn of course, who won't take it well when he's informed of this development."

"Yeah, I'll um, let you handle that one."

Gennai chucked. "I suppose you should."

* * *

**Days Later **

Davis braced himself as Kuri came at him once again. She was a whirling dervish of kicks, punches, and flips that didn't stop until she finally caught Davis with a leg sweep that brought him crashing to the ground.

"Not bad at all." She said. "You stood up longer than anyone else I've done this with."

Davis grunted as he lay back on the ground. "I hate these defensive drills." He complained. "I mean, whose idea was this, just standing there and blocking while someone throws endless swings until you finally fall. What kind of exercise is that?"

"It's supposed to condition us to fight for the long haul and not always look for the quick knockout."

"Well, I'd much rather look for the quick knockout and fail than be put through this torture."

Kuri scoffed. "As if you'd ever be able to take me down."

Davis gave her a cross glare and struck out with a leg, cleanly catching between Kuri's feet, and pulled her down so that she landed on top of him.

"What was that, again?" He asked smugly.

Kuri picked up her face from his chest and glared at him. "A sucker sweep? That's just low, Davis. Even for you."

"Yes, well I try."

"Oh, yeah?" Kuri quickly reacted, leaping up and straddling his torso before rearing back with a fist. "Then try this."

Davis reached up and deflected the punch as it zoomed towards him. The forward momentum of the missed swing caused Kuri to fall forward onto her hands, her face coming to a stop just inches away from his. Davis looked up at her and smiled as her ponytail hung freely to one side, the hairs wispily tickling his cheek.

"Nice try." He said softly, absently, as he unexpectedly began to slip into the jade green depths of her eyes. Her smile in response conveyed the same timidity that he was feeling at their close proximity to one another.

"I. Um…" She hovered over him, warming him slightly with every breath, drifting closer with each passing second.

Davis, sensing something right about the moment, reached up with one hand and gently began to brush a few stray hairs away while stroking her face. Kuri arched into his caress for about half a second before suddenly flushing with color and leaping to her feet.

"I, uh, Davis, we should-"

A shout came from around the corner to interrupt her. Seconds later, Jonathan entered the gym.

"Here you guys are. Jun is looking for you. She wants you to help with the decorations in the rec room." He smiled as he looked at them. "I see you're having a hard time of it Davis."

"Yeah," he replied despondently, before catching himself. "Wait, what?"

"Well, it's a simple matter of deduction. You're lying on the floor and Kuri isn't-"

"Jonathan," Kuri interrupted. "Tell Jun we're on our way."

The British digidestined nodded dutifully and exited the room.

Kuri turned back to Davis after he left. "Well, I guess I'll see you up there in a bit then. I'm gonna go grab a shower first."

With that, she quickly walked across the room and exited without so much as a look back.

Davis allowed his head to fall back to the ground with a thump and groaned. It had happened again. He and Kuri had somehow gotten into the position of becoming much more intimate than simple friends should be, and once again she had bailed before anything had actually happened. Over the past month, this scenario had played itself out many times, and always left Davis flummoxed and hoping their friendship hadn't been damaged in the process. He'd never been the one to initiate these encounters. Though part of Davis had been looking at Kuri in a much different light for a while now, he could still find a measure of contentment in just being her friend. Truth to tell, Davis had never really expected to be anything more to her. Though she was his friend, in the back of Davis' mind, Kuri had an unattainable quality that he'd never seen in a girl he was interested in before, namely Kari.

Whereas Kari was very cute and amiable to most, Kuri was stunningly beautiful and always had something of an edge to her personality. For Davis, the combination caused part of him to be unreasonably intimidated by any romantic possibilities with her. This was partly why he'd never made any overtures towards her, in addition to not wanting to ruin their friendship. It was always Kuri that got him in some kind of compromising position that made him act against his better judgment. And it was always her that left him as he was now, alone and confused. But Davis knew that it wasn't entirely Kuri's doing. He was all too willing to be caught in such positions. All too willing to believe that each time would end differently than before.

With a sigh, Davis picked himself up from the ground and trudged towards the gym doors. Sooner or later, he was going to have to figure this damn thing out.

* * *

Clara hummed along with a soothing melody as Terence played it out on his laptop. The tune twisted and turned in its direction, touching every note on the musical scale, and Clara managed to expertly match its every nuance, even finding time to smile at her boyfriend as he watched her with pride.

When the song ended, Terence closed the program on his computer and turned to her.

"I think you're ready." He said.

"Huh? Ready for what?"

"To perform with me tomorrow night at the party."

"What?!" Clara walked over to his bed and sat down beside him. "Are you crazy? Terence, I'm not ready for that."

"Yes you are." He insisted. "You've been ready to share your voice with the world for a while now."

"In your opinion."

"Well, yes. But what's your opinion, then?"

"That you're the singer and I'm not."

"Clara-"

"Terence, you can't really expect me to be able to get up on stage and sing in front of everyone here."

He raised a brow. "You've sung in front of crowds before."

"Oh please." She appraised his sincerity with a frown. "Don't tell me you can't tell the difference between singing with a choir in front of a church congregation and alone in front of a bunch of boisterous battle-trained teenagers."

He laughed. "Of course I can. But I don't think this is beyond you. Hell, I don't think there's anything you can't do."

"Terence-" Clara was caught between appreciating his statement and calling it the stupidest thing she'd ever heard.

"Clara, you can't just ignore the fact that you have some serious talent in that voice of yours. How long are you just going to keep it a secret, never seeing how far it can take you?"

"I-I don't know. It's just that I've never done anything like that before."

"Neither had I before my first time, but I knew that I would have to if I ever wanted to see how far I could go as a singer."

Clara remained silent, struggling internally with the sense he was making and her own fears. Terence reached out and took her hand.

"I'll be up there with you, you know. Every step of the way. You don't have to do much. How about a duet with the both of us?"

Clara brightened at that possibility. "Really? You would sing with me?"

"Of course. If you want me to."

That possibility sounded infinitely better to the Mexican digidestined. "Well, in that case, I think I'll do it."

"Yeah?" Terence sidled up to her, placing an arm around her shoulders. "You will?"

"With you beside me, maybe there really isn't anything I can't do." She said mockingly.

"Okay, so maybe that did sound a little corny-"

Terence's digivice began to vibrate and he picked it up.

"Yeah?"

Jun's voice came through. "Terence, where are you and Clara? You're supposed to be helping me with these decorations."

"Oh, yeah, sorry Jun. I completely forgot about that. We're on our way."

"Thanks. And could you get Curtis and Rosa on your way? I think they're studying over there."

"God, who am I? Benson?"

"Terence."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll get them. See you in a few minutes."

"See ya."

Terence pocketed his digivice and turned to Clara with a shrug. "Looks like we have some traditional psuedo-Christmas manual labor to attend to."

* * *

Rosa sat across from Curtis on the sofa in the main room of the boys' dorm. She pressed a few keys on the laptop in front of her and turned it to face him. Curtis contemplated the picture on the screen a few seconds before responding.

"Oliver St. Francis. French intelligence agent. Went missing approximately three years ago. Worked heavily with D-Cells in western Europe before it's suspected he defected and joined a consortium of former agents and mercenaries working for a major Eastern based financial backer believed to be seeking out a method of forcing Human-digimon bonding."

Rosa turned the screen back around and with a few clicks, checked his answer. Her eyes widened as she did.

"Wow, Curtis. You're on fire today. Exactly right. Okay, my turn."

Curtis turned his own laptop to face her. Rosa looked at the image on it and twisted her face up in concentration for a few seconds before answering.

"Erika Chavez?"

Curtis nodded. "Go on."

"She um, is the heiress to Chavez cosmetics. When her father died, she put most of their money into several untraceable offshore accounts. We think she's using to money to fund some type of digimon capturing scheme, right?"

"Good job, you got it."

Rosa breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay, back to you." She turned her laptop to face him once again.

Curtis considered the image on it darkly for a moment.

"The Assassin." He said. "Believed to have several aliases. Kevin Atkins, Kyle Anderson, Kiev Aleksei, et cetera. Known to have carried out several murders that have advanced the cause of those who would wish to use the digital world and its technology for evil means. Has changed his appearance cosmetically several times to escape detection and/or arrest."

Rosa looked down at her lap. "I don't like to talk about that one." She said quietly.

"Me neither." Curtis agreed. "I still can't believe all the stuff they say this guy did."

"I know. I always thought that plane crash with all those digital world preservation activists on board in Russia was an accident, but according to this guy's file…"

"And the list of government officials who were pushing protective legislation that he got to. It's unbelievable."

"And every time, the media reported it as something completely different than the truth."

"Of course they did. The same people who hired this guy to kill their opponents probably own many media outlets, or have close ties to people that do."

Rosa shook her head. "It's all so scary."

Curtis reached out and snapped both of their computers shut. "Then let's think about something else, shall we?"

Rosa smiled at him gratefully and he returned the look with a grin.

"So, you ready for Jun's big party tomorrow?" He asked.

"Yeah. I've always loved Christmas, so this type of party is just the thing for me." Her eyes flicked toward Curtis nervously. "You know, I heard there would be a lot of dancing. It's probably the kind of thing you, like, bring a date to or something."

"Oh, please don't start. You're starting to sound like Didi."

"The girl that braids your hair?"

"Yeah. She made me agree to go with her to this thing in exchange for her redoing my cornrows last week."

Rosa suddenly felt the need to clear her throat. "So, you um already have a date then?"

"Yeah, I guess." Curtis said ruefully. "I don't see why we can't all go to this party by ourselves. People always want to turn things into big productions, y'know."

She nodded weakly. "Yeah."

"So what about you? Has anyone roped you into going with them?"

"N-well, yes, actually." Rosa paused, something occurring to her. "Naji asked me to go with him."

"Your combine opponent?"

She nodded. "Yeah, he's really sweet too. He acts like such a gentleman around me."

"I'm sure." Curtis said curtly, unsure why Rosa's statement perturbed him.

At that moment Terence and Clara came down the dorm staircase and walked over to them.

"Come on." Terence beckoned. "Jun wants us to come help her decorate the rec room. Time to spread holiday cheer and all that crap."

Curtis and Rosa promptly got up and the four exited together.

* * *

The rec room was abuzz with activity when the quartet arrived. Students ran this way and that, boxes of ornaments and bundles of lights in their arms. Digimon were underfoot everywhere, also doing their part, when they weren't devouring the edible decorations such as candy canes and popcorn. In the background, a selection of modern, popular Christmas music was playing from a stereo set up near the main doors.

"It's about time you guys got here." Jun said when the four approached her. "As you can see, we've been pretty busy here."

"Yeah," Clara said. "This room looks a lot bigger with all the tables and arcade games gone."

Tai walked over at that moment and made an exaggerated show of rubbing his back. "Yeah, thanks for showing up in time to help with moving those things." He said sarcastically.

Terence smiled. "Well, we do what we can." He said, before turning to Jun. "So what do you need us to do?"

Jun pointed around the room. "Well, we're setting up four small Christmas trees in each of the corners, and one big one in the middle. Also, we're putting up signs, lights, and decorations along all of the walls. Mostly though, we're all just having a good time, so pick whatever you want to help with, and jump in."

As everyone headed off to find projects to join in on, Rosa looked around the room and tried to envision everything Jun had said. "Is there going to be enough room in here for the party after all that?" She asked.

Jun laughed. "Nope. That's why we're having it in the dining hall. The instructors are all helping me with the decorations down there. All except Sensei Enn of course, who apparently has better things to do."

"Figures."

"But enough about this. What about you? Have you gotten a date yet?"

"A date? What kind of question is that? Why would I need a date? What's wrong with just going to the party with friends?"

Jun shrugged. "Nothing. Just from the way you kept harping on it earlier, I figured you were bound to go with someone." She pretended to clear her throat while saying, "Most likely Curtis."

"Curtis?" Rosa balked. "Why would I want to go with him? He already has a date."

"Really, now?"

"Yeah, he's going with Diana. That girl who braids his hair." Rosa scowled in the direction of the Jamaican girl in question, who had joined Curtis in hanging tinsel across the room.

"And you're okay?' Jun asked concernedly.

"Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be? I have someone to go with too." She spotted someone familiar walking towards them with a box of decorations. "In fact, here comes my date now."

"But you just said-"

Rosa waived her off and walked up to Naji as he approached them.

"Hi Naji." She said, smiling at the lanky, Kenyan digidestined.

"Um, hello Rosa. I was just coming to ask Jun about-"

"Are you ready for our big date tomorrow?" She interrupted. "I know I am."

"Uh…what?"

"Don't be silly. You know, the party you asked me to go with you to?"

"Yeah." Naji eyed her suspiciously. "So, apparently hell has frozen over."

"What?"

"I believe that was the stipulation you set forth when I asked you-"

Rosa laughed nervously. "Oh stop it." She said before turning to Jun. "He loves to kid around."

She then grabbed the thoroughly confused looking Naji by the arm and dragged him away.

"What was that about?" Tai asked, having observed the entire spectacle behind Jun.

She frowned. "Trouble brewing."

"Hmm," Tai smirked as he began to piece the situation together. "I expect so."

In a corner of the room opposite them, Davis sat alone on a small sofa stringing kernels of popcorn onto decorative threads. He sighed forlornly as he did so, blowing a couple of the kernels onto the floor. Veemon and Peko, who were seated down there, picked them up and threaded them onto their own strands.

Veemon looked at his partner in worry. "I wonder what's wrong with him."

"It's nothing." Peko assured him. "He just misses Kuri. She gets the same way sometimes when Davis isn't around. Cheers right up whenever they get together, though."

"What? She's just in her room, not hundreds of miles away. Why would he miss her so much?"

Peko shrugged. "I dunno. It's just something Kuri does every once in a while. I don't understand it. When they get together and start talking, they'll be laughing and smiling in no time. Just watch."

No sooner had she spoken the words than the doors to the girls' wing opened and in walked Kuri, her hair still slightly damp from her recent shower. Every male head in the room turned to look upon her as she strolled across the room, a vision of beauty wearing a tight fitting t-shirt and capri jeans combo that really accentuated her svelte female form.

"Look at these guys." Tai muttered to Jun. "Like salivating wolves, they are. They all need to have their tongues rolled up and eyes gouged out."

Jun looked at him in amusement. "What is she, your new little sister or something?"

"What?"

"That's the same way you used to react when guys looked at Kari like that. Does this make Kuri your interim younger sibling?"

Tai shrugged. "If it gives me an excuse to slug any guy that tries to get too slick with her, fine with me."

Jun laughed. "As they say, the more things change…"

Davis was the first person to actually see Kuri enter the room, as he knew she was coming far before anyone else. He waited patiently as she walked over and plopped down on the sofa beside him. After she did, Peko jumped into her lap with a bowl of popcorn, plus needle and thread.

"You gotta work if you're gonna sit over here." The patamon said before leaping back down.

Kuri smiled and took the materials, then turned to Davis.

"Hey." She said.

"Um, Hi." He replied unsurely.

She glanced around at everyone's decorations. "Looks like you guys have been busy. Well, Veemon and Peko anyway. Your strand looks pitiful, Davis."

Davis looked down at his work. "Yeah, well, my mind has kinda been elsewhere."

Kuri faltered a bit when he said that, but recovered quickly. "As usual, right?" With a chuckle, she picked up a kernel and threw it at him nailing him directly in the forehead.

"Hey!" Davis rubbed the spot where it hit as if it'd hurt. He gave her an injured smile. "You're mean."

Kuri laughed as she ducked his attempt at retaliation. In no time, the two were involved in a boisterous popcorn war.

"See, I told you." Peko whispered to Veemon. "Every time."

* * *

Around the vast room, all the students were enjoying themselves in similar fashion. The Peterson twins were helping out Jonathan, each holding one of his legs as they hefted him up to place a star atop one of the trees. Nadia stood beside them, laughing out instructions as she watched her friend wobble precariously from side to side.

In another corner, Jason was giving out orders to his usual group as they decorated one of the trees. A few other students had gone over to join them, compelled by Jason's assertions that they were involved in some type of decorating competition against everyone else. Jun would have told them otherwise, but she wasn't about to discourage their spirit. That meant less work for her.

Across from them, Steve was decorating the top half of one good-sized tree, while many of the younger, shorter students helped him out by working on the bottom. This group was quite lively, singing along loudly with the different carols that played on the stereo as they worked.

At the fourth of the corner trees, Rosa, Curtis, Naji, and Diana all worked together. It was a somewhat awkward arrangement, to say the least.

Rosa shot a glare at Curtis' date as she finished up a conversation with him.

"-so tonight and tomorrow I'm probably going to be really busy styling everyone's hair. I probably won't get to see you until the actual party."

"Aww, isn't that too bad." Rosa muttered under her breath.

"What was that?" Naji asked, glancing at her as he hung a bulb ornament in one of the higher boughs of the tree.

"Huh? Oh, nothing." She moved closer to him and started speaking in a louder tone. "I was just thinking how great the party will be tomorrow. You know, with me and you there, the both of us, _together_."

Naji nodded slowly and cocked an eyebrow at her. "Thus the term, date. And I look forward to it as well."

Rosa smirked to herself, as she saw Curtis watching them intently out of the corner of her eye.

"Yeah, it should be a lot of fun." Diana added. "We'll all have a good time."

Rosa gritted her teeth and looked in another direction, wondering if that girl would ever shut up.

"You know, Didi," Curtis began slowly, looking at Rosa curiously for a moment. "I've always wondered why you don't speak with an accent, seeing how you're Jamaican."

"Well, technically I'm not really Jamaican-"

Rosa looked up suddenly, part of her irrationally hoping that sentence would end with the girl saying something like she was actually a blood-sucking alien from Jupiter wearing a human suit.

Diana continued. "I was born there and lived there for a short while, before my family moved to the Virgin Islands, where I've lived ever since."

"Really?" Curtis perked up. "So technically, you're American?"

Diana nodded.

"Hey, that's cool! I guess that makes us fellow citizens then."

"I guess so. It seems our fates were written in the stars, huh?"

As the two shared a laugh at that, Rosa rolled her eyes and shuffled over to the other side of the tree, to spare herself the torture of watching them interact further.

* * *

In the middle of the room, not too far from the mismatched group, Tai, Jun, Terence, Clara, Willis, and Keyan had set to work on decorating the largest tree. The group worked efficiently together, under Jun's direction, and were enjoying themselves immensely. Clara, in particular, happily hummed along with "Silent Night' as she carefully arranged strands on tinsel on various branches. Terence looked at her with a smile.

"Getting those pipes ready for tomorrow?" He asked her quietly.

"Don't remind me." She said, not taking her eyes away from her work.

He chuckled to himself. "You'll do fine, Clara. You'll see."

She shook her head. "Whatever. We'll find out tomorrow, I guess."

"What are you guys being so secret about over there?" Tai asked good-naturedly as he brought over a box of candy canes.

"Nothing," Terence answered quickly. At Clara's inquisitive look, he added, "It's a surprise."

"A surprise huh?" Tai took one of the candy canes out and began to unwrap it. "What kind of surprise?"

Jun walked over. "The kind you don't ruin by asking 20 questions about, I'm sure." She snatched the candy from Tai's hand and gently bonked him on the nose with it. "And quit eating all my decorations. It's bad enough with the digimon wasting them. Now you're all driving me nuts."

Willis laughed. "Then you don't want to look over there, Jun."

"What?" Jun looked in the direction Nai's understudy was pointing. What she saw both annoyed and amused her. Davis and Kuri were sitting on a small sofa against one of the walls laughing and surrounded by kernels of popcorn that seemed to have been carelessly tossed about.

"Why those little…"

Keyan preempted Jun's tirade. "They make quite the attractive pair, don't they?" She asked.

"I've been saying that for a while now." Tai grumbled. "I'm starting to doubt they'll ever be more than friends though. To be that close for this long and nothing to happen? That's crazy."

"Not exactly." Jun said, giving him a pointed stare. "The situation sounds rather familiar to me."

Tai smiled sheepishly. "But they're a little different from us, Jun. I mean, they're ridiculously close for friends. They don't do anything apart."

"I have to agree with Tai, there." Terence remarked. "Those two are beating around the bush big time."

Clara scoffed. "You're one to talk, Terence. Like you didn't 'beat around the bush' with me."

Terence frowned as Tai snickered at that.

"I must say, I agree with you guys." Jun confessed. "At first I believed that they were just close friends, but now…sometimes I get the feeling that there's more to those two than reaches the eye."

"I share Jun's inclinations." Keyan added. "There does appear to be more beneath the surface."

Tai put a finger to his lips. "I know what we could do."

Jun groaned. "Tai, I know that look. I didn't say we should _do_ anything. I was just making an observation."

"I know, but hear me out. What if we set the mood just right for them at the party? You know, get them out on the floor with a dance song, then quickly switch to a slower love song before they can react, that kind of stuff."

"Hey, that sounds like gold, man." Terence joined in. "I'll be controlling most of the music, so I could probably help you out there."

"And I know the perfect songs for us to play." Clara added.

Willis walked over to them. "Perhaps I could do something with the lighting…"

They all began to discuss in excited, hushed tones

Jun put a hand to her forehead in exasperation and Keyan rolled her eyes as the four formulated their plan.

* * *

"Jun's going to be pissed at us." Davis said ominously to Kuri as he looked at the mess of popcorn surrounding them.

Kuri smiled nonchalantly. "Guess I'll just have to tell her that you started it."

"If you do, I'll come back with the awesome response of 'did not' "

"And then I guess I'll say, 'Touché. You win this round, Motomiya,' and shake my fist at you in anger. "

After a moment of laughter, they both began to pick up the kernels and put them back in their bowls. After a while, Kuri looked up at Davis thoughtfully.

"So, this party looks like it's going to be something else, huh?" She asked.

"Yeah, when Jun gets her mind set on something like this, she usually does a really good job."

"Yeah." After finishing with the popcorn, Kuri picked up her needle and thread. "You know, the way people are talking, it's starting to seem less like a party and more like a dance."

"Yeah, I was thinking that, too."

Kuri sighed. "You know, I never really liked dances. Never went to one either."

Davis smiled. "I wouldn't figure that would be your kind of thing. Not that it was ever mine either."

"You don't like dances?"

"Well, I dunno. The concept is alright, but the way they usually worked out for me wasn't."

"What do you mean?"

"For one, at every school dance, I'd always ask Kari out. And every time, she would have me, her, and TK all go 'as friends.' Then they'd spend most of the night dancing away and having fun while I was on the sidelines."

Kuri looked surprised. "And you let them get away with that?"

"I always figured Kari didn't want to dance with me because I always got so nervous and clumsy around her." He shrugged. "I should've known better. Man, I guess I really looked like an idiot to them."

"Davis." Kuri said his name in a warning tone of voice.

"Yeah, I know. So, what about you? Why don't you like dances? And don't say it's because nobody asked you to go with them. I'm sure you got plenty of offers."

"I did. But, I don't know. It was just never my thing. It never felt right. I guess because most of those guys only wanted to go with me because of my looks. I mean, they obviously didn't know me. It made the whole thing seem so superficial. Maybe I just wanted more."

"I can understand that."

Kuri was quiet for a moment and strung a few kernels before continuing. "You want to know a secret, Davis? I'm not all that different from most girls. We all want a prince to come in and sweep us off our feet at some point. To have that kind of wonderful, night of our dreams that we tell our grandkids about years later. Sometimes, I think that by skipping on all those dances, that's something I missed out on."

Davis shook his head. "You didn't miss anything." He said. "I went to every one of those things and I never had a princess at my side, nor, anyone who ever saw me as a prince." He chuckled. It was a regretful, I-was-such-a-fool type of laugh. "And they definitely weren't anything I'd want to tell my grandchildren about. I…sometimes I just wish-"

Davis stopped there and stared down at his hands.

Kuri watched at him with sorrow. She didn't have to look at him to feel the pain that the memories caused him, but it helped to put the powerful emotions in context and perspective. Sometimes she just couldn't understand how Kari could've been so cruel. Just bluntly crushing his hopes early on would've been much more preferable to the torture she put Davis through as she led him on for years. Davis didn't deserve that. He wasn't some kind of jerk. Sure he had his flaws, like everyone, but as far as Kuri was concerned, he was the kindest, most caring person in her life and she'd never felt closer to anyone she'd ever known.

She reached over and gently touched his hand. "You can't let the past get to you like this. Davis, if you're not a prince, you're the closest thing I've ever seen. Don't let the stupid things Kari and TK did back then affect the way you look at yourself now."

Davis only seemed marginally encouraged by her words. An idea suddenly struck her.

"We should go together, just like a dance. Then you can go with someone that actually does see you as a prince. Though I'm not sure if you think I'm much of a princess."

"Are you kidding?" Davis exclaimed, her words bringing him out of his funk like a thunderbolt. "You're everything I think a princess should be. You're beautiful, smart, funny. You have the most interesting personality I think I've ever seen. And you mean more to me now than Kari ever did. Kuri, if I could ever be considered a prince by anyone, seriously, it's only with you at my side. I mean-" he sighed, taking one of her hands in his. "Over our time here you've almost become a part of me. I know you feel it as much as I do. Just about everything that I am now is influenced by you. So I guess what I'm saying is, remember that whatever you see me as is as much a product of you as it is me. If you see me as a prince, then you are most definitely the counterpart."

Kuri was speechless.

"Davis, I didn't- Is that the way you really feel about me?"

Davis was going to nod in affirmation when he suddenly realized exactly what he'd just said. There was certainly much more than overtures of simple friendship in that exposition of feelings he'd just given her. But what could he have done differently? Kuri always did that to him. If there was one thing Davis couldn't stand, it was when she began to doubt herself. He didn't have a choice. Whatever it took to let her know just how valuable she really was, he was willing to do, even if it meant confessing his deepest feelings. Davis closed his eyes and took a deep breath. She was still waiting for an answer.

"Yeah," he replied. "I-I guess so. I mean-I'm sorry if I said the wrong thing. It wouldn't be the first time."

"No- no, you didn't say anything wrong. Everything you said sounded so…perfect."

There was something amiss in her voice, almost as if she didn't want it to sound as good as it did.

"Yeah?"

"It did." She put her decorating tools aside. "Davis, words like those, people like me don't plan on hearing in our entire lives." She moved closer to him, very close as the sofa wasn't that big, and peered deeply into his eyes. It wasn't a gaze of infatuation, but rather one of searching, as if she was looking for some type of answer or understanding there. She reached out and gently touched his face, tracing a finger along his strong jaw line.

Davis wasn't sure what to do. Part of him wanted to reach out and embrace Kuri, but he held back as something in her demeanor was just, well, weird.

"I know what I mean to you, Davis." Kuri confessed. "How could I not? I can feel it. I know we don't really like to talk about it much, but I'm sure our connection works the same way within you as it does me. I know what almost happened down in the gym a little while ago, and many times before then. We keep coming so close. It's getting harder and harder for me."

Davis heart had jumped into his throat at this point and was thumping madly like the blades of a helicopter.

"What are you saying, Kuri?" He asked in a timid manner, swallowing dryly.

She stood up, suddenly. "I'm saying that we can't do this. I can't be what you want me to be." Her eyes were watering a little. "I don't know how. It…it would only end badly."

With that, she turned and began to quickly stalk towards the girl doors.

* * *

Davis' shout for Kuri to wait alerted Jun first. She looked up from the garland arrangement she was creating to see her brother standing and shouting futilely as the girl whose name he was calling out continued to walk briskly away from him.

"Kuri, what's going on?" Jun asked as she walked past her.

"Nothing, I'm fine. Don't follow me, okay Jun?" Kuri answered as she walked over to, and exited the girls' doors without so much as a look in her direction.

Jun looked after her worriedly for a moment before a sudden shout from Davis grabbed her attention and she turned to see him punch the sofa he was sitting on in frustration before getting up and beginning to pace.

"Tai-"

"Yeah, I'll talk to him." Her love said, reading her thoughts before she fully articulated them.

"Thanks." Jun put down the piece she was working on and was just about to go after Kuri when a hand grabbed her shoulder.

"Stay here." Keyan told her authoritatively. "You have much work to do and they need your direction. I will go and talk to her."

Jun was about to protest, but after seeing the determination in Gennai's apprentice's eyes, thought better of it.

"Okay," She gave in. "Good luck."

"Thank you. I may need it." Keyan remarked apprehensively before turning and leaving.

With some trepidation, Jun watched as she exited through the doors to the girls' wing and Tai led Davis through those leading to the boys'.

* * *

"Tai, I can't do it anymore!" Davis exclaimed as soon as the door shut behind them.

Tai put a steadying hand on his shoulder. "Davis, calm down. Now, what are you talking about? You can't do what anymore?"

"Look, you're right okay. I've been feeling…different about Kuri. I have for a while now."

Tai smirked as his long-held suspicions were confirmed. "Really now?"

"Yes. I suppose you know what it's like, falling for your best friend. You've done it twice."

"Well, I guess."

"It's just…" Davis took a deep breath and raised his hands, then allowed them to fall to his sides with a sigh. "I love her, Tai."

Tai looked genuinely surprised at that. "Whoa, Davis. Pull it back there. The L word is pretty strong if you're not in a relationship. Take it from me. What I felt for Sora was like one billionth of what I feel for Jun, yet I called it love. Trust me, there's a lot you two still don't know about one another that you'll only learn in a relationship."

"Tai, this is different from you and Sora. Kuri and I know absolutely everything about each other. We spend every moment of every day together."

"I'll give you that last part," the elder digidestined conceded. "The few times that I see one of you alone, you're usually still looking for each other. But that just means you're best friends, not in love."

Davis shook his head. "I didn't say we were in love. I said I love her. I'm not quite sure how she feels about me."

Tai nodded and waited for him to continue.

"We have this unreal connection, Tai. Both of us can feel it, but at times it's so powerful it's almost too creepy for us to talk about."

"Oh come on, Davis. I know your shields have reacted to each other a few times. How 'creepy' can that be?"

"Tai, you don't know the half of it. Sure, we've told you about the big things our shields have done, but there are other little things, such as the fact that I always know when she enters a room, no matter what I'm doing."

Tai shrugged. "That's nothing unusual. I feel the same thing with Jun."

"No, Tai. This is different. I _feel_ her when she walks into a room, whether I want to or not. It's so strong that if I were asleep, this feeling would actually wake me up. Seriously. That's actually happened before. But that's not the only thing I can sense. I can also tell when she's happy, sad, angry, hurt- all I have to do is concentrate. For instance," Davis closed his eyes for a moment, "right now I can tell that she's angry and…" His eyes opened again and a nonplussed look came over his face, "confused."

Tai frowned. "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

"See Tai, this is the part that puzzles the hell out of me. Through all of that, I also can feel how much she cares for me." Davis walked over to a wall and leaned back against it, directing a blank stare at the ceiling. "Ever since I started being able to sense her emotions, this has always been the strongest one."

"Hmm," Tai leaned against the wall on the opposite side of the hallway, arms crossed as he considered Davis's words. "So, then where does that leave you?"

"I'm not sure. The way our shields are tied together…maybe we're like TK and Kari."

Tai frowned again. "But it took them years to realize how they really felt about each other."

Davis gave him a pained look. "Oh, come on, Tai. Let's not kid ourselves. Those two were gonna be with each other from day one. All I ever did was get in the way."

"Davis-"

"It's okay Tai. I'm over it. Kuri helped me with that."

"You're completely over it?"

"For the most part, yes. Though they could've handled the situation better…"

Tai smiled. That was more of the fighting spirit he knew Davis to possess.

"But that's beside the point. What I know is that the connection between their crests was a big part of what brought them together."

"And you believe that you and Kuri's connection may work the same way?"

"Even more so. Our connection makes TK and Kari's look like- I dunno, like tin cans and string in comparison."

Tai nodded slowly, figuring he'd heard enough to give counsel. "Well, Davis. The only advice I can give you then is that if you really feel this strongly about Kuri and your connection, then in some way she probably feels the same about you. You have to realize, that can be a scary thing for someone like Kuri. Don't push her. She needs to handle it at her own pace. If she means that much to you, then you can wait for her to come to terms with it. Just be there for her and cherish her as a friend for now."

"The voice of experience, eh?"

"Exactly." Tai gave a small chuckle. "But you know how that goes."

"Yeah." Davis nodded absently and began to turn around and head down the hall, away from the rec room.

"Wait, where are you going? You're not coming back?"

"Nah, I'm pretty sure she isn't. Why should I?"

"How do you know she isn't- oh, right." Tai watched despondently as Davis continued down the hall disappeared around the corner when he reached their room. "I'll help you out with this tomorrow, Davis." He vowed. "We all will."

* * *

Kuri heard the expected footsteps approaching her as she sat on a bench in the middle of the girls' hall.

"I'm fine, Jun." She said, trying to keep her voice even. "Don't worry about me."

"I am not Jun. And I cannot help but to worry."

Kuri turned around in surprise. "Keyan?"

"Yes." She sat down beside her. "Would you mind talking with me?"

"About what?"

"About you and Davis, and the way you stormed away from him a few minutes ago."

Kuri looked at the young guardian, then glanced back at the door behind them, before finally allowing her gaze to rest on the floor. When she finally spoke, her voice was emotional and shaky. "I don't want to hurt him Keyan. I don't mean to. I could never do anything like that to Davis."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean…every time I-I want to be something more to him…" She sighed and gave no signs of continuing.

"Want to be something more to him? What does that mean?" Keyan patiently waited while Kuri took her time to answer.

"I mean, I've been feeling differently about him for a while now. I feel like… like I want to be more than just friends with him."

"Well, you two are very close. Those feelings are only a natural progression of your friendship. I would be more concerned if you did not have such thoughts."

"Yes, well, I'm having them. And I believe he is too."

"Then where lies the problem?"

"Keyan, I can't keep fighting this. I've never felt anything so strong in my life. I couldn't stop thinking about Davis this way if I wanted to. And I _don't_ want to. I want to be with him more than I've wanted anything in my life before. I mean, I can _feel_ him Keyan. When we're not together, it's like part of me, hell, half of me, is missing." She shook her head, too distraught to revel in the fact that she was finally able to tell all of this to someone.

"I know people have said that our shields are connected, and that may be a big part of why I feel this way, but I believe there's still so much more to it. From the first time we ever really talked, I knew I felt something in Davis that I hadn't in anyone else before. The way he's cared for me from the start-"

"Forgive the interruption, Kuri, but I fail to see how all this is something that you would fight. It sounds as if you've been fortunate enough to come upon true love."

"I fight it because, I don't want to hurt him. I've seen him hurt before. I don't want to be the one to bring that kind of pain and heartbreak to him once again."

"Why do you believe you would hurt him?"

Kuri sighed again before getting up and beginning to pace. "Look, I've learned a lot in the past months. I've had many of my ideas about who I am and what I'm capable of changed drastically over our time here. I know now that I am capable of love and compassion as much as the next person. I've also learned that I no longer have to go through things alone, that I have many friends who share some of my same thoughts and fears and can help me through them. The one thing I haven't learned, however, is how to repress years of training in how _not_ to have a working relationship out of my mind."

Keyan gave her a mild look of confusion. "I'm not sure I understand."

"My parents, the people who raised me to be the person I am, have practically hated each other for years now. They've never gotten along, to the point that they chased my brother away to Australia. I used to partly blame myself for his leaving, but I now know it was them. The same as it was them that chased me into coming here." Kuri paused briefly in thought. "I guess that last part worked out okay. Still, their marriage could be described as nothing more than a disaster, and I don't know why they continue with it, besides convenience. My point is, I learned everything I know about relationships from them. I know the arguing, the posturing, and the vindictive shouting very well. If I ever got into anything serious with Davis, it would only be a matter of time before it devolved into something like that. It's all I know. And I don't think he deserves to be hurt that way."

Keyan looked incredulous at Kuri's revelation. "I've heard many foolish excuses from people who were afraid of change, but none that truly rivaled this."

Kuri turned on her quickly. "That's easy for you to say. People that come from typical families, with parents who actually love each other could never understand this."

"Well, then, I should have no problem then. My parents both died long ago, when I was just a small child."

Kuri gasped, taken aback at her words. "Keyan, I'm so sorry. I didn't know-"

"I would not expect you to. It was an automobile accident, and as I said, it was long ago. I have learned to deal with it."

Kuri was speechless. She sat back down on the bench, not knowing what to say next.

"But from my experience," Keyan continued, "a lesson can be learned. Though my parents perished in such a manner, I have still managed to learn to drive and do so often. And although I was never afforded the chance to see them interact, I still chose to pursue a relationship with Willis, as you and your group of friends somehow seem to know. It didn't matter to me that I never got to observe my parents and how they operated before I made these decisions. They are my decisions to make and my life to live. My future is not shaped by those who gave me life. I am not genetically disposed to fail or succeed in romance, or pass away at a relatively young age. I am who I am, and they were who they were. Neither determines the other. And I believe that deep within you this is something which you already know."

Kuri did not confirm or deny her claim, instead choosing to simply look at the floor in contemplation. Keyan placed a hand on her shoulder.

"It is not uncommon to be afraid of change. I sense that the feelings you have within you are the likes of nothing you have ever felt before. Do not fear them. From what you have told me, it appears that you have an opportunity to be a part of one of the greatest experiences of a lifetime. Do not let it pass because of your fears."

Keyan stood up, apparently finished, and turned to leave.

"Wait!" Kuri quickly got up before she could go and stepped in front of her. "Thank you," She said, opening her arms and bringing the girl into a fierce hug. It was an uncommon show of affection for her, to say the least, but she felt it absolutely necessary. "You've really helped me to see some things I should have before."

"I am glad I could be of some service to you and your troubles." As they broke apart, Keyan held her hand and gave it a comforting pat. "Will you be accompanying me back to the recreation room now?"

"Ah, no." Kuri said uncertainly. "I still have some things to figure out…plans to make. I want to do this right."

Keyan gave her an understanding nod. "Very well, then. I suppose I will see you later then."

Kuri nodded. "Yeah, later."

Keyan gave a small smile before turning and leaving. After watching her go, Kuri began to brood over the challenge that now lay before her.

* * *

That night, well after all the decorating was finished and the academy had slipped into slumber, Davis still squirmed about uncomfortably in his bed. His heart was still beating like a jackhammer. His face felt hot, his hands clammy. There was just so much left unresolved with Kuri, he couldn't put it out of mind for even the few minutes he needed in order to fall asleep. He was afraid. Afraid that in some way he might lose the one thing he cared about most in the world after this night. Afraid that the way Kuri saw him tomorrow would be radically different because of the events of today. Davis only wanted some semblance of influence, of control, in the situation. He only wanted to know that before Kuri made any final decision regarding him and their relationship, he'd had a fair say in the matter.

Something in the room began to beep persistently. Davis sat up quickly and started to search for the source of the noise. He got out of bed and began fumbling through his nightstand in the darkness for the confusing sound he couldn't recall ever hearing before. After a while, he uncovered his digivice and he placed it to his ear. No, that wasn't it. He rooted around some more and soon enough came up with his badge and shield. Strangely, the sound seemed to be emanating from them. Davis examined his shield closely. It seemed perfectly normal, with its whitish gold color and symbol of Miracles emblazoned on the front. It wasn't glowing or changing in the slightest. That only left one thing… The badge! Of course! It also functioned as a d-terminal. He unsnapped and opened the small black rectangle and the beeping got even louder. Davis had only ever used the device during their first day in Laws. Between then and now, he'd forgotten the thing even existed. He pressed a button and the small screen changed, taking on a chat format. There was already a message there. It read:

**Compassionate Knight says: I'm sorry about earlier. I would still like you to be my prince tomorrow, if you'll have me.**

Davis couldn't help but let a giddy smile cross his face. He worked his fingers over the tiny keyboard as fast as he could.

**Miraculous Knight responds: Of course I will. What is a prince without his princess?**

**Compassionate Knight is flattered. She says: I miss u. See you tomorrow night then? Meet in rec room?**

**Miraculous Knight says: I miss u too. Yeah, that sounds good to me.**

**Compassionate Knight says: Ok. I can't wait. :-) See you then.**

**Compassionate Knight has signed off.**

Davis turned the D-terminal off and let out a contented sigh. He wasn't sure what would happen between he and Kuri at the party tomorrow, but after tonight he at least knew that nothing would break their bonds of friendship. It was a good start. He got back into bed and quickly fell asleep.

_To be continued…_

* * *

Next up: **Holidays and Harbingers Part II** Find out if Davis and Kuri finally resolve their feelings for one another. Also, TK and Ken track down their spy. When they do, you won't believe what happens next. Everything's about to hit the fan.

As always, please review! Pretty please.


	12. Holidays and Harbingers Pt 2

Oh my god, Knights fans. I'm so sorry for this delay. I know I left most of you on the front end of something of a cliffhanger. I honestly had this written up over a month ago and planned to post it the weekend after I moved back to school. Well, in all the hustle and bustle I screwed up and broke the laptop I was writing this on. It was pretty old, so it's not too big a deal, but I had yet to put this chapter on disk. So, to make a long story short, I wound up writing this chapter all over again. I keep getting this nagging feeling that I've left something out, but I honestly don't think I have. Anyway, I digress. Enjoy.

* * *

**Holidays and Harbingers Part II**

The day of the dance went by quickly for most, but for Davis it had been excruciatingly long. He'd done some working out with Tai, tried out some interesting new Laws assignments with Curtis, even played a few hands of poker with the digimon. He probably would've pestered Terence too had the singer been in the room and not downstairs in the dining hall setting up for his performance tonight. The girls had pretty much stayed to themselves most of the day, which only made things harder for Davis, since normally he'd have spent such down time with Kuri.

Now, having just taken a shower, he was rifling through his closet, looking for the proper attire for the party. Jun had recently sent out an academy wide email saying that in no uncertain terms should anyone treat this as some kind of prom. It was a party, a chance for them to relax, and they should look at it as such. She told them to dress casually, to better foster an atmosphere of "fun." Davis, just like the rest of the academy, had decided to completely ignore his sister's advice.

He finally found what her was looking for; a stylish outfit Terence had helped him pick out a few days ago using one of Willis' wardrobe design programs. Davis took the matching cream-colored slacks and jacket from their hanger and laid them beside his black, button up, silk shirt.

He nodded in approval. He had to give it to Terence; the guy's years in show business certainly gave him a flair for knowing what looked good. He set about putting the garments on and checked his watch once he'd finished. 7:45. Finally, it was almost time. Davis walked into the bathroom for a splash of cologne before heading downstairs. Down there, he met up with Tai, who was dressed in an inverse color scheme to Davis, with a white turtleneck replacing the silk shirt.

"Looking good." Davis complemented with a nod of approval.

"Likewise." Tai responded.

"Thanks. Where's Curtis?"

Tai shrugged. "He's still up there doing something or other."

Veemon came down the stairs then, flowed closely by Taps, Pings, and Agumon. All were wearing miniature suit jackets and bowties.

"You guys are going to the party too?" Davis asked.

"You sound surprised." Pings said.

"Yeah, Davis, do you think your party's too good for us or something?" Veemon added.

"No, but you guys never mentioned you were going."

"That's because we're not." Agumon said, adjusting his tie in a small mirror on the wall.

Tai seemed perplexed. "Then what's with the suits?"

"We've got our own event to go to." Taps said. "Sparks set it up."

"Why am I not surprised." Davis muttered with a roll of his eyes. "Well, I guess there aren't any cops here, so at least I know you guys won't be getting arrested."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Veemon asked indignantly.

"Nothing. I just don't think anything that can be described with the words, 'Sparks set it up,' can really be all that legal."

"That's not fair, Davis." Veemon protested. "You can't just judge him like that."

"I dunno." Agumon said. "Technically I don't think this would normally be legal, would it?"

Taps and Pings shushed him quickly. Davis looked at them suspiciously and was about to comment when Curtis finally came down the stairs and walked over to join them. He was wearing a shimmering blue silk shirt with tan slacks, but didn't really seem all that excited about the upcoming party.

"Hey Curtis, you okay?" Tai asked.

"No." The cornrowed boy answered truthfully. He gloomily shuffled his feet.

"Um, what's wrong?" Davis asked.

"I can't believe how stupid I've been. I'm a blind fool."

"Okaaay," Davis looked to Tai, who shrugged in response. "And what makes you say that?"

"I'm going to this dance with the wrong girl."

A look of understanding crossed Davis and Tai's faces at the same time.

"Is this about Rosa?" They asked simultaneously.

"Man, even you guys knew?" Curtis ran a hand over his face with a groan of shame. "I really have been dumb."

Tai grinned. "Of course we know you like Rosa. We tease you about it all the time. Hell, half the academy calls you two "Bonnie and Clyde," because the way you two are always sneaking around, getting in trouble together."

"Because _she_ goes around getting into stuff and I get dragged along for the ride, you mean." Curtis corrected. "But that's beside the point. What I mean is, I never knew she liked me too."

"Oh my god, Curtis." Davis exclaimed. "How obvious could she be? You'd have to be blind not to know that."

"You're one to talk." Tai mumbled.

Davis raised a brow. "What was that?"

"Nothing." He said quickly. "Look, Curtis, even though I'm pretty sure Rosa is interested in you. What makes _you_ say that?'

"It's the way she was acting last night. At first I was really annoyed that she was going to the party with Naji, for obvious reasons. But then I started noticing the way she was acting with him, only really talking and flirting with him when I was around or when me and Didi were talking to one another."

"So she's using him to make you jealous." Tai finished for him.

"Yeah. It was pretty obvious, even to me." Curtis shook his head. "Why couldn't she just tell me how she felt? I mean, look at me, all dressed up for a date I'm going on as a favor. I should be with Rosa. This would be the perfect kind of night to spend with her."

"Man, you might be young, but you've got it bad." Tai said with a grin. "Maybe you should be telling her all of this instead of us. There might still be a chance you can be together tonight."

"No, it's too late for that. It wouldn't be fair to Didi. I'm going to tell Rosa how I feel if I can, but in the end won't change who I go on this date with."

"Well, that's kind of bittersweet and all, but," Davis looked at his watch. "Isn't it about time for us to get going?"

"I suppose." Curtis agreed somberly. "Let's go."

* * *

When the three and their digimon entered the rec room, they were very surprised at the scene that greeted them. All around there were miniature tables set up with games of blackjack, roulette, craps, poker and a whole assortment of other gambling vices.

Sparks walked over to greet them, wearing a small bowtie and jacket like the other digimon.

"Hello gentlemen, welcome to the Knights Digimon Casino, where's everyone's always a winner...sometimes."

"Wow," Tai looked around, whistling his surprise. "You did a really good job with this, Sparks. Nice. Very nice." He began walking among the various tables, nodding impressively as he took it all in.

"Yeah," Davis agreed, "We had no idea you had all this planned."

"Well, I wanted to keep it a secret-"

"Because you weren't sure if Jun would approve," Tai finished for the Elecmon as he continued his impromptu tour of their setup.

"Well, yeah." Sparks admitted.

"Smart move." Tai said with a smile. "Speaking of Jun, where are she and the other girls anyway?"

Marta walked over to the group from where she had been, setting up a roulette table. "She and Clara went downstairs to help set up a few minutes ago. Rosa and Kuri should be here any moment now."

As if on cue, the girls' door opened right then and the two visions of beauty in question entered the room. Kuri was wearing a black, sheen dress that was very form fitting and did every one of her slender curves justice. Rosa was just behind her, wearing a strapless, powder blue number that really amplified the innocence in her features and accentuated her light caramel skin. Both girls wore their hair up in modified French twists, with curled tendrils hanging down in front.

"Close your mouths, boys." Tai whispered as he amusedly watched Curtis and Davis' reactions.

Davis was the first to recover from his stupor. Suddenly nervous, he walked over to Kuri. "Wow, K. You look...wow. You're beautiful."

To his surprise, she blushed a little. "Thank you Davis," she said, smiling abashedly. "You look nice too."

Rosa walked over to the equally stunned Curtis. "Hi." She said softly.

"Um, hey." He replied awkwardly. "That's – that's a nice dress." He wanted to slap himself at the clumsily delivered line.

"Thanks," She responded without missing a beat. "I like your shirt."

Curtis looked down at the shirt and suddenly felt somewhat underdressed. "Yeah, um, thanks." Unsure of exactly what to say next, he glanced over at Tai, who nodded and gave him a look of encouragement. Curtis got the hint and recomposed himself as best he could.

"Um, Rosa, do you think I could talk to you for a sec?" He asked.

She gave him a funny, suspicious look. "Yeah, okay."

With a light touch on her arm, he led her aside, away from the rest of the group.

"What's up?"

"So, are you really looking forward to going to this dance with Naji?"

She faltered for a moment. "What kind of question is that? Of course I am. You're looking forward to going with Diana, aren't you?"

"No."

"What? Why not? I thought you liked her and all."

"Yeah. I do, as a friend and hairstylist. But, to tell you the truth, there's someone else I would've rather gone to this with."

"Really? Who?"

"You should know the answer to that."

It took a moment of thought, and Rosa flushed with color and heat before venturing a guess. "Are you talking about...me?"

Curtis nodded slowly, smiling feebly as he cautiously tried to gauge her reaction.

She punched him in the shoulder.

"What do you mean, you want to go with me?" She exclaimed. "Why didn't you just ask me?"

He rubbed the spot and winced. "Because I didn't know how important the party would be. It became such a big production and turned into a date/dance thing so fast... at first I had just figured it was something everyone would go to and just hang out."

"And now that you know it's not, you wish you were going with me?" Rosa crossed her arms, her frustration at the situation drowning out any anxiety she felt at Curtis' sudden honesty. "Great timing."

"As if you asked me." Curtis scoffed. "Am I wrong in assuming that you don't want to go to the dance with Naji either?"

She ignored the question. "I was going to ask you, for your information. Last night, when we were studying."

"At the last minute? Why? What were you afraid of?"

"Nothing." Despite a defensive tone, Rosa seemed suddenly uneasy. She tried turning the tables. "What about you? What were you afraid of?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. I guess there was always the chance you would've said no."

A moment of silence followed the candid statement.

"Well," Rosa began. "I guess now you know I wouldn't have."

"Yeah. So what do we do now?"

She sighed. "What can we do? We already have our dates for tonight."

"True. I suppose we can just make the best of it and have a good time, for now. But we really need to talk about this whole situation later on."

At that moment, the doors to the girls' wing opened and in walked Diana. She looked stunning, wearing a flowing green dress lined at the bottom by beads of amber. Around her neck was a beautiful silver chain and an emerald, heart shaped, pendant. Her eyes lit up upon spying Curtis and she strolled over wearing a grin.

"Hi." She said, linking an arm with his. She looked him up and down. "You look cute."

"So do you." Curtis said, smiling also. He furtively glanced at Rosa before the two departed for the main door.

Rosa watched them go with a frown. Knowing what she did now, she felt no great jealousy or ill will towards Diana, but was instead irritated by the entire situation; to the point that when the door to the boys' wing opened and Naji walked in, she barely greeted him, giving only a cursory smile and nod before they exited together.

Kuri, Davis, and Tai watched the exchange, all wearing slight smirks of amusement at the awkward situation.

"Well, that's going to end well," Tai said with a chuckle before turning to the other two. "If you guys are ready, we can head down, now."

"All-right." Davis agreed. He offered an arm to Kuri, and she took it with a smile. Davis tried his best not to gawk at how perfectly angelic she looked on this night and instead maintained his composure as they walked toward the doors as well.

The hall was decorated beautifully when they entered. Giant wreaths adorned the walls, interspersed with silver ornament bubs and strings of white Christmas lights. Various other holiday decorations had been set up, much like in the rec room, and in every corner there was an exquisitely decorated tree, each glimmering as countless strands of red and gold tinsel perfectly reflected the lights running along the walls. Suffice it to say, the dining hall looked vastly different than usual. All the booths and tables had been removed, save a few that lined one side of the room, a large wooden dance floor had been laid, and a large stage was constructed near the rear of the expansive space. It was there that Jun stood, looking quite attractive in a red, low-backed dress and pearl necklace as she went over some last minute arrangements with Willis.

"So much for dressing casual." Davis muttered upon seeing her.

Kuri laughed. "Yeah, Clara pretty much convinced her to give up on that suggestion only minutes after she sent out that email to everyone."

"Can't blame her. People like to look good." Tai said. He began to move through the crowd, towards the stage. He glanced back at the two. "Look, I'll catch you guys later. I've got some, uh, things to discuss with some guys backstage."

Something in the look he flashed the couple gave Kuri the sneaking suspicion that those "things" somehow involved she and Davis. She put the thought aside and turned to address her date.

"So, my handsome prince, what do we do now?"

Davis looked back at her and smiled. He loved the feeling of Kuri being so close to him, their arms linked and hands clasped. Although he knew she looked absolutely gorgeous tonight, it was the feeling, the vibe between them that drew him to her all the more. She was happy, and as a result, Davis could feel the radiance of her joy.

"Well, generally I go and get refreshments and have a seat until things really get started."

"Sounds like a plan to me." She gave his hand a slight squeeze. "Lead the way."

The two gave one another nervous grins before turning and negotiating their way through the crowd.

* * *

A selection of up-tempo music continued to play in the background for a while, and though some couples got on the floor and danced, most were simply sitting and waiting for Terence's performance to finally begin. Curtis and Diana stood together at the edge of the dance floor, talking politely between sips from their drinks.

"...and so, that's why I can't get around the firewalls on our digital conversion servers?"

Curtis nodded. They were just finishing up a technical conversation about their latest Laws assignment.

"Yeah, I think it was something Willis put in to test us, see how far we've really come, you know?"

"Well, I guess I haven't really come as far as I should have, but I guess with some time, you can help me change that, huh?"

Curtis gulped. There was something in Diana's voice that gave the statement a lot more meaning than its actual wording entailed. He began to take an exaggeratedly long sip from his cup of punch and looked out across the hall. On the other side of the floor, he spotted Rosa and Naji. They seemed to be doing okay. They were having what seemed to be a pretty cordial conversation, though Rosa didn't seem to be paying as much attention as she could have been. She was looking around the room just as he was, and their gazes eventually locked for a moment. Curtis looked away quickly. He knew if he was going to enjoy this night at all, he was going to have to focus on his date at hand and not dwell on their situation. He'd have ample opportunity to deal with that later

Just then, the lights in the hall went down and a single spotlight shone on Jun, in all her glory. She smiled at everyone and cleared her throat to both get everyone's attention, and test the microphone which stood before her.

"Um, hello everyone. Are you guys enjoying yourselves so far?"

A loud chorus of cheers and "yeahs" went up in reply. A few shouts of thanks came up from those that remembered that it was her organizing this entire event that had kept them from enduring yet another boring briefing session or brutal training exercise.

"I'm glad to hear that. Well, without further ado, let's get to what you all have been waiting for." She took a moment to indulge herself as a buzz began to rise amongst the crowd. "Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Terence Dumars!"

The spotlight disappeared and for a moment the room was plunged into complete darkness. It reappeared seconds later, now with a bluish hue. A black silhouette stood on stage, perfectly still for a few seconds. Everyone began cheering wildly as they realized it was Terence. Then, suddenly the hard, driving bass line of one of Terence's more popular dance songs began and nearly twenty different video screens with shots of the stage from different angles lit up behind him. As Terence started to dance and sing, smoke began to creep across the stage and laser lights shot out from seemingly everywhere. The crowd went absolutely nuts at the spectacle.

* * *

"Wow, Willis did a great job with those special effects!" Davis shouted to Kuri over the noise. They were seated in a booth, enjoying drinks and watching the show in amazement.

"Tell me about it." She agreed. "And Terence isn't half bad either. He obviously knows how to put on a show."

Davis nodded and grinned, watching as their friend moved in perfect precision with a dozen virtual back-up dancers on the screens behind him. She was right. Terence was good at what he did. Damn good. Together, they watched him perform a few songs, commenting here and there at particularly impressive moments. After a while, Jun and Tai came over and joined them.

"Enjoying yourselves?" Jun asked as they sat down, opposite the couple.

"Yeah." Davis answered. "Sis, I gotta admit, you did a great job with all this." He offered her a fist across the table, and she smiled as she bumped it with her own.

"Amazing isn't she?" Tai said, placing an arm around his date's shoulders.

"I can't take all the credit." Jun said humbly. "A lot of guys pitched in to help."

"Oh, please, Jun." Kuri scoffed. "It was basically all you. You'd better take credit for all this great work you've done before somebody else tries to."

Davis smiled. That was a classic Kuri response; the kind he'd grown to respect and love coming from her. Kuri felt the hint of affection coming from him and unwittingly blushed for a moment. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye and smirked. Davis did the same.

"Hey, you two sure are looking cozy over there," Tai commented after observing the exchange. He wore a confident smile.

"Can't we?" Kuri argued, somewhat chagrined by Tai's suspicious behavior. "I mean, we are on a date, after all."

"Sure. I was just making an observation." Tai gave Jun a quick glance before adding, "You know, generally at dances, dates- well, dance."

"Dancing's not really my thing." Kuri took a sip from her drink. "I've never been the kind to 'shake my groove thing,' if you will."

"Never?" Davis gave her a skeptical look.

Kuri thought about it for a moment. "Well, there was that swing class elective Kari somehow talked me into taking with her, sophomore year. But I wasn't all that good at it."

"Liar," said Davis, laughing.

"Excuse me?"

"You were great at it. I was in that class as well, in case you've forgotten. I signed up as a way to spend more time with Kari. Plan backfired though, when TK got the same idea, but still, I remember you dancing pretty well in there. One of the top students, if I recall."

"Okay, so maybe I wasn't that bad...but," She pointed to Terence dancing and performing on stage, "That isn't exactly swing music."

"Minor setback." Tai said. He turned and Kuri could've sworn she saw him furtively mutter something into his collar.

Moments later the tempo of the music slowed considerably and began to wind down, coming to end on a final note that Terence was able to hold for an amazingly long period of time. The audience cheered wildly and a few of the more overzealous girls seemed moments away from jumping onto the stage.

"Okay, guys." He said, a bit out of breath. "I'm going to take five to get ready for my next performance, which may be a bit of a surprise to most of you. For now, I'll leave you with some old school to jam to, and I mean _real_ old school."

As he walked off stage, the first few pounding, rhythmic drumbeats of "Sing, Sing, Sing," began to play.

"Hey, now _that's_ swing," Davis said as he grinned and started snapping his fingers, "Looks like they're playing our song, K." He extended a hand to her, his brows arched in a hopeful expression that she just couldn't refuse..

"Yeah, exactly like we were talking about. What a coincidence," Kuri suspiciously looked at Tai, but got up and took her date's hand nonetheless.

By the time the trumpets joined in, the two were already on the floor.

"Shall we?" Davis asked, taking her hands in his and guiding her to the middle of the already dancing crowd. "I mean, unless you think my skill is too far past yours."

"Ha!" Kuri accepted the challenge defiant smirk. "Just try to keep up."

They started off with a few easy steps, and then gradually progressed into more difficult maneuvers, eventually reaching full swing by about the halfway point of the song.

It felt absolutely liberating, the air rushing around her as she twirled and moved with an exhilarating sense of freedom and responded to the slightest leads and touches of Davis' steady arms. Soon, enough, a crowd built up around the two to watch them perform. Kuri knew that many of them were probably looking at her in surprise as much as anything else. She couldn't help smiling as she leaped, twirled, spun, and swung with Davis. Not only did the moment feel carefree and light, but she could also sense her partner's own happiness acutely, due to their close proximity to one another. The combination was absolutely intoxicating.

* * *

"I'm impressed." Naji commented to Rosa as they stood amidst the crowd that had stopped dancing and formed a circle around Kuri and Davis. "Your friends seem to be quite the experts at dancing to this type of music."

"Uh-huh." Rosa answered absently. She was looking across the hall at Curtis and Diana, who had decided to claim a booth and sit this one out. They seemed awfully close over there, talking and laughing-

"Are you even listening to me?" Naji asked, giving her a wary look.

Rosa turned to him in surprise. "Huh? Oh yeah. They're pretty good. I'm uh, going to go get a drink. You want one?"

Naji sighed discontentedly at her strange behavior. "No, I'm fine, thanks."

"Okay, be right back." Rosa left him and negotiated her way through the crowd and over to the long table where food and refreshments were located. Upon reaching it she busied herself at the punch bowl, not really paying attention to what she was doing as she idly stirred the ladle and allowed her mind to drift over the words Curtis had spoken to her earlier.

"Hey, I don't think that punch is getting any more mixed."

Startled, Rosa turned around quickly and saw Terence standing behind her.

"Man, I need this." He said, still slightly out of breath. "You know, I've gotten in the best shape of my life since coming here, and yet still there's nothing quite as tiring as putting on a good show." He raised an eyebrow when he noticed what he was saying didn't to seem to be registering with her. "It, um, y'know, makes you thirsty." Still no response. "Uh, and then I need something to _drink_."

"Oh, yeah." Rosa stepped out of the way and allowed him to take the ladle. She looked away, back towards where Curtis and Diana were sitting. He was still talking and laughing, but she swore she could see a hint of sadness in his eyes. Or maybe she was just hoping she did.

"So, how long are you two gonna keep this up?" Terence asked after filling his cup and taking a few gulps.

Rosa turned back to him. "What?"

"You and Curtis. How long are you two going to keep up this friends act? I mean, you're not Kuri and Davis. Those two geniuses have only recently figured out how much they like each other. You guys have known from day one."

"What, we have? I-, Like Kuri and Davis are- what? How are we…" Rosa trailed off in a mess of incoherent babbling.

Terence smiled. "It's okay. He's feelin' you just as much as you're feelin' him. You just figured that because you're young, you'll have all the time in the world for such things as romance, unlike the rest of us, right? Sooner or later, things would just work themselves out?"

"Um, I dunno…" She shrugged. "Maybe?" It completely bewildered Rosa how she got into this situation. This was the kind of thing that happened to her cousin, not her.

"Well, I hope you realize how stupid that is now. Look at you two. Both of you here with the wrong dates. It's sad really."

"The hell-?" Rosa began to become her usual, indignant, self. "What do you expect me to do now? Go over there and punch his date?"

Terence laughed. "I'm sure you would." He sobered when Rosa crossed her arms and looked at him irately. "But seriously, Curtis is a straight forward guy when he has to be. Has he told you how he feels about you, yet?"

"Yeah, kinda. Just before we came."

"And have you told him?"

"I don't think I have to. Sometime between today and yesterday, I guess he just figured it out."

"Then all you need to do is go with the flow. The date thing will work itself out. Trust me. Tonight just feels like one of those perfect nights for first kisses."

Rosa blushed slightly when he said that and nodded. "Yeah-" She stopped herself, half-mortified. _Kisses? What the hell did she know about kissing?_

Terence laughed, before gulping down the rest of his drink and throwing the empty cup in a nearby trashcan. "Well, I have to get going now." He looked at the dancing Davis and Kuri, commanding almost the entire Academy's attention on the floor, and noticed the song was nearing an end. "It's time for phase two."

Rosa cocked her head curiously at Terence, but didn't have time make inquiry before he took off. She shrugged, and with one last glance at Curtis, begrudgingly headed back out on the floor to Naji.

* * *

"Well Tai," Jun said, "I have to hand it to you. That was a nice move, there." She leaned into her boyfriend and enjoyed her break from hosting responsibilities as they both watched her brother and his date dancing.

Tai gave Jun a confident smile. "I told you this would work. I must be like, the king of romance."

"Don't get ahead of yourself there, Romeo. All you did was get them to dance together."

Tai raised a finger. "Ah, but I'm not done yet. The best part's coming up."

Jun rested her head against his shoulder and sighed, content to just sit back and see what the next step in his plan was. "Hmm, we'll see."

* * *

The swinging duo began winding down their dance as the song started coming to an end. As the last note hung on the air, they ended in a dipping pose, Davis holding Kuri just inches away from the ground. The crowd gathered around them applauded loudly.

Davis brought his blushing date back to her feet and grinned. "You were great."

"Yeah," she paused, taking a few deep breaths to recover from the effort. "Well, you weren't so bad yourself. You kept up for the most part."

"I'm flattered."

Kuri smiled at the way he mock pouted. "I am tired after all that, though. I could sure use a drink."

"No prob," Davis said. "I'll get it."

Just as he was about to turn around, the lights in the spacious room dimmed and a disco ball descended from the ceiling, reflecting small points of light all around the room.

Terence walked back out onto the stage. "Alright, this one's for all you lovers out there. Guys, grab your girl and hold her tight. Girls, don't let your guy sneak away. This is your time. Ahem," He turned to look behind the curtain. "Clara?"

He smiled as the girl in question emerged from somewhere in the back and walked out to join him. She looked stunning in a form hugging gold shimmering dress, whose low cut did well in showing off her impressive cleavage. Her hair was slightly curled and her smile couldn't have been brighter.

"Ladies and gentlemen, accompanying me on this next song with me will be my beautiful girlfriend, Clara Sanchez. Give it up for her."

Everyone applauded politely and looked at one another in surprise.

"I didn't know she could sing." Davis commented.

"Me neither." Kuri said.

The music began. The beginning notes hung on the air like chimes and seemed to give Clara extra time to compose herself. After a moment, Terence started it off with his smooth quasi baritone voice.

**I never knew such a day could come**

**And I never knew such a love could be inside one**

Davis held out a hand hopefully. Kuri considered him for only a moment before taking it with a timid smile.

**I never knew what my life was for**

**Now that you're here, I know for sure**

He pulled her close. Dangerously close. Something significant was already beginning to pass between them.

_I never knew 'til I looked in your eyes_

_I wasn't complete 'til the day you walked into my life_

A few cheers went up as the dulcet tones of Clara's voice took over. They were absolutely perfect for the spirit of the soulful ballad. Somewhere, in the back of Davis' mind he was acknowledging this fact. But at the forefront, there was only the depth of Kuri's gaze, and the warmth of her smile.

_And I never knew that my heart could feel_

_So precious and pure._ _One love, so real._

Clara dragged the last note out, giving much exposure to her impressive vocal range. Kuri closed her eyes and she felt herself being drawn closer to Davis as both Terence and Clara's voices joined together in the song's chorus.

_**Can I just see you every morning when I open my eyes.**_

_**Can I just feel your heart beating beside me every night**_

_**Can we just feel this way together 'til the end of all time**_

_**Can I just spend my life with you**_

The song's message was kindred to the two hearts being drawn together on the middle of the dance floor. They didn't just hear the lyrics. They felt their every nuance and meaning as desires both had held within for so long were practically voiced through verse. Neither really paid much attention as Terence began the second verse. The couple concentrated on the last line of the chorus as they slowly waltzed in a circle. Those eight words said more than weeks of awkward exchanges ever could.

"This song...is beautiful." Kuri softly whispered to Davis.

"So are you." He answered perfectly, with a truthful confidence he'd never have felt saying the words to anyone else.

Kuri moved closer and gently rested her head on his shoulder. Before she knew it, a contented sigh had crossed her lips. She allowed the steady rhythm of Davis' heartbeat to mix with the ballad, giving the song even more resonance within her. After a minute, the chorus repeated, this time with both performers pouring their hearts into it

_Can you run to these open arms when no one else understands_

**Can we tell God and the whole world you're my woman **_and you're my man_

Kuri pulled her head back so she could look upon the face of her partner. Her man. Could he be that to her? She knew she had but to say the word. And she knew that she wanted to. But, could she be his woman? Could she be the open arms that he ran to? The one who would always understand him, when it seemed the rest of the world didn't? As she began to mull over these thoughts, Kuri smiled to herself. She already was that to Davis. She was already his confidante, his soul mate. Their hearts made it true and their shields had made sure they understood.

_**Can you just feel how much I love you with one touch of my hand**_

_**Can I just spend my life with you**_

The final note hung on the air for a while, and the two singers held it with beautiful harmony. Davis and Kuri drifted closer together, the latter tilting her head just perfectly and preparing to join with him in what would surely be a poignant first kiss, fueled by their attraction and the mixture of both of their emotions that she felt within herself reached the boiling point. The moment was broken, however, when the audience began to applaud raucously as the note faded away, whistling and shouting words of appreciation to Clara. The mocha-skinned beauty was blushing madly and had to hold on to Terence to continue standing under their unending praise. Kuri pulled away from Davis with a slight frown of disappointment.

"She was really good." Davis commented, obviously doing his best to ignore what had almost happened between them. "She probably has a serious future in singing."

Kuri nodded absently. She spotted something past Davis and smiled. "Come on, let's get out of here."

"What?"

"Let's go out on the patio. You know, to get some fresh air."

"But it's cold out-"

Kuri grabbed his hand, and with the ever so slightest of pulls, had him following behind her.

"Okay, but just for a couple minutes."

"Trust me, Davis, it'll be worth it."

* * *

Some distance away, Rosa had stopped applauding. She looked across the hall in shock at what she'd just seen. As the beautiful song her cousin and Terence performed was concluding, she'd spied Curtis and Diana out of the corner of her eye, _kissing_. She couldn't believe it. Sure, the song had been very romantic; hell even Naji had been somewhat attractive to her as it played, but for that to happen? It was very unexpected, to say the least. After the words Curtis had told her earlier, the encouragement Terence had given her...it not only didn't compute with her mind; It crushed her heart. She released Naji's hands and mumbled a cursory excuse before taking off across the hall.

* * *

Curtis watched as Rosa ran out of the room. He wanted to go after her, but the shock of what had just happened was still affecting him, rooting his feet to the ground.

"Um, what was that?" He asked Diana.

"What?"

"You kissed me!"

"Yeah, I guess I did."

"But, why? I mean, not that it was terrible or anything..." He pulled at his shirt collar nervously. Damn, this was a stupid situation to be in.

"I wanted to see something."

"See what?"

"How much you really care for her. How much of a chance I have."

"How much I care for who?" At this point, Curtis was getting very irritated with her cryptic answers.

"You know who. The girl you've been looking at all night."

At first Curtis naïvely thought Diana was speaking of herself, but it only took a moment's contemplation to figure out whom she was really talking about.

"And uh, what you did find out?" He asked uncomfortably.

Diana frowned. "A lot, considering the fact that you didn't really kiss me back. You should've told me how you felt about her from the start. I can't imagine why you went to this dance with me instead."

"Look, I'm sorry Di. It's just," He sighed. "When you asked me to go with you, I thought it was just as friends. You know, to have fun. Plus I didn't want you to mess up my 'do."

She gave him a sad smirk.

"But I didn't know how big a production all this would become. I didn't think it would be something so meaningful."

"Too meaningful for you to go with me to, right?"

"Di, you're a fun, great person, and you really look awesome tonight, but, I just don't feel that way about you. I'm sorry."

"And you do feel that way about her?"

"A couple of days ago, I wouldn't have known what to tell you. But tonight, I think I know the answer. I think I do." Curtis sounded as if he was more surprised at the admission than anyone.

"Then go after her."

"What?"

Diana took a step back from him. "Tonight has hurt me, but I would even more shamed if I stood between you two. I'm not that kind of person. Don't be an idiot. Go after her and tell her how you feel." She turned and began to briskly walk away from him, ducking her head to hide any emotion.

Curtis felt absolutely awful as he watched the Jamaican girl walk away, but when he looked towards the doors of the hall, a new mixture of determination and apprehension washed over him. He rushed across the hall and exited through them quickly, taking a moment to let his eyes adjust to the darkness beyond.

Rosa's silhouette was clearly visible seated on one of the benches in the main hall. She was shaking and her face was buried in her hands. Curtis closed his eyes in regret. Why did he have to be so dumb sometimes? The same night he figured out how much he really cared for Rosa, he had hurt her more than ever before.

"Curtis?"

He opened his eyes and looked up. She'd spotted him.

"Um, hey Rosa." He rubbed the back of his neck.

"Don't 'hey' me." She stood up and wiped furiously at her eyes. "Why would you tell me those things earlier? So you could hurt me more when you and Diana started-?" She was unable to finish the sentence and just waved a hand at him. "I'm leaving." She declared, turning on her heels.

"Wait, where are you going?"

"Out." Rosa grabbed a coat from the rack next to the front doors before exiting through them.

Grumbling, Curtis quickly did the same and set off after her.

* * *

As Davis and Kuri exited the dance hall, the lyrics of the next song on the party's playlist could clearly be heard:

_Kiss me, out of the bearded barley..._

Kuri had to smirk at Tai's persistence as the door closed behind them and muffled the noise.

The patio was deserted. It had mostly gone unused during this term, as no one found it beneficial to eat outside in the freezing cold. The tables and chairs were all covered with snow and small icicles hung from their umbrellas. Kuri negotiated her way between them, to the railing on the other side, and looked out over the vast field of snow beyond. Davis walked up behind her.

"I've never seen the snow so bright at night like this." He said, his breath coming out in trails of vapor on the chill night air.

"Yeah. It's a clear night. Not a cloud in the sky. I guess the moonlight's reflecting off it."

Davis looked up at the sky and saw that she was right. "Wow," He marveled at the view. "There're so many stars up there."

Kuri smiled slightly. "Yeah, there are." She moved closer to Davis, her back to him as she looked up at the heavens. "You know, I always used to want to go out there."

"Out where?"

"To the stars. When I was younger I used to always this think that there was so much out there. Trillions of worlds, billions of light years away, and yet we're all stuck here. I always used to just sit and wonder about that. It was like there was so much out there that we were missing out on. So much that we could be a part of."

"That's deep. In my younger days all I used to wonder about was how they got the seeds out of seedless watermelons."

Kuri chuckled. "Different lives, different thoughts, I suppose. I think the way I thought of the stars was a metaphor for the rest of my life. I was always the loner. The one who watched everyone else live while hiding deeper within herself. I didn't have the social life, the experiences, or the confidence that most others did. Then, I suppose, one day Kari came along. We were paired up one day on a project at school and everything else just kinda went from there."

"And things just changed for you?"

"A little. I got to know more people through her. I joined in starting the Green Room with some of my neighbors. But mostly I was still the same person. I still stayed to myself outside of the Green Room and Kari. I still felt left out."

Davis remained quiet. He knew Kuri was going somewhere with this and he patiently waited to find out.

"But you've changed all that, Davis. You've changed me. When I look at the stars now, I can see how beautiful they are. I no longer want to go out there. I know that I'm truly living now. With you, I don't feel like I'm missing out on life anymore. I feel like all that I could want is right here."

"Wow, Kuri, I-...thank you. That really means a lot to me."

"I know." She leaned back against him fully and continued to gaze up at the sky. An idea occurred to her. "You know, I guess you were right. It is a little cold out here."

"Here, take my jacket." Davis said, starting to remove the article of clothing.

Kuri stopped him by reaching back and grabbing his hands. "No, then you'll be cold. How about this?" She pulled his arms forward and wrapped them around her waist, at the same time leaning back comfortably against his shoulder. "Better?"

"Um, yeah."

Kuri almost laughed as she heard Davis' heartbeat quicken and felt his emotions flood through her. They stayed that way for a while, to the point that Davis felt comfortable enough to actually hold her instead of just keeping his arms in the positions she'd placed them.

Kuri broke the silence first. "Is this the way you'll hold me when you take me flying?"

"What?" Davis asked. His voice had a faraway quality to it.

"I can't fly. I'd like to know what it feels like. I assume you're going to take me at some point?"

"Oh, yeah...definitely. Maybe after classes tomorrow?"

"Okay, it's a date."

Kuri could feel Davis' blush as silence descended on them again. Though she really liked the way his arms felt around her, Kuri knew she had brought him out here for more than just flirtatious overtures. She had to tell him. The time couldn't be more right.

"Davis." She began.

"Yeah?" She could hear the same contentment in his voice as she was feeling.

"There's still one star that I look to every night. One thing I think I'm missing out on that really seems to be what life is made of."

"What is it?"

"Love."

The blunt answer caught Davis off guard. "R-really?"

"Yeah." She sighed. "It's the big one, huh?"

"But Kuri, you have love. I thought we went through this a long time ago-"

"No, not like that Davis. I know I'm capable of love. I'm not just talking about giving it."

"Then what do you mean? Receiving it? Kuri, there are many people that love you. Your brother, your parents, Peko loves you, your friends-"

Kuri turned around quickly when Davis paused. "What about you?"

"What about me?" Davis was skirting the issue and he knew it.

"Davis Motomiya, you know what I'm asking."

It took a while. Maybe a minute or two passed before Davis finally spoke. "Is this something you really want me to answer? Because last night-"

"Last night I was wrong, Davis. I had certain beliefs that just weren't right. I know better now."

"Well, in that case..." He took a breath. "Of course I love you Kuri. You mean more to me than anyone ever has before."

"As a friend?"

"What?"

"Do you love me as a friend?"

The question was loaded. Kuri already knew Davis' answer, but she needed him to come to terms with it and tell her himself. He responded by looking up at the stars, then at the distant forest, back toward the dining hall...

"Davis." She said, her tone only slightly impatient. "Do you love me as just a friend?"

"No." He finally admitted. "As more."

Kuri reached up and gingerly stroked a hand along the side of his face. "I know."

He gently took her hand and held it close. "If you already knew, then why-?"

"Because I needed you to say it, more for your sake than mine. We need to be open about this."

Davis caught her meaning in that. "We?" He asked. "Does that mean there's something that you want to tell me too, Kuri?"

She moved closer to him. "Oh, Davis. There's so much that I want to tell you. I spent all of last night trying to figure it out." Her eyes began to well up a little. "But I'm just not sure how anymore. Words just don't seem to be enough to describe-"

"Just say what comes to mind, K." There was an anxious quality to Davis voice.

_What comes to mind?_ She pulled back and looked up at him. An idea struck her.

"Close your eyes." She said.

"What?"

"Just do it. And take my hands. I want you to feel everything that I can't quite put into words."

Davis seemed a bit puzzled, but did as she requested anyway. It took a moment for Kuri to collect her thoughts as she joined hands with him. She began to concentrate on what Davis meant to her, starting from the beginning. She thought about the day she told him about TK and Kari, the regret and pain she felt later at hurting him. That same night when he walked her home and she first found herself being drawn to him. She thought about the day after they arrived in the realm, when she was able to heal him with only a caring touch. And the night not long after when he'd poured his heart out to her and she listened intently. She thought about the first combine, when she had used their connection to help save him from certain defeat, and the second combine, when he returned the favor. She thought about the battle with the tyrannomon, how he'd saved her life, both literally and figuratively. That was the day that their connection became the strongest force in both of their lives.

She thought about him. How much he meant to her. How she knew he would always be there for her, and how, deep inside, she knew that she would always be there for him. She thought about the way they talked for hours, sharing an undying passion for discovering everything they could about each other. She thought how much she wished they could remain that way forever. And how she felt a unity with Davis that made him more a part of her than anything else. How, when she thought of him now, she considered a multitude of possibilities that she previously never thought would've been available to her. She thought about how, for the first time in her life, she could see herself being someone's wife, the mother to someone's children, the mate to someone's soul. Kuri's love for Davis was deep. Much deeper than even he could have known. And in her heart, she could feel how much he returned the same sentiments.

When she opened her eyes again, they were wet with tears. His seemed filled with emotion as well. They gazed deeply at one another for a pregnant moment. No words were exchanged. None needed to be.

Davis brought both of his hands forward and softly stroked the sides of her face, pushing back stray strands of hair. He cupped under the sides of her face gently and leaned forward, tenderly pressing his lips against one cheek and then momentarily backing away before repeating the action on the other.

Kuri smiled a little. He was kissing her tears away.

Davis dropped his hands from her face and let them drift slowly down to her waist, where they came to a rest. Kuri looked up at him, searching his beautiful brown eyes for everything she could already feel. She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, interlocking her fingers behind him. For a moment, they enjoyed the intimate position, gazing at one another and reveling in their shared elation. Then Davis made the first move, leaning forward and slowly closing his eyes. Kuri followed his lead, pushing herself onto her toes to meet him halfway. She tilted her head slightly as their lips first touched ever so lightly. They both hesitated somewhat, the feeling of the touch initially flooding them with emotions and exhilaration the likes of which they'd never felt before. Then, they mutually pressed further, fully entering into their first glorious kiss with a perfect mixture of fervor and tenderness. After a few seconds had passed, when many would have parted, they only pulled closer together, holding on tightly as they delved deeper into one another with their lips, their tongues, their minds, their emotions, their souls. They were so passionately involved with each other that neither noticed the bursts of gold and lavender that began to form around them, eventually coalescing into a swirling luminous shell of the two colors that surrounded them and signified their newfound unity.

"Whoa," Tai exclaimed, peeking at the two lovers through a small slit in the blinds from the dance hall. "I'm even better than I thought."

Jun walked up behind him. "What?" She looked over his shoulder and gasped when she saw what he was looking at. "Wow, that's so beautiful."

"Isn't it?" Tai agreed. "I'd like to take credit for all that, but somehow I don't think it was all my doing."

Jun smiled, before taking her date by the arm and leading him away. "Come on Tai. Let's give them their privacy."

* * *

They had passed the edge of the forest some time ago. Curtis continued to follow Rosa on her mad trek outside, issuing a constant barrage of apologies as he tried to get her to talk to him. She ignored them all and continued to stomp through the snow, sporadically throwing dirty glances over her shoulder at him as he repeatedly pleaded with her. Finally, Curtis had enough of the exercise in futility.

"Damn it Rosa!" He exclaimed. "Would you just stop for one freaking second?!"

She did just that, pausing in her tracks and slowly turning around to face him.

"Thank you-"

"Don't you ever talk to me like that." She interrupted, walking over and slugging Curtis directly in the jaw. The force was enough to make him stumble backwards into the snow. He looked up at Rosa and saw an immediate twinge of regret on her face. The moment was fleeting, however, and her appearance steeled itself once again. She turned and began to walk away.

"You know," Curtis said from the ground. "That's what I like about you so much Rosa, your attitude."

Rosa paused at that.

He pulled himself up. "You never take anything off of anyone, anytime. Sometimes I wish I was more like that."

"If you like that about me so much, then why-" Her voice cracked and she cleared her throat to disguise it. "Why did you kiss Diana?"

"I didn't. She kissed me."

"But you let her."

"I was caught by surprise."

"Whatever." Rosa turned around again.

"No! It's the truth. And you want to know why she kissed me?"

"No."

"Well, I'll tell you anyway. She did it because she knew a certain someone was on my mind the entire night, and it wasn't her. She wanted to find out just how much I cared about this other girl."

The frustrated girl threw her hands in the air. "Oh, so now there's another girl? Just great."

"Rosa, you know who I'm talking about."

Rosa brushed some snow away from an adjacent tree stump and took a seat. "Yeah, maybe I do, and maybe I don't."

Curtis slowly approached her. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means, I don't know how you could really care that much about me."

"I'm out here aren't I? Look, Diana is just a friend to me. Maybe she thought she was more, but she isn't."

"It's not that."

Curtis was perplexed. "Then what?"

"Maybe I'm fooling myself again." Rosa sighed and threw her head back, looking through the treetops to the stars above. "Do you know I honestly thought I had a chance with Ken all those years? Yeah, I knew there was the big age difference, but I figured once I grew up a little, it wouldn't matter."

"I'm not Ken."

"I know, but what I'm saying is, I always look at impossible situations and try to make them work. Will has its good and bad points, I guess."

"I'm not understanding. What's so impossible about you and me liking each other?"

"Oh, come on Curtis. Don't act like you don't see it."

"See what?"

"How different we are. I mean, you're so smart and able to figure things out, nice and patient. People always look to you for help. And I'm, well, you know..." She waved a hand as if it was all self-explanatory.

"What? Strong, smart, determined, fun, attractive? Tell me when I'm getting warm."

Rosa looked up at him in surprise. "You really think I'm all those things?"

"Of course I do. Why wouldn't I?"

She shrugged. "People usually don't. Back home I'm usually Rosa, the tomboy, or Rosa, the girl who can't keep her mouth shut. Sometimes I'm Rosa, the troublemaker. Never anything good. I just don't know how to fit in."

"That makes two of us then."

She looked at him with surprise. "What?"

"It's true. Where I'm from, what people call intelligence now was just another way for me to not fit in. I was a troublemaker too, because I asked too many questions, or 'acted like I was better than everyone.' Many times I was called weak because I always thought things through before rushing into fights."

"You're not weak at all." The fierce sincerity with which Rosa said those words caused Curtis to blush.

"Well, I know that and you know. But people like us, who come from environments where we don't quite belong, spend most of our lives thinking something is wrong with us. Coming here has taught me that the world sees a lot of things as wrong that are actually quite the opposite. I'm betting the qualities that make those people look at you as an outcast are the same ones I like so much about you. And they're probably the same ones that make you such a great Knight." He moved so that he sat right beside her and could look into her ebony eyes. "Rosa, don't listen to anyone that tells you any different."

"Yeah?" She asked, a smile creeping into her countenance.

"Yeah."

She suddenly leaned over and wrapped her arms around him. "I'm sorry, Curtis."

"What for?"

"For punching you, duh." She reached over and turned his face so she could look upon the spot where she'd hit him. "It doesn't look too bad though."

"Yeah, well it shouldn't. You hit like a girl."

Rosa narrowed her eyes at him.

"Kidding." He quickly added. He scooted toward her and put an arm around her. "You know you hit like a freight train."

She smiled. "Well, in any case," Rosa leaned over slowly and hovered with her face extremely close to his. "This may help." She affectionately kissed the area that had been hit. "Better?"

"Uh, yeah." Curtis admitted, surprised by the sudden gesture. He recovered quickly. "Um, you know, with the way nerve endings work and stuff, I actually felt that hit all over. Not just that one spot."

Rosa smiled indulgently. "Oh really?"

"Um, yeah. All over. Can't argue with science, right?"

"I guess not." She moved to the other side of his face and planted a kiss there, then one on his forehead, and one more at the tip of his nose. They both giggled at the last one.

"I never knew I would like this so much." Rosa admitted with a sheepish smile.

"I have to admit, I always knew I would."

"Really?"

Curtis smiled and nodded. "Of course. I've been waiting forever."

"Well, you could've said something after all this time."

"So could you."

Rosa laughed, clear and bell like. "I guess we've both been acting pretty dumb, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess." Curtis' words lacked conviction, as he was enraptured by the way Rosa looked in the moonlight as it filtered through the trees. Her face had such a cute, innocent quality that belied her usual forceful demeanor. It was a quality that Curtis could remember being drawn to as far back as the moment he'd seen her peacefully dozing at the first combine.

"What?" she asked him as she noticed his stare, just like before.

"Nothing." He responded, leaning forward. "Just this."

He surprised her with a quick, unexpected, kiss on the lips.

"Hey what do you know?" He said after pulling back. "I like kissing you, too."

_First kisses._ Rosa smiled, remembering Terence's words, before biting her lip and looking at Curtis in a mixture of shyness and desire. "Well, maybe we should, you know, do that again, seeing how we both like it so much."

Curtis' eyes lit up with anticipation. "You don't have to tell me twice."

Their lips joined again, and for as much as she'd worried about it, Rosa was surprised at just how much her inexperience this area didn't matter, She melded with Curtis seamlessly, pressing deeper into him as his lips parted, then accepting his fervent response. She was just about to venture into the exploration of involving her tongue when a loud cracking sound was heard coming from somewhere in an adjacent grove of trees.

The couple abruptly parted.

"What the-?" Rosa got up first and began to scan the area, her mood changing from playful to serious in a heartbeat. "It came from over there in those trees somewhere."

As Curtis got up also, he groaned at the lost moment. "Knowing you, we're about to go check it out, aren't we?"

Rosa nodded. "Of course. C'mon."

She set off and Curtis crept along beside her. As they snuck forward through the grove and thick snowdrift the sounds became louder and more pronounced. After a moment, a figure became visible through the trees and prompted Curtis to reach out and stop Rosa.

"What?" she asked.

"Look."

Rosa turned and saw exactly what he'd spotted. Not fifty feet in front of them, is a small bright clearing, stood Sensei Enn. The irritable instructor seemed to be pacing back and forth and talking to himself. Rosa noted that as he moved to and fro, he seemed to be picking up masses of black material from one area and placing them in a substantial hole in the ground next to him.

"What in the world is he up to?" Curtis asked.

Rosa shushed him.

"He can't hear me." Curtis protested. "He's too busy talking to himself right now."

"I know. I want to hear what he's saying." She turned an ear toward the scene.

"-will definitely provide them with the first real test as nights. With this material, my ability to create digimon to battle them will be without limit. If Gen thought my first two combines were brutal, he will be absolutely repulsed by the carnage that will take place here in another month." Enn stopped and smiled, allowing himself an indulgent moment to look down upon his work. "I must say," he continued, "There's no way I would've been able to complete this without significant assistance. I suppose I'll have to thank him in the near future..."

Enn's voice trailed away as he began to work again and Rosa and Curtis slinked away as quickly as they'd come. Both had come to the mutual decision that they'd heard enough, and neither spoke until they reached the edge of the field surrounding the mansion.

"What do you think that was about?" Rosa asked nervously as they set out across the expanse.

"I think he's up to something really big for our test next term. Maybe we should tell someone-"

"Are you kidding? No, way. Not only would we get in trouble for being out so late so far from the mansion and spying on Sensei Enn, but we'd be giving up our inside track."

"What?"

"We know when he's gonna spring out next combine on us. In a month or so. We can get ready for it way before anyone else knows what's going on."

Curtis seemed reserved. "I don't know. Something about the way Enn was talking back there made me think he had more up his sleeve than simply testing us."

Rosa allowed a small snicker to pass her lips. "You always worry too much."

"Hey-"

"And,' She raised a finger to halt his protest. "That's one of the things I like most about you."

Curtis smiled sheepishly. "Really?"

Rosa grinned and offered him her hand in reply. Curtis glanced at her before reaching out and taking it, intertwining their fingers together.

"Well, okay." He gave in. "Maybe Enn isn't up to some sinister plan, but I still think we should be cautious."

"Of course." Rosa agreed, reveling slightly in the effect she had on him as they traipsed through the snow, heading back towards the mansion in the distance.

* * *

**Downtown Odaiba**

TK quietly maneuvered his Porsche into an open parallel parking spot across the street from where their spy had left his car. Ken looked over at the vehicle in scrutiny. The sedan was now definitely empty.

"He went inside that building," Stingmon's voice crackled through the radio from somewhere along the rooftops.

"Acknowledged." Ken responded.

He looked up at the medium sized tower his partner was referring to. It was one of the many new buildings that had popped up in downtown Odaiba over the last five years or so in a boom of business due to the town's newfound popularity.

"The Hitachi tower?" TK observed as he leaned over for a better look. "Wonder what he's doing in there?"

"I don't know." Ken unbuckled his seatbelt. "But I'm going to find out what I can. Stay here and keep the car running."

"Now where are you going?"

"Just to his car. I'm going to check something."

TK looked apprehensive. "Well, okay. But hurry and be careful."

"I will."

TK watched as Ken got out of the car quickly and scurried stealthily across the street. He paused near the rear of the sedan for a moment, pulled out his cell phone and dialed someone. He spoke into the phone for a few seconds before quickly hanging it up running back across the street to the car.

"What'd you do?" TK asked as he got back in.

"Called a friend at Tokyo U. that has access to police servers. Don't ask how, but I asked him to run that car's plates for me."

"And?"

The phone suddenly started to ring.

"I'm about to find out." Ken said as he answered it. "Kenji? Yeah, it's me. What'd you get?" Ken silently nodded for a few minutes, then raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Really? Well, thanks for helping me out with this. I owe you one. Okay, bye."

"So?" TK asked.

Ken put the phone back in his pocket and turned to him. "We've got a problem. That car is registered to a Mr. Kobi Funaki, of the Odaiba Police department. He's an undercover officer."

TK's eyes widened. "OPD? But why would they be spying on us? Maybe this guy is acting alone?"

"That's what I would've thought too, but according to my source, Funaki is currently on the clock according to his online duty roster."

"So he was ordered to watch us?"

Ken nodded. "That, or he's in serious violation of company policy."

TK leaned over and looked at the tower once again. "Well, the plot certainly does thicken, doesn't it?"

Ken sighed. "Tell me about it. This really doesn't make much sense."

"So what do we do?"

"I guess we have no choice but to sit and wait. We'll confront this guy when he comes out and maybe get some answers."

"Confront?" TK said. "I don't like this sound of that, Ken. This is the same guy that tried to run over you not ten minutes ago, remember?"

"Well, what else can we do? Call his buddies in the police department?" Ken asked. "Don't worry. This time Stingmon won't be quite so elusive."

TK could tell from the way Ken was determinedly staring out of the window that this was an argument he wasn't going to win.

"Fine then. We'll wait."

* * *

Funaki stepped out of the elevator unsurely and cautiously entered the grand, marble-tiled hallway that sprawled beyond. He approached the receptionist's desk at its end slowly, replaying exactly what he was going to tell the boss over and over in his mind. The usual girl was working the desk. Funaki liked her. She was cute. In fact he'd consider actually consider asking her out-

"Kobi Funaki. Mr. Hitachi is awaiting you. He is not pleased."

-if it wasn't for that damned coldsteel manner with which she treated everyone.

Funaki nodded to her with a wan smile as he passed. "He must be mistaken then, for I come bearing good news."

The girl only responded by nodding toward the door he was supposed to go through. He was in deep shit and she knew it.

Funaki took a deep breath and pushed against one to the large mahogany doors behind the desk and warily walked into the large ornate boardroom on the other side.

They were all there, Funaki noted grimly as he looked around. Mr. Hitachi sat at the end of the long wooden conference table and was surrounded on either side by his usual panel of brawny goons. In addition to them were the constituents; Men and women from different areas of the world who used their ample money and resources to help Mr. Hitachi achieve his goals in whatever way possible. How the hell all these people got here before he did, Funaki didn't know. Nor did he understand why some of them were dressed in robes and pajamas. He did his best to ignore this variable as he respectfully bowed to Mr. Hitachi.

"Ah, Mr. Funaki. You finally arrived." The middle aged man said, rising from his seat. He was broad shouldered with salt and pepper hair and a stature that was meant to be taken seriously. His tone was ominous. "I feared you might not make it."

"Y-you were expecting me?"

"Of course we were. Why would we all be gathered here, otherwise?"

"Of course. Forgive my foolishness."

Mr. Hitachi slowly began to maneuver around the large table and walk towards him. "Ah, but your foolishness is the reason we are all here, is it not?"

Funaki didn't respond, instead looking at the floor in shame.

"I cannot believe you would jeopardize all our goals with your actions tonight. What could you have possibly been thinking?"

"I was trying to help you by finding information that-"

"Do not lie to me!" Mr. Hitachi shouted, crossing the rest of the distance between himself and Funaki and slapping the man harshly across the face. "As if I don't pay you enough as it is, you have to search for further methods to attempt to gain my money?"

"But Mr. Hitachi, I was just trying to help."

"Funaki, when I ask you not to lie to me, I also ask not to be patronized."

He raised his hand again and Funaki cowered under the threat. Hitachi slowly brought his hand back down and gave the withering man a calculating stare of disdain.

"Now, I'm sure that you know we have our own means of finding out what Gennai is doing with the digidestined kids." The older man began to walk back toward his seat at the end of the table, talking as he did. "Why, just this morning I was contacted by our distinguished colleague, the Assassin. You've heard of him, have you not?"

Funaki nodded slowly. That name gave him the chills, and there was something about the way Mr. Hitachi said it...

"Yes, well he told me that he's found contact with someone on the inside while trying to negotiate around the digital world security put up by that blasted spirit. Someone with resources that can help us. In fact, he already has. We know that they're not in the digital world at all, but in another dimension." Hitachi sat down and returned to the utter picture of calm. "So, you see, your surveillance was not necessary. It only served to alert their allies to our presence."

Funaki looked up in alarm. "No, it didn't. I lost 'em."

One of the burly men next to Hitachi stood up. Funaki recognized the heavily tattooed man as Du, the head of building security. "Yes, you did manage to lose the two boys." He said in his gruff baritone. "But you didn't take into account their digimon following you overhead."

Another man stood up, one of Hitachi's personal guard. "And that digimon gave them directions to get here apparently, because security cameras indicate that the boys are currently at ground level, across the street as we speak."

"T-they are?" Funaki look around the room in fear. In an instant, his thoughts suddenly changed from finding a way to save face in front of his superiors, to finding a way to get out of the room alive.

One of the constituents, a dark haired American in a bathrobe, spoke up. "Well, I must say, you found a total screw-up in this one, Hitachi."

"And who are you to talk, Barke?" A Latino woman across from him said. "After that business in France, I would think you wouldn't have much to say on such issues."

"I was set up and you know that, Chavez. And as soon as I found out how-"

She feigned a yawn. "Oh, not this again. You've been going on about that for months. When are you going to face the simple fact that your kid duped you?"

Barke pointed a finger across the table angrily. "Don't you ever accuse my son of betraying his blood! I'll-"

Hitachi banged a fist on the table and brought them both to silence. For a fleeting moment, his face looked haggard and weary. "Gentlemen, I have many troubles plaguing me at the moment. I have a genetics department that has hit a "snag" in constructing my digimon-bonded army because the homeless subjects they are taking from the streets are suddenly too weak and dying during transformations. Thus, I must fatten my slaves before they can serve me."

"I have an adversary, several actually, who appear to have been plotting against me in another dimension for the better of two weeks, seemingly building an army of their own. And only recently, with the help of the talented Assassin, have I found a means of combating them by launching a preemptive strike with the use of several trump cards I've been holding. Of course, this was no thanks to my tech department; supposedly the best money can buy. They seem too busy removing their heads from their asses to be any real help to me breaching the digital world's security measures."

A small-statured, bespectacled man seated near Hitachi gulped loudly and shifted nervously in his chair.

"I have a foolish detective from the local police force, whom I've paid handsomely to simply help protect my interests from area law enforcement. I even saw to it, through further monetary persuasion, that he was assigned to all cases concerning myself and my operations. This man's days were literally filled with nothing. NOTHING! That was his assignment. That is what I was paying him for! And how does he repay me? By doing his own freelance work on my behalf. Deciding that in the unlikely event he can uncover some information about the digidestined on his own, he will be deserving of extra pay. Instead, he has led my enemies directly to my den. Greed can truly be a dangerous vice. Isn't that right, detective?"

Funaki didn't respond. He realized he was screwed no matter what he did at this point.

Hitachi continued. "And then I have my most trusted and highest ranking officers arguing amongst themselves. Here we stand on the precipice of creating a new world order. One that conforms to our image of the world and what it should be. And yet they sit here bickering about insignificant facts that ultimately don't matter in the grand scheme of things."

Barke and Sanchez scowled petulantly at Hitachi's deriding.

"So, is that why you called us here all of a sudden?" A woman at opposite end of the table asked. Her eastern Asian features were striking and she was dressed completely in black. "For a scolding?"

"Of course not, Ms. Jade. At least, not for you anyway. You are the epitome of discipline and your digital combat skills are unmatched. You have done nothing to lose my favor."

The woman seemed arrogantly placated by his words.

"No, the reason I called you all here was to reveal to you exactly how subordination within the ranks will be handled here from now on, with the help of detective Funaki here, of course."

Funaki looked up sickly. He felt he could vomit at any time now.

"And one other..." Hitachi added darkly, raising a finger. "Miko, if you will."

The mouse-ish man with the glasses nodded nervously. He produced a small, palm computer from his pocket and stenciled in a few directions. Suddenly, a large black orb appeared in the middle of the room, electricity crackled around its surface as it appreciated in size.

Funaki took a step back and noticed that no one else in the room had adverse reactions. Apparently, they saw this kind of weird stuff all the time. After a few moments passed, something began to emerge from the black oval. As it came forth, Funaki recognized it as the figure of a man...a tall man, cloaked in long black trench coat, wearing gloves and a wide brimmed hat that served to conceal his face. When he fully stepped into the room, the shadowy portal behind him began to fade away. He only stood there as it did, calmly looking around the room, his face hidden in shadow.

Hitachi gestured with a wide grin. "Ladies and gentlemen, I present you, The Assassin."

Funaki had been able to guess who the mysterious man was before hearing his employer's announcement. The fear that gripped his heart the moment the dark figure had entered the room had been enough to tell him.

The Assassin continued to scan the room, concentrating of each face that gazed at him curiously. When his withering gaze reached Jade, he paused for a moment.

She looked back at him, unflinching in her defiance. "Look all you want," She said, her voice a mixture of granite and steel. "But do not touch. No matter who you are, it will be your last mistake."

The Assassin laughed, if that's what one could call it. It was a cold, hard cackle that seemed to resonate from the pit of a very disturbed soul.

"I taught you well, my pupil."

Jade stared at him in realization, her look changing from one of resentment to shock.

"That voice. M-master?"

The Assassin nodded slowly.

"B-but I had heard that you were-"

"Dead?" He once again gave that low cackle that sent shivers down Funaki's spine. "Some would have you believe that. I simply have gone through...a regeneration of sorts, in order to throw my enemies from my trail and eventually catch them off guard."

She nodded, her face still etched in utter surprise. "I see..."

"We will have plenty of time to catch up," He subtly allowed his eyes to travel up and down Jade's deadly, yet sultry form. "later. But I do not believe I was summoned here for simple pleasantries, was I Hitachi?"

"Of course not. That would only be a waste of your many skills. No, I called you here for a demonstration." He briefly glanced at Funaki, a dangerous glint in his eye. "But first, I would like you to inform our panel of "investors", if you will, of the significant strides you've made recently in helping us reach our goals. They should know that not all those in our employ are hopelessly inept."

The Assassin nodded and placed his hands behind his back. After a moment of contemplation, he began to pace around the room and started speaking in a low, menacing voice.

"Very well. I have truly only made two major advancements recently. While trying to bypass Ooikawa's security and find a backdoor into the digital world I fortuitously made contact with another, who seems to actually be in the dimension that the missing digidestined have disappeared to. Strangely enough, this man seems to be a lot like Gennai, except darker somehow. It is difficult to explain. In any case, he has agreed to help me transport the dark digimon we have been incubating to their realm, in return for our assistance in his goals at a later date."

He paused after strolling over to the far wall and looked out of the full-length window there.

"This town's skyline has become so eclectic in the few years I've been away." He observed. "It's a change I still haven't quite become accustomed to."

Though still trembling with fear, Funaki couldn't help but to spare the reputed killer a curiously raised eyebrow. The only thing more mysterious than his strange behavior was the way he kept his face well hidden within the shadows of his headwear.

"Not to be rude, Mr. Assassin, or whatever I should call you." Barke spoke up. "But what is this second great 'advancement' you've made?"

The Assassin turned around and looked at Barke for an awkwardly long period of time, causing the man to back down from his false bravado, before responding.

"I have fostered something of a relationship with one of the digidestined here. He has kept me well informed of their activities and progress in contacting their missing friends. In case I can't reach them before they return to this world, I will be informed of when they do."

"And how are we to believe you?" Sanchez asked. "Just who is this digidestined with whom you have a relationship?"

"That is for me to know, alone. Although, I believe Ms. Jade here should know him. After all, under my tutelage, she managed to play a rather large role in his destiny..."

Jade looked at the Assassin in consternation for a moment before understanding of his words began to dawn on her. "Him?" Her hand went to the hilt of her katana, which she kept safely strapped to her side at all times. A wicked smile crossed her lips. "Master, you must let me meet him some day. I would enjoy the chance to finish what I started."

"In due time."

Hitachi walked to the center of the room in order to command attention back to himself.

"Exemplary work, Assassin, as I expected." He raised his voice to indicate a change of subject. "Now that that's done, and with our location here being so carelessly revealed, I feel that now is the time for a full evacuation. A fueled helicopter is waiting on the roof to transport myself and essential staff away from here. The rest of you should depart using the portals with which you arrived."

"Evacuation?" Funaki knew what that word meant. He felt foolishly compelled to speak up. "But Mr. Hitachi, what about all of the people working here?"

Hitachi gave him a look of pure contempt. "What about them? In a few seconds, Mr. Funaki, they will be none of your concern."

The loaded meaning behind that sentence did not escape Funaki's notice. He looked around the room frantically, searching for any means of escape. He slowly began to turn back towards the door. Abruptly, a large pair of hands grabbed him from behind.

"Don't even think about it," rumbled the gruff voice of Du, just before he mightily swung the detective across the room and directly into the full-length, pane glass window.

Funaki slumped upon impact, his back to the window as the glass slowly began to spiderweb with cracks behind him. After a moment, pain exploded throughout his body from the force of the massive blow, causing him to grimace. His back felt as if it was on fire and one of his shoulders had become dislocated during the swing. Funaki raised his head, tears etched in the corner of his eyes as he looked around the room in desperation.

"Please, Mr. Hitachi. I can do better! Just give me another chance-"

"You only get one chance with me, detective." Hitachi said casually as he crossed back to the conference table and began to load items into his briefcase. "Miko, begin the evacuation sequence."

The small man nodded dutifully and began to input commands into his computer.

"But, Mr. Hitachi! Please! I have a family!"

"Something you should have considered before betraying my trust." Hitachi closed and locked the briefcase before looking up. "Assassin, please show everyone in this room exactly what happens to those that betray me."

"My pleasure." The imposing, dark figure reached into the recesses of his long overcoat, and produced a small, silver, Colt handgun. Without hesitation, he leveled it at his hapless target

"No!" Funaki pleaded one last time to no avail.

The doomed detective barely had time to register the sound of the gunshots before several projectiles ripped through him and his world ceased to exist.

* * *

TK checked his watch once again. "Are you sure about this plan, Ken?" He asked. "That guy might be up there forever."

Ken continued to stare out of his window intently. "No, my instincts tell that he'll be coming back down soon enough."

At that moment, they heard several faint pops on the night air, followed by the unmistakable sound of breaking glass.

Ken sat up straight. "What was that?"

He barely finished the question before the sedan across the street suddenly exploded loudly in a shower of broken glass and twisted metal, its roof caved in with the weight of something heavy that had fallen upon it.

"Holy...what was that?" TK asked in awe.

Ken answered him by opening his door, leaping from the car and running across the street towards the commotion. Reluctantly, TK got out and followed.

"Ken, are you nuts?" He yelled. "We don't know what the hell that was!"

"Something fell on Funaki's car!" Ken yelled over his shoulder as he leapt to the curb and ran directly up to the wreck, stopping in complete horror when he realized exactly what it was.

TK ran up beside him seconds later, his face reflecting similar shock as he also came to a sudden stop.

"It's a man." He gasped, confirming the fact to himself more than anything. He turned to Ken. "Is he...?"

"I...think so." Ken watched grimly as stray rivulets of blood ran down the twisted chassis of the partially crushed car. They slowly dripped onto the ground, staining the vast amount of broken glass shards that surrounded the area. Ken slowly began to walk toward the horrifying scene.

A hand reached out and grabbed his shoulder. "Ken," TK pleaded. "We should call the police and get out of here."

Ken shrugged him off. "In a moment. I want to see some things for myself."

TK looked around anxiously and was somewhat relieved when he heard the rapid buzzing of insectiod wings and saw a large dark figure alight on the ground next to him.

"Stingmon!" He exclaimed. "Would you talk some sense into him?"

The large green digimon ignored TK and turned to Ken. "I saw the whole thing," He said somberly. "This guy just came crashing out of a top floor window. It was like someone threw him or something."

Ken nodded slightly to indicate he'd heard what his partner said. He bent over and slowly picked up something that had fallen to the ground.

"What's that?"

"His wallet. It must've come out during the fall."

"Or the impact." TK grimly added, keeping his distance. He looked around the area and spotted a few other items. Small scraps of paper, keys, a badge- Something occurred to him. "Ken, is that-?"

"Yeah," The somber, ebony haired boy answered. He held up the wallet for all to see. "It's Detective Funaki."

"But...why? It certainly seemed he came here pretty quickly. No way anyone would run that fast to their own death."

"I think he may have made a fatal mistake by allowing us to discover him." Ken looked up at the tower. "Maybe whoever he works for didn't take that too kindly."

TK followed his gaze. "Yeah. You-you think they're still up there?"

"Probably," Ken mused. "Maybe-"

"You want me to go up there and have a look?" Stingmon asked, guessing his partner's next question before it was articulated.

Ken gave the champion digimon a pointed look. "Be careful and stay out of sight."

Stingmon responded with a slight nod. "I always do." He silently ascended into the air and quickly disappeared into the night.

TK watched him fly up the façade of the tower before turning to give Ken a curious look.

"You guys act like you do this kind of stuff all the time." He said.

"We do what we can." Ken answered grimly. "We help out a PI friend of mine in Tokyo from time to time… Of course we've never seen anything like this before."

Both boys chanced glances at Detective Funaki's mangled body before simultaneously turning away in disgust. The chill of the night began to set in as they anxiously looked around, impatiently awaiting Stingmon's return. It wasn't long before Ken cocked his head curiously and strange low noise of vibration reaching his ears. He looked up. The sound seemed to be coming from somewhere above. A small black shape emerged over the edge of the tower's roof, going straight for a short distance and then making a sharp turn. Its sleek form was perfectly silhouetted by the lights of the Odaiba cityscape reflecting off of the cloudy sky above.

"A helicopter..." TK observed, looking up also.

"Yes, and its leaving now is hardly a coincidence, I'd wager." Ken pulled his phone from his pocket and pointed it upwards. He pressed a key and the small device began to emit several clicking noises.

"What are you doing?" TK asked.

"Evidence gathering." Ken answered flatly after the vehicle disappeared from view. "Whoever's in that thing probably had something to do with what happened to Detective Funaki. I hope there's enough light for these pictures to turn out-"

The crackling of Ken's radio interrupted him. He plucked it from his waist and answered quietly. "Yeah?"

"I'm inside. Snuck in through the broken window."

"Found anything?"

"No, it's weird, but I think everyone that was here is gone now. There's some papers up here on the table, half empty glasses of water, even a computer running-"

"Can you check it out?"

"What?"

"The computer. Can you find out what's on it?"

There was a pause. "I don't know. It's running some kind of program right now-"

"What kind of program?" Ken had an intense look on his face that showed he was trying to grasp for any possible clues.

Another pause. "I'm- not sure. There's a blueprint or something of the entire building and some type of flashing light. Let's see. There's a clock too and...oh no."

"What?" Ken asked anxiously.

There was no answer.

"Stingmon!" He hissed. Still nothing.

The boys looked up when they heard the sound of glass crashing once again from above. Stingmon had exited another window and was diving down toward them with unbelievable speed.

"What's he doing?" TK asked. He barely had time to finish the question before the large digimon reached the two and pulled out of his dive, grasping each into a crook of his arms as he did so and streaking out over the shadowed downtown streets.

Ken's breath was completely taken away by the sudden and unexpected maneuver. He struggled to open his eyes against the wind beating them as they continued to move at high speed.

"Stingmon!" He shouted. "What are you doing?!"

He couldn't quite make out his partner's answer over the roaring wind, but thought he heard the word "bomb" in there somewhere.

"What?" He shouted again.

This time his question was answered not by his partner, but by the sound of a loud crack and explosion somewhere behind them. Ken looked back and noticed that the buildings behind them were starting to tremble as a massive shockwave blasted through their midst, shattering thousands of widows as it bore down on the airborne trio.

He watched in horror as the violent wave overtook them in mere milliseconds, causing Stingmon to falter greatly in its sea of turbulence. Ken struggled to get some kind of bearing on what was happening but couldn't as the concussive wave of force took its toll and they began to descend at a fast rate. The last thing Ken saw was the manicured grid pattern of the Odaiba downtown streets quickly coming up to greet him before he was suddenly overtaken by the cold grip of unconsciousness.

* * *

Everything was exceptionally bright and blurry when Ken opened his eyes once again. Something cold was on his forehead. Someone was looming over him. He waited a moment and blinked his eyes rapidly, desperately trying to get them to adjust. After a few seconds, the sight before him resolved into a lavender-haired goddess with a look of extreme concern upon her face.

"Yolei?' He groaned, putting a hand to his head as he struggled to rise from her lap. "What happened?"

She only replied by grabbing him tightly and sobbing into his shoulder. Bewildered, he instinctively clutched onto her as well.

"What's wrong sweetheart?"

"You almost got yourself killed, Ken!" she mumbled.

The words brought all of the night's events back to the forefront of Ken's mind.

"Stingmon! TK! –"

"I'm okay, and so is he."

Ken turned to see Wormmon standing on the floor next to the sofa he was seated on. He let out a sigh of relief.

"What happened? How did we get –" Ken looked around to see exactly where he was. Everything in the room looked very stylish and expensive. "to Matt's house?" He rubbed his head as he completely recovered short-term memories. "The last thing I remember, we were about to-" He didn't finish the sentence, not really wanting to dwell on the sobering thought.

Wormmon answered the unasked question "I was able to pull out of our fall at the last second. Luckily my armor as Stingmon was able to block out a lot of the blast. I didn't get completely knocked out like you two."

"And TK's okay?"

"Yeah," Yolei said. "He came to a few minutes ago." She was still sniffling, her eyes stained with tears. "He and Stingmon told us what happened. When you got back, all of the kids from the warehouse went home. Cody helped to make sure they were all got there safe. Then he said he had to go see someone about getting some answers. I-I couldn't stop him. And since the news repots have started, things are getting even more out of control-"

"Shhh..." Ken said soothingly, searching for a means to console Yolei despite his pounding head. He was very concerned with her reaction to the situation. Normally she'd be relieved that he was okay, but angry with the manner in which he'd run off. Right now she just seemed... scared.

"Just... how bad was it guys?" Ken asked cautiously. "What exactly happened?"

"Maybe you should see for yourself." Yolei answered, doing her best to compose herself. She rose from the couch and extended a helping hand. "Are you feeling well enough to get up?"

"Yeah." Ken got to his feet with her assistance and leaned against her with a grimace. "Nothing a few aspirin won't cure anyway."

Together they both left the room with Wormmon trailing behind.

Ken was visibly surprised when they entered Matt's expansive media room. Many of their group of digidestined were there. Mimi was seated on a plush leather sofa next to Izzy, clutching his hand tightly as they intently watched something on the giant, wall-mounted, plasma screen television. TK and Kari were next to them, watching the program, which Ken realized was a news report, just as keenly. Matt and Sora were near the back of the room. They walked over to greet Ken and Yolei.

"Hey." Sora said quietly. "How are you feeling Ken?"

"I'm okay, I guess."

Matt frowned. "We figured you would be after TK woke up. Sorry we couldn't get you a doctor, but every single one's downtown right now, even Joe."

"Downtown? What happened?"

"See for yourself." Matt gestured to the television. "My dad's reporting it right now."

Ken looked at the screen and began to listen in.

"-the extent of the damage and why the epicenter of this event is at the site of the Hitachi tower is not known. Also, we must stress that this has not been confirmed nor claimed by any group as an act of terrorism, though authorities as of now are treating it as such. Hundreds, maybe thousands have been left dead or injured and all Hospitals and doctors in the area have been put on emergency call."

The screen changed, showing a twisted, charred steel frame extending from the pile of stone and wreckage that had once been the Hitachi tower. A thick haze of dust and smoke lingered around as many rescue workers and emergency vehicles busily moved about. Mr. Ishida continued to speak.

"Many of the tower's employees and businesses were actually working late at the time of the event and are believed to have been caught in the sudden and unexpected blast. One such employee is believed to have been Mr. Hitachi himself, noted businessman and philanthropist, who was also working late..."

Ken tuned out the rest of the report. He'd seen enough. "Oh my God." He breathed incredulously. "What have they done?"

_To be continued…_

* * *

Next up: **War Pt. I** (of a 3 parter): Things get serious and answers are revealed as the Knights begin the biggest battle of their lives.

Thanks for sticking this out guys. As always, please review. I hope you have good ones for me. This chapter in particular turned out to be a lot more work than I was expecting.

Song Credits:

"_Spend My Life With You"_ Eric Benet & Tamia (one of my favs)

"_Kiss Me"_ Sixpence None the Richer


	13. War Pt 1: The End of the Beginning

Well, guys, after a long (and I mean looooong) hiatus, I have finally returned! School and being a writing major conspire to keep me from adding to this fic very effectively. ;-) Also, it kinda took me a while to accurately remember exactly where I was going with this and what was to happen next. Anyway, here is the beginning of the War trilogy, which will ultimately lead to our heroes rejoining the real world and their much-anticipated reunion with the rest of the Original Digidestined.

Anyway, without further ado, here it is.

* * *

**War Pt I: The End of the Beginning**

**Odaiba- Primary Investigations West Offices**

Kai Atuma stood in his office window, a small smile crossing his face as he watched the young man who'd just visited him leaving the building and walking down the street. The boy had to stop and show his ID to a couple of security details on the way, a result of the recently created "terror alert level," due to the catastrophic events of recent days.

A figure approached Kai from the shadows in one of the corners of his high-rise corner office.

"What did he want?" Jade asked, making no attempt to mask her distaste for the boy.

"My weekly update." Atuma responded, closing the blinds and further shrouding the room in darkness, save for a few bars of light, which filtered through and played across them like a zebra's stripes.

"Of course. And what did he have to say?"

"Disappointingly, not much new." Kai walked across the room to his wet bar and busied himself with pouring a shot of scotch. "It seems the originals are no closer to finding the missing digidestined than are the rest of us. In fact, they are significantly behind us. At least we can see the war on the horizon. They, like the rest of the ignorant public, have absolutely no idea what is going on right now.: Kai smiled, "As evidenced by yesterdays funeral for 'beloved philanthropist Yukio Hitachi'"

Jade, unconcerned with Kai's amusement at the moment, pushed further. "So we must sit here once again, simply waiting?"

Kai took a swig of his drink before making a bitter face and answering. "No, the time for inaction is over. We have taken the necessary steps to make a definitive move at this point. I say we do so."

"How?"

"According to Cody, the digidestined who haven't disappeared will be meeting at Matt Ishida's residence tonight. I say we call up some of our more promising recruits and give them a house call."

A feral smile crossed Jade's lips.

"You see, the time of our main offensive is drawing ever near, despite the setback caused by that bumbling detective. Though I have confidence in Mr. Hitachi's ultimate plan, I believe he is overconfident and shortsighted in believing that a sizable resistance cannot be built up against us."

Jade nodded in agreement. "Starting with the ten remaining original digidestined."

"Yes, that group would be the obvious choice to spearhead any resistance efforts. And furthermore, when will we ever have an opportunity to have them all in the same place, at the same time again?"

"Thus, we should make a move, while the opportunity presents itself."

"Of course."

Jade eyed her mentor suspiciously. "This action is not sanctioned by Mr. Hitachi, is it?"

"No, but not many of my actions are. I am the 'Assassin,' remember? I've been around for much longer than he has, fighting against the light."

"The light," Jade scoffed. "You only fight against what your old friends represent."

"Do not call them old 'friends' of mine. They turned against me at the slightest sign of my independence. They were conformists in the highest sense and would not stop until I had been stifled and enslaved along with the rest."

"It could not have been so bad." She said dismissively. "Gennai chose to stay with them."

Kai eyed his understudy warily. She certainly behaved in a more independent, and at times, downright disrespectful manner since their recent reunion. Of course, that was most likely the result of their relationship's new, more mutually beneficial, status. He couldn't expect her to remain a submissive young girl in conversation if she wasn't exactly acting like one elsewhere.

Kai continued without reacting to her behavior. "Gennai will die for his betrayal. Make no mistake about that."

"I have heard this before. What makes you think that this time will be any different from the Oikawa-Myotismon experiment we attempted last time?"

"Because this time, we have someone with true drive and ambition to back. Hitachi is finally getting his own hands dirty, and he is not interested with abstract and essentially useless goals such as bringing about an age of darkness. He wants power. If the digital world had remained undiscovered, he'd still be going about the same business of spreading his influence and dominance around the world. If anyone could understand what we're going to do tonight, it would be him."

"I suppose." Jade shrugged and unsheathed her ever-present katana. She began to polish the surface with a white cloth produced from her cleavage. "As long as you know what you're doing. I would not advise crossing him."

"Curious, I see it as the other way around. I suppose it depends on where your true loyalties lie."

She ignored him.

"But tonight, no one's ambitions will be crossed." He continued, giving her only a slightly distrustful glance. "There will only be success and terror, and both of our goals will be met."

"If you say so."

"I do. Now we must visit the catacombs. We have worked long and hard to create our digital army. It's time we used it."

Jade's eyes flicked upwards as something occurred to her. "Our army…but what of the one you suspect Gennai is creating? How has your contact in the other realm fared?"

"He has fared very well, and currently has all the materials he needs to overthrow Gennai and his allies, or so he says. I am not sure exactly what is currently going on in Gennai's realm, but my old ally seems not to be in control so much as he thinks he is."

"How fortunate."

"Yes. The dark digimon I agreed to send to my contact's aid have been lying dormant for quite a while. Such powerful weapons should not be held back for so long a period of time."

Jade frowned. "Are you sure you should trust him with the Dark Ones? What if he hasn't been quite as honest with his intentions as you think?"

Kai shrugged. "I am not concerned. The Dark Ones with only follow someone equally as dark, and thus worthy, to lead them. Otherwise they will simply be rogue tools of massive destruction. Either way, we benefit greatly from their presence in Gennai's realm."

"You have a valid point, master."

"Of course. Now let's be off. We don't have long before nightfall. It is time for this war to truly begin."

* * *

**The Digital Realm**

Curtis was having one of his moments again. Rosa watched him concernedly as he paced back and forth, muttering below his breath and reviewing a litany of thoughts out loud.

"Did you call them?" She asked cautiously.

"Yes." He stopped momentarily, before picking up his routine once again. "I sent them all messages. Hopefully they'll be here soon."

Rosa nodded and wrung her hands nervously for a moment. "Curtis, are you sure about this? I mean, you-er we don't have any proof of all this stuff-"

"I know, Rosa." He answered in a huff that said they'd been over this issue before. "But something's going on here…something dark."

"Curtis, listen to yourself."

"Rosa, I know how crazy it sounds, but I can't just keep ignoring the evidence. Everything has pointed to Sensei Enn being up to something underhanded, and probably evil."

Rosa resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Why do you think that? Maybe he's just testing us-"

"Are you kidding? He buried dark spire material in practically our backyard!"

"But we're not sure it's dark spire material. I mean, you can't just go off of one sentence you overheard from Counselor Gen."

"Rosa, I heard the man tell Keyan that, while out on patrol, he felt a "dark presence." He was patrolling the same area we saw Enn digging in that night. He even said it reminded him of some of Ken's creations!"

"The Digimon Emperor's creations."

"What?"

"Ken and the Digimon Emperor are not the same person."

Curtis scowled momentarily. Rosa's habit of defending Ken's reputation, especially since they'd began studying more recent events in Digital History, had become extremely annoying as of late.

"Whatever. The point is, the Emperor created two things, Dark Spires, and Dark Spirals. The spirals were all destroyed according to _Chronicles_, but the spire material was simply hidden away until a safe way of disposing it could be found."

Rosa crossed her arms and sat back. Curtis was in full exposition mode now, and although she'd already heard most of this before, it still held her attention surprisingly well.

"And guess who hid it away? Gennai. And who's technically a part of Gennai? Sensei Enn. If he wanted to use the dark material to his own ends, a supply was always readily available to him."

"Then why didn't he do it earlier?"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because he was trying everything else under the sun? I mean, just take a look at the combines. They were practically designed to kill us-"

"Curtis-"

"I'm serious Rosa! Our suits and Gennai's intervention may have protected us for the most part, but when it comes down to it, those things were still exercises in brutality and barbarism on an insane scale!"

"But-"

"And remember that seadramon? Enn was practically overjoyed when it attacked Tai and Jason, as if he planned it from the start."

Curtis stopped and looked at Rosa, hoping that she would soon change her stance and begin to agree with him. Rosa stared back at him intently, searching his eyes for something.

"There's something you're not telling me." She said finally. "Everything you've said isn't enough for me to really think that Sensei Enn is plotting against us, but for some reason, it's enough for you." She peered at him even closer. "You're leaving out something, aren't you?"

Curtis looked at her in a mixture of wonder and unease. It was amazing how Rosa could read him so well with only a look into his eyes. He walked over and sat down next to her with a sigh.

"Yes," he admitted. "There is one thing I've been thinking about for a while now." He paused and stared forward in thought. "But I don't want to say it just yet. I want to wait until everyone else gets here."

Rosa detected an amount of nervousness in his voice and sidled closer to him. She entwined her arm with his and nuzzled against his shoulder reassuringly.

"Well, even though we're arguing now, you know that no matter what you have to say later, I'm going to be behind you all the way, right?"

Curtis swallowed dryly before giving her a small smile and nodding. "Thank you."

* * *

Jun and Clara traipsed through the sparse undergrowth of the outer forest expertly as they made their way towards Curtis' meeting point. They had been practicing combat and deductive reasoning techniques with Krista Lee at the time they'd received their "summons" via their digivices. Jun grunted as she stumbled momentarily on a root. She muttered a curse that prompted a giggle from Clara. Jun cut a glare at her. Clara sobered and looked at her companion closely.

"You seem to be a little on edge today, Jun." She observed. "Anything you want to talk about?"

"No…" After a moment Jun stopped next to a rather tall elm for a breather. "Well maybe." She glanced at Clara. "Perhaps you can identify with this."

"With what?"

Jun pursed her lips in thought for a moment, figuring out what exactly she wanted to say. "Well, have you ever watched Davis and Kuri? I mean, really watched them, the way they are around each other?"

"Um, okay…yes."

"And what did you think?"

"Well, they're really in love. They're joined at the hip, actually. I mean, I don't think I've ever seen two people more attuned with one another. They always know what each other's thinking, with the way their shields are connected. Hell, at this point, it's almost easier to think of them as one person than two."

Jun nodded and showed her agreement with everything Clara was saying.

Clara continued. "It really is amazing. But, why do you ask?"

"Clara, have you ever wondered what it would be like if you and Terence had that kind of relationship? If you were that close?"

"Well, sure, I guess, but Terence and I have our own kind of connection. I'm okay with that- wait, this is about you and Tai, isn't it? Do I detect a hint of jealousy here?"

Clara raised her eyebrows suggestively. Jun sighed in response.

"Jealousy is such an ugly way to put it. Really, I guess I'm just a little disappointed. I mean, I thought the way Tai and I felt about each other was the absolute epitome of love. I never thought I could care about anyone or anything so much. I really felt that Tai and I were as close as two people could possibly be. Now, and I know this sounds kind of petty, but now that I can see that there's a whole other level of connection two people in love can have- well, part of me can't help but to wonder what it feels like."

"I can understand that."

"Really?"

"Sure, I mean you and Tai were the first couple here. You two are kind of the model that the rest of us follow, to tell you the truth. I can't blame you for feeling the way you do. You and Tai have been together for almost a year now, and, from what you've told me, it's been the best time of your life. I mean, you two pretty much saved each other from lives full of disappointment in love, am I right?"

Jun nodded with a small smile, both wistful and sad. "Yeah."

"Well then, it seems to me that you love him so much that you just want to share everything possible with him. There's nothing wrong with that."

"I guess." Jun didn't seem too comforted.

"Who knows, maybe it'll turn out that your shields are connected."

"Yeah, maybe." She frowned, unconvinced, and stepped away from the tree with a sigh. "Let's get going."

* * *

Kuri stared up at the clear, blue, sky in perfect contentment. The blanket she was lying on was soft and the day was absolutely beautiful. The realm had undergone its final change, reverting back to its old forest and meadow landscape from the first term. On this day in particular, Kuri especially appreciated the change. The weather was ideal, with a temperature hovering around the mid-seventies and a gentle breeze that swept over her like a wave of calm.

The sound of light snoring was the only thing that kept her from completely enjoying the peace of the moment. She looked over at her dozing partner, his face still irrepressibly attractive to her, even in its current not so glamorous state.

With a smirk she reached over and tapped him lightly on the shoulder.

Davis stirred and opened his eyes slowly to look upon her.

"Mmm…" He smiled as if discovering an unexpected present. "Hi."

"Hi yourself. What kind of picnic is this? First you come up with this idea for us to spend valuable free time together, and then you fall asleep?"

Davis ignored Kuri's good-natured complaint and smiled. He reached out and grasped a tendril of her hair, twirling it around and between his fingers as he became lost in her emerald eyes.

"I'm sorry sweetheart. It's just, we've been training so hard since Rosa and Curtis told us-"

"I know." She interrupted, caressing his hand to her cheek as she moved closer to him. "And I feel as tired as you do, I imagine. But that's no reason to waste time sleeping when you could be doing this,"

She leaned forward enough to bring their lips into contact and allowed instinct to guide the procedure from there. They kissed slowly, lovingly, tenderly, expressing their feelings in the precious way they caressed one another and gazed into each other's eyes between unions of their lips. Gradually the kisses became longer and more intense. Lust and passion were just beginning to take over when Terence and Tai happened along.

"Break it up, you two." Terence said with a laugh. "We've all seen your light show plenty of times."

Davis groaned and reluctantly turned away from her to face them.

"What do you want?" He grumbled.

Kuri sat up in the same, annoyed fashion. "This had better be good."

"Well, so sorry to interrupt your little make-out session here, but didn't you get that message from my brother?"

Davis cocked an eyebrow as his ire lowered somewhat. "No, what message?"

"The one on your digivices-" Tai began before stopping himself short with a frown. "Which I'm sure you didn't have turned on, did you?"

"Well, we didn't want to be interrupted." Kuri said, a bit sheepishly. "Lot of good that did, though."

"What did the message say?" Davis asked, his demeanor suddenly taking a more serious and authoritative role.

"He wants us to meet at the clearing just east of the lake."

"About what?"

"He didn't say." Terence answered with a look of concern. "When my brother does things like this, he always offers an explanation. For him not to not to tell us why most likely means he probably can't. That kinda worries me."

Without further prodding, Davis rose from the ground and helped Kuri up as well.

"Well, what are waiting for, then?" He said, nodding towards Tai. "Lead the way."

With that, the four quickly set off toward the appointed meeting place.

* * *

The small clearing filled quickly when the six digidestined arrived. Curtis looked at them all solemnly with a bit of apprehension as they did, finding courage only in the firm grip he held on Rosa's hand.

"Okay," Tai began once everyone had settled in quietly. "What is this all about, Curtis?"

"Well," the younger Dumars started unsurely. "Lately I uh, have begun to have serious doubts about this place and the people who run it, well, one in particular."

"Sensei Enn?" Jun guessed.

Curtis nodded.

"Oh come on, Curtis." Davis said. "We all think he's a twisted, sadistic, bastard, but to call a meeting about it? Was this really necessary?"

"Something's wrong here."

"What?"

"Something's wrong here," he repeated. "There's something they're not telling us."

Tai regarded him somewhat perplexedly. "Curtis, where is all of this coming from? What do you mean, exactly?"

"I mean, I've observed a lot over the past few weeks and I've had some time to think-"

Terence threw up his hands. "Well, there you have it. That's your explanation right there. Give my brother some time to think about something and he'll eventually turn completely paranoid."

"Hey!" Rosa protested. "Just listen to him, okay?"

"Yes," Jun agreed while giving the younger Dumars a studious stare. "He may be able to articulate some thoughts that I've had since our first day of sessions here."

Tai glanced at her, remembering a time when he'd held her in his arms long ago; the day they'd gotten lost in the forest. Jun had feared something sinister here then, and, Tai realized, she'd apparently never lost that fear.

"Go on, Curtis," He encouraged. "What's on your mind?"

After drawing a deep breath to steel his resolve, Curtis told the group all of the things he had recited to Rosa earlier. They took in all of the information with nods of understanding and thinly veiled looks of skepticism. When he finished, it was Jun that spoke first, cutting off everyone else's inevitable criticisms.

"And what else?" She asked.

"What?"

"The dark material concerns me, as does your evidence of Sensei Enn's possible ulterior motives here, but I get the feeling that there's more to this story that what you've told us."

"Well-"

"There is more to this." Rosa cut in. "And he said he would tell us when you all got here." She stared at Curtis intently. "I'm waiting."

Curtis ran a hand over his face. He would have to tell them if he truly wanted them to believe all that he'd said. It was now or never.

"Well, in Digital History, you know how Counselor Gen is always saying that two extremes cannot exist without one another? You know, how darkness-"

"Cannot exist without the light." The rest of the group finished for him simultaneously.

"Yeah, we know." Terence said with a roll of his eyes. "If there's any lesson that Gen's tried to pound into us over our time here, it's that."

"But why is that so significant?" Tai asked.

"Because a big part of why Counselor Gen always tells us that is to emphasize the point that all things have light and darkness within them."

"Okay…and you're trying to say that Sensei Enn has what, 'gone over to the dark side?" Clara asked.

"Kind of. I'm actually trying to say he never left."

"What?"

"Clara, think about it. Remember when you accessed Willis laptop a while back. When we were trying to save Tai and Jason from that Seadramon?"

She nodded slowly. "Yes."

"Well, when you first tried to operate it, it showed a holographic display-"

"Yeah, a bunch of colored starlets or something."

"Right. It was one starlet, to be precise. One which split into several smaller ones, basically the colors that comprised it."

"Yeah, and they all disappeared."

"Well, not really. They were all actually absorbed by the dark, shadowy one before disappearing."

"Okay, Curtis." Kuri cut in. "You and Clara are the only ones that saw this stuff. Mind telling us what makes you think it's so important?"

"I think we were witnessing something that Gennai promised we would learn from Nai during our time here, but haven't come close to covering."

"What's that?"

"Data manipulation. The ability to split Digimon and data into different individuals and categories."

"Okay, I'm officially lost.' Terence muttered.

Curtis glanced at him. "Remember on our first day of classes, when Gennai told us that his multiple entities were the products of data manipulation, likely done by Willis?'

"Yeah." Tai was nodding, as if close to seeing where Curtis might be going with all this.

Davis watched him intently. Tai used to do that when Izzy would tell them one of his complicated theories, which usually turned out to be dead on. Suddenly he found himself taking Curtis' explanation much more seriously.

"Well, I've been thinking that, what if Gen is right? That all things have a side of darkness and light?"

"Of course he's right," Jun insisted. "It's what keeps us in balance."

"Right. So, if I told you that the starlet display on Willis' laptop was a demonstration of what happened to Gennai, what would you think?" Curtis was pointedly directing this question at Jun.

"I would think…" She began. "That you believe that in addition to his personalities, Gennai was also somehow split into his aspects of light and darkness."

"And let me guess," Tai interjected. "You believe Sensei Enn to be the dark one."

"And Counselor Gen obviously must be the light." Davis finished.

Curtis nodded gravely.

"But…if that's true, wouldn't Gennai know about it?" Rosa asked. "Why would he let Enn teach here?"

"Because he doesn't have much of a choice." Clara answered. "If Gennai is really like the starlets we saw, the dark personality is like um, the most dominant probably." She glanced over at Curtis, who nodded with a small smirk.

"Dominance is the best way to describe it. If I'm right and Clara accessed Willis' data manipulation files all that time ago, then it stands to reason that Gennai's various pieces would emulate those of the starlet. The dark one will gradually take over the rest, exerting his will over Gennai's other personalities, even Gen."

"That may be true," Kuri mused. "I mean, how else can you explain all the things Enn has gotten away with doing to us?"

"Yeah." Davis agreed. "If he's controlling the Gennais somehow…the seadramon, the tyrranomon, all that stuff may be his doing."

"Not control per se." Curtis corrected. "It's more like, as time passes, he continues to gain influence over them, and consequently, what happens here."

Davis suddenly stood up determinedly. "So how do we stop him?"

"Whoa, time out guys." Tai said, making a T with his hands and standing up also. "While I have a lot of confidence in Curtis, that doesn't change the fact that most of this is still theory. We don't have any proof or evidence of any of these claims."

Kuri stood up beside Davis. "Then we'll have to get some." She turned to Curtis and Rosa. "Where do you say he buried that dark material?"

"Not far from here," Rosa answered. "Why?"

"Because that's one way to discover the truth in Curtis' claims." Tai said. "If it really is dark material buried down there, that'll tell us all that we need to know. Let's go."

Curtis didn't look nearly as enthusiastic. "Wait. What? You want us to just go over there, risking everything Rosa and I have worked so hard to keep secret?"

"Well, how else are we supposed to find out the truth?"

"Yeah," said Terence, "and it's not like it's been that hard on you two to keep this down low, bro. You weren't caught by anyone, so it's not like you've had to lie."

"Um, not exactly…' Rosa began.

Davis raised a brow. "Not exactly? I don't like the sound of that. Not exactly what?"

"Well, um, when we got back from the woods that night we kinda got caught by Counselor Gen on the way in."

"What!" Tai exclaimed. "You know, you could've told us this a lot sooner."

"It wasn't that bad. He was coming down the main stairs just after we entered, so we were able to play a little ruse on him." Curtis smiled. "There's a significant difference in level of suspicion between discovering two academy students sneaking outside after hours, and simply stumbling upon two kids ditching a party to...um…be more _involved_ with one another, if you know what I mean."

Terrence smacked his forehead and sighed.

"So he only thinks you were making-out?" Davis asked. "He didn't know you were outside at all?"

"Nope." Rosa smiled. "He had no idea."

"Good." Kuri said. "Then what are we waiting for? If the chances of us getting caught are low, then let's get moving."

Curtis walked over to Rosa and gave her a hand up from the stump. "Okay. Just follow us, I guess."

"Wait." Jun said, raising a hand. "We'll need help." She pulled out her digivice and pressed a button, activating the homing beacon that would eventually bring Sparks to her location. "I suggest you all do the same."

With a bit of rummaging through their pockets, the rest of the group followed suit, before being led by Curtis and Rosa out of the clearing.

* * *

Sparks licked his lips hungrily as he stared at the substantial amount of cookies piled on the center of their poker table. He looked around at his competitors, Veemon, Peko, and Pings. All of them seemed utterly emotionless and calm, their faces unreadable. He'd taught them too well. Sparks looked down at his own pitiful hand, utterly worthless and in no way going to be able to win him any of Digitamamon's delicious, prize winning, buttery chocolate-chip masterpieces. He began to contemplate ways to pilfer a few when a jolt suddenly went through his body, bolting him upright. Everyone at the table looked up at the abrupt movement.

"You okay, Sparks?" Veemon asked.

"Yeah, your hand can't be _that_ bad, can it?" Peko joked.

Sparks ignored her. "Jun needs me."

Pings slapped his head with a flipper-like hand. "Here we go again. Look Sparks, if your hand really is that bad, why don't you just take a loss or not play. This underhanded stuff gets old after-" He stopped abruptly, a sudden sensation running through his body. Peko and Veemon mirrored him.

At that moment, the door to the room opened and Agumon peeked in. "Any of you get summoned by your partners too?"

The four at the table nodded.

"So did the rest of us. This must be serious." Concern washed over Agumon's face before he turned to leave. "Come on, let's go."

No one had to be told twice before bounding out after him.

* * *

"Well this definitely must be the spot." Terence muttered, looking at the barren earth where Curtis and Rosa indicated Enn had buried the material.

"The grass is dead." Jun observed, gesturing at the brown and withered stalks. "It seems like it can't grow."

"As if something dark has drained the life from it." Curtis added.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves guys." Tai walked to the spot and knelt down, examining the ground closely. "I don't suppose anyone has a shovel?"

"Who needs a shovel?" Kuri asked. She pulled out her digivice and pressed a button. Almost immediately, her casual wear disappeared in a flash of burning light and was replaced by the sleek, black fabric of her Knights uniform. "We can use our powers and blast it away."

The group looked at her in mild surprise.

"What?" She asked, defensively. "Willis didn't program all these special features into our suits and digivices for nothing. I say there's no better time to start using them."

Finding no argument with her logic, the rest of the group followed her lead with several accompanying flashes of light (not without Clara complaining about the loss of a good outfit, however).

"Okay, now what?" Terrence asked, stretching after the sudden infusion of rookie level power.

Davis made a fist. "We hit it with everything we've got. It's probably buried pretty deep."

Tai frowned momentarily. He knew there was something about all this that didn't quite add up, but the proactive side of his personality easily overtook his better judgment. "Okay. Everyone charge up. We want to do this as fast and efficiently as possible." He began to build a good-sized fireball in his hand.

The group followed suit, with the physical attackers standing back to await their turn.

Suddenly, the brush at one end of the clearing began to stir violently. Everyone turned their attention away from the ground and toward the commotion. Sensei Enn burst through the foliage, his face a picture of perfect rage.

"What are you doing here!" He bellowed, rushing across to them with deceptive speed. "You all are not authorized to be in this area!"

Tai was the first to recover from the surprise interruption.

"We know, Sensei." He replied coolly, his face stern and unflinching. "You mind telling us why?" A fireball continued to glow brightly around one of his fists.

Enn quickly regained his composure and lowered his voice to match Tai's. "Kamiya, I am obligated to tell you nothing. Do not forget your place here." The threat held in his voice and expression was very palpable. "Now leave."

"No." Davis walked forward to stand beside Tai. "Not until you tell us what's going on here."

"You dare to make demands of me? I will tell you nothing but to leave before I have to take action against you."

"Take action? What does that mean? You would attack us?"

Enn answered only with a steely stare.

"You have no powers." Curtis said confidently. "The only way you would attack us is with whatever you're hiding down there."

"I am hiding nothing."

Kuri rolled her eyes. "Oh, come off it. We know you have dark material buried down there, Enn. What are you hiding it for? What are you planning?" Her hands were fisted as well, both building up unseen boom bubbles.

Sensei Enn turned away from her and the rest of the group. "I have finally tired of this." He said quietly as his back faced them. "Gennai has had his way for far too long. He has coddled you from the beginning, treated you like the spoiled weaklings you truly are. And now you think that you are all-powerful. That your pitiful abilities amount to anything in the grand scheme. It's time I brought to you an understanding of what power really is. It is time that you all learn the respect and fear that should have been placed in you from the beginning."

"If there's one thing I will never fear, Enn, it is you." Tai said calmly. "Now one more time, tell us what you're hiding down there, or we'll find out for ourselves." He raised a hand again and prepared to attack the ground. The rest of the group followed his lead.

Enn suddenly and violently turned around, his eyes glowing an intense shade of white. His hair and dark robes flowed around him, as if blown by a massive amount of power emanating from within.

"DO NOT PRESUME TO THREATEN ME!"

Everyone stepped back as a group, their attacks dissipating in mere seconds.

"What th-?" Terence gasped. "I thought he didn't have any powers."

"W-we've obviously been lied to." Jun replied, struggling to keep her voice from failing her.

Tai did his best to hide his shock at Enn's transformation. "Don't let your guard down-"

"You wanted to know what I was hiding so badly!" Enn shouted. "Here! Let me show you!"

He extended his hands and shot several bars of light from his fingertips into the ground between them, illuminating the area intensely.

"Everyone get back, now!" Tai ordered. He stepped in front of Jun to shield her from whatever attack was sure to come.

"As I told you before," Enn continued, "I HIDE NOTHING!"

The entire area began to shake violently as the light burst back out of the ground, bringing up tons of dirt and gravel and spraying it in all directions. Wind swept around feverishly as the air was filled with the energy of Enn's attack. The group was forced to their knees and they struggled to shield themselves from the debris flying around them.

"What should we do?!" Jun screamed into Tai's ear as she knelt and held onto him.

"Nothing yet!" He answered. "He's too strong for us to take on now, and he doesn't appear to be attacking us directly! Just hold on!"

After a moment the wind began to subside and the ground stopped shaking. The energy in the air dissolved away slowly and was replaced by a quiet stillness. Everyone quickly regained their footing and looked up to see the Sensei standing on the other side of a newly created, large, gaping pit between them. His eyes were still blazing as he watched them, chest heaving from his effort.

"You wanted to see what I had to hide," he grunted. "Then take a look."

No one moved. After recovering from their initial astonishment, they turned looks of suspicion and malice on Enn, wondering what his true motivations could have been at the moment.

"Ah, so now I finally get the wary respect I should have received all along?" He chuckled, turning his hand in front of him casually as he watched the light energy dance around his fingertips. "I suppose it is true what they say; simple minds really do only understand one thing, _power_."

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, the ground began to vibrate once again. But this time it was different. It was a kind of vibration that Tai had felt before. Something was coming from below. Fast.

Tai didn't even have the time to issue a short warning before thousands of large forms began to exit the pit at immense speed, the wind in their wake forcing the digidestined to the ground as the creatures took to the air like a giant flock of birds. Their large bodies quickly began to block out what was left of the day's sunlight as their varied cries filled the air.

Below, the low guttural bellows and moans of even larger, land bound creatures issued forth from the pit as they slowly began to exit the crater, breaching the rim with glowing eyes and gleaming teeth.

"They're Digimon!" Clara shouted, retreating away from the commotion with the rest of the group.

"Not exactly," Curtis said, watching the advancing creatures with scrutiny. "They've got features from several different Digimon-"

"Like hundreds of Kimeramon." Davis finished. He dove unexpectedly, pushing Kuri out of the way as one of the ground creatures suddenly shot a bolt of electricity into their midst. The terrific explosion of the attack's impact with the ground sent them all flying off of their feet

As they collectively regained their footing, Tai looked carefully at the large smoldering area the electric attack left on the ground and considered the level of strength required to create it.

"That looked like one of MegaKabuterimon's attacks," he said as they all started to flee, "Whatever these things are, they're attacking at the ultimate level."

"Not good." Jun responded to that bit of news. She looked around the clearing. "Now, where the hell did Enn run off to?"

"What, you think he'd call these things off even if he was here?" Terence shouted, leaping over a fallen tree, and continuing as it burst into flames from an attack behind him. "Face it, that man has shown his true colors! What we need now is some power for fighting back!"

Rosa picked up her digivice and chanced a glance at it as she ran. "You're about to get your wish!" she said.

Terence paused. "What?"

Eight small shapes suddenly burst through the underbrush in front of the group, coming to a stop as quickly as they appeared.

"What's going on, guys?" Agumon asked, at the head of the group.

Sparks leapt in front of him. "What on earth is _that_?" He yelled, pointing to one of the deformed, land bound creatures loping after the young knights.

"Trouble." Peko answered, watching the hybrid digimon approach with concern.

"Glad to see you guys." Tai said quickly. He turned to the rest of the group. "Everyone, ultimate level digivolutions, now! Let's lead these guys out of the forest and into the mansion clearing where we'll have a better chance of fighting them." He then looked at Curtis in particular, "Inform everyone you can of what's happening here. There might be thousands of these things. We're going to need all the help we can get."

Curtis nodded and set to work with his D-terminal as the bright lights of digital evolution flashed all around him.

* * *

Willis stared at his computer screen and pounded his keyboard in frustration.

"I just don't get it! These things are showing up everywhere on the grid, but I can't do anything to affect them! It's ridiculous! They might as well not exist at all."

Nai, who stood behind him, concurred. "It is very perplexing. They seem to be Digimon, but it seems we can't shut them out through any means. How can they be defeated?"

"They must be destroyed."

Nai and Willis quickly turned toward the sound of the voice. Gen was there, slumped in the doorway of the third story office, clutching his abdomen in pain.

Nai rushed over to him and helped him up. "Gen! Are you all right? What is going on?"

"D-Dark presence," the Digital History professor gasped. "It must be some sort of attack. Those digimon out there are somehow dark in nature. They're draining me of power very quickly. If…if they cannot be detected though your advanced means, then they must be destroyed though more…conventional methods. It… is the only way."

Willis looked at the older man gravely. "You're sure about this?" He hated to be without a technological solution to this problem.

Gen nodded. "As sure as I am that I will die if this continues much longer." He coughed, his breath coming in ever more ragged wheezes. "There are so many of them that they seem to be…'cough'- overpowering the light of this realm."

Nai led Gen to a chair and carefully helped him to sit down. He then turned to Willis. "We have only one choice then, it seems. You must go get Terriermon and Lopmon, but first-" He walked over to a armoire in the corner and opened the doors. Inside were two rows of gleaming, silver, digital plasma rifles. Nai grabbed two for himself and tossed one to Willis. "You're going to need this."

Willis looked at the large gun in his hands uncomfortably, then at his mentor.

"This has become war, my student. We are all soldiers now. Now, let's get going."

They exited the room quickly.

* * *

The battle outside began to rage on fiercely.

Tai launched a giga blaster attack upwards, knocking yet another one of the flying abominations from the air, and grimaced as it was replaced by two more. He leaped out of the way as they both launched fire attacks at him, thoroughly scorching the area.

The two attackers were then hit by unexpected twin wing blade attacks from behind, as Davis and AeroVeedramon dove through their midst. They fell to the ground below with a loud crash, and before they could recover, were hit by static force attacks from Clara and Marta, also swooping in low from overhead.

Terence ran up next to Tai, looking toward where the two digimon had laid before pixelating in deletion.

"That's three down," He looked up into the sky, teeming with hundreds of insect-like hybrid digimon. "About a billion more to go."

Tai grimaced. "The odds do seem stacked against us-"

There was a sudden loud thump behind them. Terence and Tai both quickly turned to see the snarling visage of something that seemed to be a cross between an etemon and a roachmon bearing down on them, its eyes cackling with dark energy. Abruptly, the creature disappeared in a bright flash of electric blue light as it was blasted some twenty feet away.

Tai and Terence looked up in surprise and saw Xian approaching, a bo staff in one hand and a raised plasma rifle in the other. His partner Ogremon was just behind him.

"Fight diligently knights!" he shouted to them as they passed to continue battle with the dark digimon. "Evil will not prevail on this day!"

He and Ogremon plowed into the midst of several of the dark creatures, delivering kicks, punches, and blows from their weapons with brutal efficiency.

"Wow, if he can fight like that, with no protective suit or powers, what are we complaining about?"

"Exactly," Tai responded. "Let's help him out."

The two charged up attacks and launched themselves into the fray as well.

* * *

Jun, Sparks, Peko, and Kuri were fighting at nearly the other end of the mansion clearing, having been separated from the rest of the group during the early moments of combat. Kuri and Peko were stunning most of their enemies with their speed, while Jun and Sparks finished them off with power.

"I don't think this is getting us anywhere!" Sparks shouted, delivering whirlwind kicks to two enemies while destroying a third with a killing wave attack. "For all we destroy we don't seem to be making a dent."

"He's right!" Kuri leapt and somersaulted between two of the dark digimon before landing and firing a sonic attack back at them without even turning around. "We can't keep this up forever!"

Jun listened to their laments while firing waves at a group of land bound digimon that Peko had just disoriented by running between them with blazing speed.

"What do you suggest we do, then?" She asked. "Cause I'm definitely open to suggestions."

Kuri shrugged and leapt aside as a flurry of ice, lightning, and fire elemental attacks hit the ground where she once stood. She got up quickly, firing back blindly in a multitude of directions. "I'll tell you when I come up with one."

Despite the gravity of their situation, Jun had to crack a small smile at that. Her eyes widened, however, when she noticed an eight-legged arachnid creature stealthily sneaking up behind Kuri.

"K, watch your back!" She shouted, raising her hands. " There's a-" Jun stopped suddenly when a whirling blur struck the spider-like digimon from behind, knocking it well clear of its unsuspecting victim.

Jun blinked. "Ms. Lee?"

Krista Lee came out of her spinning heel kick quickly, Ninjamon faithfully at her side. "I received Curtis' message. Are you all right?"

"Yeah, we're holding our own-"

"Where is Xian?"

"I'm not sure. We haven't seen him."

Krista grunted in frustration.

"Why? What's wrong?"

"Chan in a brave fool. Knowing him, he won't hold himself back even against such innumerable odds. He'll charge in hell-bent and rashly. Someone has to watch his back."

Jun glanced at the combat instructor and noticed the amount of anxious affection and worry in her eyes. She understood immediately.

"We'll help you find him Ms. Lee." She said, nodding to Kuri.

"Sure, why not?" Kuri said, pausing between attacks. "At least we'll be getting something accomplished."

"Thank you girls," Krista graced them with a nod. "Let's get moving."

* * *

"Now, how exactly did this all happen?"

Jonathan stood back to back with Curtis, Nadia, and Rosa, each firing their respective attacks at approaching enemies in order to better protect one another.

"Sensei Enn-" Curtis stopped himself in order to fire upon a group of particularly elusive insectiod flying foes.

"Enough said." Jonathan interrupted. "He released these things as some sort of test?"

"He released them," Rosa answered. "But there's no test."

"So what are you saying?" Nadia asked, keeping an eye on her partner Rose, fighting above them in her Piximon form. "He's trying to kill us or something?"

"Pretty much." The quartet ducked simultaneously as several attacks sailed over their heads. "And if we don't start getting somewhere in this battle, he's gonna succeed."

"They're starting to surround us." Curtis noted grimly. "We're getting packed in."

It was true. What had started out as a rather large berth around the group had quickly diminished to about twenty feet at best. Several different types of hybrids were closing in on them cautiously, two stepping in for each one that fell. Rosa put her fingers to her lips and let out a shrill whistle. After a moment she was answered with a low rumbling as Vermillimon ambled over to the group, clearing a decent sized path as he did. "Everyone hop on!" She commanded.

No one had to be told twice as they all climbed up onto the large dinosaur-like digimon behind her.

"Where to?" Vermillimon rumbled.

Rosa looked to Curtis.

"We need to regroup with everyone else." He said. "Let's look for Tai."

* * *

Willis ran down the main hall of the mansion, Nai in front of him and Terriermon and Lopmon at his sides. Surrounding them were several anxious students and digimon, the last to be informed of the threat outside, who were all heading towards the doors with a collective nervous determination. Upon reaching the doors, Willis gasped at the sight before him, best described as pure and utter chaos. There were clusters of brave knights here and there across the vast field, taking on the largest and most menacing horde of digimon he'd ever seen in his life.

Nai barely flinched. "Come on, Knights!" He barked. "We have work to do!"

Almost immediately he unshouldered both of his rifles and began firing indiscriminately into the midst of the creatures as he ran out into the clearing. The remaining students and digimon followed closely behind, bolstered greatly by their instructor's courage.

Willis quickly reached into his pocket and pulled out his digivice. With a couple of presses he digivolved Lopmon to Turuiemon and armored Terriermon to Rapidmon. His now larger partners flanked him as he pulled out his rifle and charged it. Upon doing so, Willis looked out over the battle with resignation.

"Come on guys, let's do what we can."

As they started to head off, Willis suddenly paused, feeling a familiar presence behind him. He turned to look upon Keyan's calm yet steely countenance as she exited the mansion as well.

"Keyan, what are you doing out here?" He asked incredulously.

"I have come to fight." She said simply.

"Gennai gave you permission? I thought you weren't allowed to use your powers until you mastered them-"

"I do not need powers." She pulled a rifle from inside her robes. "I will fight as you do."

"No, Keyan, I can't let you-"

"You're right, you cannot _let_ me do anything. I will fight by your side because I love you and there is nothing you can do to change that."

"But Keyan-"

"You will not win this argument, Willis. Let us go. We are wasting time here."

With that, she took off. And with a sigh, Willis and his digimon partners quickly followed after her.

* * *

Davis looked around grimly from his vantage point, some hundred feet above ground. The odds were looking progressively worse for his side with each passing second. Where at first combat was easy due to the hybrids' general lack of organization, it had now become exponentially tougher as they evolved to new techniques of attacking in orderly fashion, coming in waves rather than one at a time.

Davis and AeroVeedramon had just successfully defended themselves against one such wave, but, Davis noted dourly, his breath still coming in gasps, their enemies were already beginning to regroup for yet another.

"We can't keep going like this." A female voice said from behind.

Davis turned to see Clara and Marta approaching behind him. "I agree," he responded. "But what else can we do?"

"I'm not sure. But there's not enough other flyers to really make much of a difference for us up here."

Davis looked around. She was right. Besides the occasional student and digimon flying to simply get across the battlefield faster, there wasn't really anyone else involved in airborne combat. The odds were just too stacked up here to be worth it.

"You're right," he concluded. "We're gonna have to stick together. Let's get back down to the others."

"Sounds like a plan." Marta said, turning and preparing to descend, "Let's go."

Clara followed her partner down, AeroVeedramon just behind them. Davis was about to bring up the rear when something in his periphery caught his eye. Down below, near the edge of the forest, there appeared to be a flare, a digital portal opening. Davis looked upon it in surprise. That wasn't supposed to happen this close to the mansion.

"Davis!"

The confused digidestined turned at the sound of his partner's voice, but was too late, as a flying enemy dove in from behind and blindsided him with a vicious blow to the back. Veemon caught Davis as he fell, delivering a wing blade attack to his partner's offender as he did so. They alit on the ground with a loud thump close to Tai, Xian, and Terence.

"What happened?" Tai yelled, glancing over between launching giga-blaster attacks.

Marta and Clara walked up beside them. "He got hit from behind."

"Davis!" The yell came from close by, and everyone looked up to see Kuri, Jun, and Krista fighting their way through the last of a throng of hybrids to reach them.

When they did, Kuri rushed over to her injured love, Jun right behind her.

"Is he okay?" Kuri asked, her shield already glowing a bright shade of purple as she helped AeroVeedramon lay his injured partner on the ground.

"Yeah," Davis answered groggily. "I think I'm alright." He tried to get up, but grimaced and reached for his back.

"No you're not." Jun countered.

"I will be, though." Davis tried sitting up again but this time found a hand on his chest holding him down.

"Why don't you just hold on a moment, tough guy." Kuri said gently. The glow from her shield traveled down her arm and began to envelop his body. Davis immediately began feel the healing sensation from her touch coarse through him.

Jun looked away from the scene and took in the odds now facing them. Marta, Clara, Peko, Sparks, and Krista had joined Tai's group and created something of a perimeter around them. Though they seemed to be holding their own against the groups of encroaching shadowed hybrids, Jun cold see that they were taking a lot more punishment from the attackers than they were dealing out.

A sudden yell permeated the air and following an explosion of energy Jun saw Terence knocked back into the middle of their circle, grimacing and clutching his abdomen before finally lying back fully on the ground. Pings and Clara rushed immediately to his side.

"T-they attacked me all at once." Terence said, answering the unasked question. "Like five of 'em-" He slowed down a moment to breathe easier. "I couldn't block or dodge all their attacks."

Clara knelt next to him in concern. "How do you feel? How bad is it?"

"I-I'm not sure." Terence answered truthfully. "It hurts pretty bad-"

Jun turned to Kuri, who was continuing her healing administrations on Davis. "Can you help him?"

Kuri looked to where Terence and Clara were and sadly shook her head. "I doubt it." She said. "My shield only seems to work on Davis."

"Figures," Jun muttered to herself irately. She looked around for other sources of aid and was surprised to discover that no one in their group was currently engaged in combat. Curious, she walked over to Tai's position on the perimeter.

"They learned something from attacking Terence," he said when she arrived. "They've all backed off in order to regroup it seems."

"So they're all going to attack together then?"

He nodded. "It looks like."

Jun took the bit of news grimly and looked out over the expanse of land between them and their enemies. The dark digimon had indeed backed off for some distance and were now forming a massive circle around them, their eyes glowing red and various appendages moving around excitedly as their numbers and ranks continued to increase in size. A quick glance upwards showed Jun that the same thing was happening with the hybrids hovering overhead.

"Steel yourselves students!" Xian shouted. "They will not defeat us on this day!"

Krista, who stood resolutely at his side, didn't seem to share much of his confidence.

A low rumbling could be heard after a few seconds, and everyone in the group turned to face the sudden disturbance. Jun was relieved to see Rosa, Curtis, Jonathan, and Nadia approaching them riding atop Vermillimon. Taps, Razor, and Rose were flanking them in their respective forms of BlueMeramon, Volcanomon, and Piximon, and using their combined might to clear a path for their partners.

When the group finally arrived, Curtis immediately leapt from Vermillimon's back and ran to his fallen brother.

"Terence, are you alright?" He asked after rushing over.

Terence waved him off. "I'm fine, bro. J-just took a couple bad hits. Go help the others."

"Don't know how much help he'll really be." Davis said, gradually regaining his footing with Kuri's help and pointing outward. "Here comes the offensive."

The hundreds of digimon surrounding them had finally become ordered enough to form an organized attack and were now advancing on the small group at a fast pace. With their various voices, they all bellowed forth sounds of rage and fury with each encroaching step, their eyes gleaming with malevolence and anger.

Xian began to shout again, his voice now hoarse and raw with emotion. "On this day we will not fall to our enemies and darkness shall not prevail! We will fight with honor and if we must perish, we will die with it as well!"

He readied his staff and rifle and faced the coming threat with nothing but determination.

Clara pulled Terence into a tight protective embrace, squeezing her eyes shut and screaming her frustration into his shoulder as she waited for the brunt of the inevitable odds to bear down on them.

* * *

Willis and Keyan stayed near the edge of the forest, steadily progressing forward and taking out enemies as they presented themselves. It was much easier than fighting in the middle of the clearing, where everyone else was. Here, the hybrids only came one at a time, allowing them the luxury of doing things other than simply fighting.

"Willis, what are you searching for?" Keyan asked Willis as she watched him thoroughly scanning the field and forest for something.

"The one who's responsible for all this."

"Rumor has it from some of the students that this was the doing of Sensei Enn."

"I've never been one for rumors." The young genius responded.

"Incoming!" Rapidmon shouted.

Everyone turned to face the object of his attention, an insect-like airborne hybrid, and fired their various attacks as they did so, quickly reducing the interloper to naught but a collection of dissipating pixels on the wind.

"So, you do not believe Sensei Enn is responsible for all this?" Keyan asked as she pumped and reloaded her rifle.

"Keyan…" Willis paused, considering what he was trying to say. "There are…certain things here that we haven't been entirely truthful about."

"Such as?"

"Sensei Enn might be capable of reaping this kind of chaos, but if things have gone terribly wrong here, there is someone else much more probable and capable of doing this."

"There is?"

Willis nodded. "Yes, he was the by-product of Gennai's-"

A sudden sight caught his attention. A bright light had flared up on the edge of the trees. Willis placed a finger to his lips and motioned everyone's attention toward the commotion with a nod of his head. As they watched, a familiar figure in dark robes stepped forth from the lights, taking in the surroundings with a curious mixture of disdain and satisfaction.

"It is Enn!" Keyan hissed.

Willis stayed her with a raised hand. "No, it's-"

The figure turned towards the sounds of their voices with feral smile. "Ah," he began in a dark gravelly tone that told Keyan this was obviously not the Academy's combat instructor. "If it isn't the resident digital scientist, and," he added with obvious distaste, "Azulongmon's little pet."

"Ineg," Willis said darkly, leveling his rifle at the intruder. "I don't know how you got here, but you aren't staying for long."

"Really Willis, think about it. What can you, or your friends here, possibly do to harm me?" The man, a spitting image of Sensei Enn, save for an overall darker complexion, casually stretched and strolled toward the group. "Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the inherent poetry in a creator trying to destroy his own creation, but then we both know that not only is that not possible for you, but it's not really a viable option if you want to keep your little mentor around is it?"

"Creator?" Keyan asked. "Willis, who is this man?"

"She doesn't know?" He licked his lips suggestively. "So I suppose I'm the dark little secret around here, then. Well, I can't say I'm not hurt." He turned to face Keyan. "I guess introductions are in order. My name is Ineg, but you can call me evil incarnate if you like. I think it has a nice ring to it."

"Willis-"

"Can do nothing to help you now. And to make sure it remains that way…" Ineg raised his hands and began to accrue a large sphere of shadowed light between them. "I'm going to rid myself of him once and for all."

"No!" The shout came out of nowhere, as did the visage of Sensei Enn, who tackled Willis' would be attacker with enormous force and sent them tumbling across the ground.

The two adversaries leapt to their feet in a blink of an eye, facing each other down with a palpable amount of respectful hatred.

Ineg spoke first. "If it isn't Enn, this realm's appointed protector, I presume."

Enn ignored him. "Willis, Keyan! Clear out of here! Now!"

Keyan seemed ready to protest, her eyes blazing with a strange unbridled energy, before her arm was grabbed by Willis and she was forcefully dragged away from the scene.

"Willis, we must help him!" She argued.

"No, Sensei Enn is the only on here who can stand up to Ineg and perhaps live. We must not interfere."

"But-"

"Also, the fallout from a full fledged battle between those two would pretty much clear out anything in the area. It's definitely not in our best interests to stick around here."

Willis let go of her arm when she finally showed a willingness to run beside him.

"Well...then can you at least explain to me what is going on?"

"I could, but-" Willis pointed in front of them. They had managed to run out of the forest onto the mansion clearing, and right into a group of about ten or so hybrids. "We have other problems."

As Rapidmon and Turuiemon took the point, Willis and Keyan leveled their weapons and began to fire.

* * *

Tai stepped forward with a determined scowl as the mass of attackers came forth, Metalgreymon steadfastly standing beside him. Jun had taken up position beside him as well, doing her best to share in his courageous spirit, but still wavering slightly in fear. Tai reached out and squeezed her hand for a quick moment, his eyes never moving from the thousands of enemies about to unleash their fury upon him and his friends.

As a backdrop to all this was the constant shouting of Xian, unrelenting in its fervor and conviction, and unfaltering in its steadiness even as he seemed destined to meet certain doom.

"I love you, Tai." Jun whispered.

He gave her a fleeting glance. "I love you too."

They turned and entered fighting stances

At the moment when it seemed all hell would break loose, when their world would explode with countless attacks and be overrun by the sheer number and fury of their enemies, there was…nothing.

Tai looked up and noticed that the attackers had seemingly frozen mid-motion. It wasn't quite suspended animation, Tai observed, as one mantis-like hybrid in particular was gnawing and scratching at what seemed to be some kind of barrier between them. Something was shielding them. Tai turned and shared a confused look with Jun, before they both turned around on a hunch and looked at Davis.

"It's not me," he said. "My shield's not doing anything."

Krista stared up at the domed force field surrounding them. "It's yellow." She said. "Whose shield is yellow?"

Every head in the area turned to look at Clara, who was still clutching Terence tightly, her shield issuing forth a brilliant amber glow.

She brought her head up slowly and took in what was going on in complete surprise. "Am-am I doing this?"

Terence reached a hand up and clutched her shoulder. "Apparently so." He glanced at the scene around them. "Um, and don't stop." He faintly smirked.

"Wasn't planning on it." Clara responded, smiling in kind. "Though, I don't know how I started-" She suddenly lurched forward, clutching her midsection.

Terence bolted upright, ignoring his own pain. "Baby, what's wrong?"

"I-I don't know. It kinda hurts. I feel weaker somehow."

"That's how it works sometimes." Davis said as he rushed over and knelt beside them. "It's like your shield is drawing its power from within you. You'll just have to push through it or else this whole thing will come down."

He worriedly looked out upon the hybrid horde, which had begun to attack the translucent construct with incredible ferocity.

"I don't know if I c-can." Clara began to tremble and clutched tightly onto Terence's arm.

"You have to, sweetheart." He said. "You're our only hope right now."

"I know but-" She gasped momentarily. "I don't think I'm strong enough."

"Of course you're strong enough. You were strong enough to save me from myself weren't you?" When she didn't respond, Terence gently cupped her chin and tilted her head to face him. The beginnings of hot tears were starting to run from the corners of her eyes. "Weren't you?"

She nodded slowly.

"Then I know you're strong enough to save the rest of these guys. Just keep fighting. I know you can do it."

Terence's shield of Inspiration began to glow brightly as he pulled Clara further into his arms and held her tightly. After a moment she released an anguished scream of pain into his shoulder and the dome around them wavered slightly before returning to full strength. Terence glanced over her shoulder and gave Davis a pleading look.

Kuri walked up behind him and looked down upon the pair, her eyes filled with concern.

"Can't we do anything for her?" She asked.

"I wish." Davis said solemnly. "But I simply don't know how to control my shield. It works when it wants to." He looked upon the golden object contemptuously. "And so my gift becomes my curse, I guess."

Kuri knelt down beside the pair, and looked contemplatively upon Clara's pained face, for the first time questioning the use of a shield that only seemed to affect only one other person. Here was one of her best friends, keeling over in obvious pain, and there was nothing she could do to help her. Clara was giving her all to save their lives, and here she stood, unable to at least ease her suffering or aid in her efforts…

Kuri clenched her fists in frustration and barely noticed as her shield began to give off a soft lavender glow.

Curtis and Rosa worriedly watched their respective brother and cousin as well from the edge of the force shield, unsure of exactly what action they could take to help. Tai noticed the two and beckoned them over.

"Curtis, Rosa! We need your help!"

They came over quickly, with their digimon partners, Jonathan, and Nadia in tow.

"What?" Rosa asked.

Tai looked out through the shield. "Clara can't keep this up forever. When this thing comes down, we're gonna have to be ready to give everything we have to hold those guys back. Take up defensive positions along the perimeter, like they have-" He pointed to Xian, Krista, and their digimon. "It's our best chance."

Everyone nodded and quickly turned to carry out his orders. Tai reached out and grabbed Curtis by the shoulder before he could leave.

"Huh?"

"Curtis," Tai began in an understated tone. "You have to know that we can't reasonably hold them all off."

Curtis nodded solemnly. "It does seem unlikely."

"So, I'm going to need you to come up with some kind of plan for us to come out of this alive."

Curtis looked taken aback. "Me? Combat isn't really my-"

"Curtis, this is your area of expertise. If there's any way to beat those things besides direct combat, you'll be the one to figure it out."

"Well, maybe. But I don't have a clue right now."

"Just think about it. Think hard. There's always another way, right?"

He younger knight nodded weakly. "I guess." He bowed his head, already delving deep into thought as he headed to rejoin his group.

Tai watched him leave with some satisfaction. Jun noticed the expression on his face and looked at him questioningly.

"What are you up to Tai?" She asked. "You have some kind of plan of your own?"

"Maybe," he answered. "I don't really know where it's going, but I guess it's our best chance."

"What? Curtis? I mean he's very intelligent and all but I don't know-"

"No, I'm trying something else-" Tai stopped short and glanced at Jun, his mind beginning to whir. "I'll let you figure it out though."

"What?"

"Trust me. I have a feeling about this."

Jun looked at her love with skepticism, but showed no hesitation in trusting his judgment. "Well, alright."

Rosa stood just inside the barrier her cousin had created, her gargantuan partner just behind her. She looked out upon the throngs of menacing hybrids continually launching themselves against the wall, like an unrelenting barrage. The shell was still holding, but it seemed that with each attack it lost some of its strength and color.

"Have faith young one."

Rosa looked up to see that Xian was speaking to her.

"Though the situation may seem impossible now, we can overcome these odds. Steadfast faith and indomitable will are a knight's most invaluable tools. We will weather this storm."

Rosa looked up to the older man with some trepidation. Did he really believe the things he was saying? There were thousands of those hellish looking things out there, all wanting nothing more than to bring about their relatively small group's destruction. How could simple faith protect them from the coming onslaught? How could will- Rosa's thoughts stopped short. Her eyes widened in realization. Since when had she become so weak, so timid? If anyone could understand how a strong will could help overcome seemingly insurmountable odds, it was her. If she was to be able to truly battle these beasts, she would have to understand that she needed to have the will necessary to do whatever was needed of her. In Rosa's life, having such a will had never been a problem.

She looked out upon the horde again, this time seeing the multitude of enemies in a new light. They were in her way, standing between her and survival. If she had to defeat them, she would. If that was what was required for her to move past this point, then that was what she would do. Because that's who she was. Rosa's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a persistent feeling of power emanating from her chest. She looked down to see that her shield had begun to give off a light green radiance. A slight smile crossed her face as the glow began to fill her with new hope.

Curtis reflected on what Tai had told him grimly. His leader was likely right. If he couldn't find some other way for them to get out of the mess before Clara's shell fell, there was probably no way they could come out of this thing alive. Sure, they had been trained extensively in many areas of combat, been given knowledge of the digital world and its inner workings that others could have only dreamed of, and had almost limitless financing and resources at their disposal, but this had been completely unexpected. The sheer amount of enemies they currently faced and the power they wielded was something they just couldn't prepare for. It seemed an almost impossible task, trying to come up with a way to defeat these attackers, or even simply escape… Curtis shook his head. But there had to be a way. There just _had_ to. There was no way this situation was beyond proper planning and thought. Nothing was. Curtis knew that if he concentrated enough, he would be able to figure something out. As he began to delve into deep thought, a dark blue halo started to envelop him.

Jun looked about their group, everyone's shield glowing brightly save for her and Tai's. Suddenly she understood exactly what Tai was doing. He was putting everyone in positions in which their most powerful traits could be exhibited. How she had missed this particular bit of insight earlier completely escaped Jun, but she knew now- Jun suddenly paused. Insight. On a hunch she looked down at her shield and discovered that it had begun to glow as soon as she'd pieced together Tai's plan, just as he'd told her to. He truly was a gifted leader, she realized. Moreso than even she had known.

Clara's barrier began to flicker in strength once again, and abruptly the leader in question leapt between the half aware Jun and a charging marauder. Fortunately, the force field regained its strength just before the hybrid could compromise its perimeter, and he simply bounced off with an angry snarl.

Tai turned to Jun. "Stay aware. We have no idea how long this thing will stay up. You have to be on your guard at all times."

Jun nodded, but found herself paying less attention to his words and more to the fact that Tai's act had caused his shield of Courage to glow a brilliant orange. Now they were all exhibiting their best traits. The only thing they needed now was- she turned to glance at her brother- a miracle.

Kuri rose from her kneeling position next to Terence and a pained Clara and looked about the clearing. Everyone was doing their best to weather the circumstances, she noticed, but ultimately it seemed it would all be an exercise in futility. Clara was only moments away from being no longer being able to hold up the shield, and after that… She looked around at her friends and had to concentrate greatly to keep her eyes from filling with tears. They would all die here, she thought. This wasn't the way it was supposed to happen. They were so young, with so much to live for. They hadn't even been given the opportunity to officially become knights yet. It wasn't fair to them, to be betrayed and likely ultimately destroyed by someone whom they were supposed to trust. She didn't want this for her friends. Her fate didn't matter. It was her friends, who'd given her so much and played such a large part in who she was today, who had essentially become family to her, that her heart mourned for.

"Kuri."

It was Davis. Kuri looked at her love as he placed a hand on her shoulder and felt twinges of hope coming from him.

"Look."

She looked where he indicated and saw that their shields had become connected, as had happened before. Twin strands of gold and lavender wrapped and twisted around one another as they ran between both of their shields.

"I think something good is about to happen."

Kuri was unconvinced. "Maybe for us." She said. "But what about everyone else? What good is a two-way miracle right now, Davis? I love you, but you're not the only one that I can feel compassion for."

The moment the words had left her mouth, the connection between them began to branch in six different directions, each tendril led by a lavender spark. They all found their targets in short order, the shields of Tai, Jun, Clara, Terence, Rosa, and Curtis.

Each one of them looked back at Davis and Kuri with surprise, including Clara. The break in her concentration caused the force field to immediately disappear.

Kuri looked around in fear as the thousands of hybrids that had thirsted so long for their blood began to charge in for the kill. She wanted to move, to fight beside Peko for as long as she could, but was tugged back by something powerful. Kuri turned to see that Davis had fallen to his knees and was clutching at his chest, his breath coming in short, ragged, gasps.

"Davis, you have to get up!" She exclaimed desperately. "You can't be too weak now!"

"No…I'm not weak…too much power."

"Wha-" Kuri looked up and noticed that each of the beams that shot out from his shield were now mixed with the colors of the corresponding digidestined's shield on the other end. They seemed to be filling his and causing it to glow brighter and more brilliantly then she'd ever seen before.

Then it hit Kuri. Just as the shadows of countless hybrids began to close in over them and numerous attacks began to fill the air, she knew that they would be all right. She could feel what was coming from within Davis, likely every bit as much as he could. It was powerful, and appropriately, miraculous.

As a multitude of fire and lightning attacks impacted the ground surrounding them, superheating the air to almost unbearable temperatures, the growls and snarls of their attackers echoing menacingly, Kuri remained calm and unflinching.

She simply whispered three words. "Save us Davis."

On cue, with an ear-shattering bang, the area was suddenly filled with an enormous blinding white light. Supernatural energy exploded from Davis with terrific force, not only along each of the light connections, but in every other direction around him. Kuri turned her head away from the scene, ducking as raw energy began to overwhelm her. It only lasted for a moment however, and all in all, the event took only about a couple of seconds. But when it concluded, the closest hybrids had been all been deleted, and those on the outskirts of the explosion had been knocked back another good two to three hundred feet. Kuri rose back to her feet and took in the new scene, now much clearer with room to maneuver.

"Well, that bought us some time." She said with some relief. "Now what?"

As if to answer her question, she heard eight digivices say in unison. "Mega level digivolution now activated."

She turned to Davis with a look of awe and a half smile. "Way to go."

"Well, I try." He answered, showing no ill effects from the event and in fact looking quite revived.

"Go! Go! Go!" The shouts came from Tai. "Don't waste any time! Lets hit them with all we have now!"

"You heard him." Davis said, addressing Veemon and Peko as well as Kuri while plucking his digivice from his belt. "Let's do it!"

Eight flashes of mega level evolution transpired, and left several hulking and powerful forms in their afterglow. Kuri looked at her new partner in particular with wonderment.

"Peko digivolved to Valkyrimon?" She said, staring up at the winged, feminine figured, digimon. .She wore a sword strapped to one side, a quiver of arrows on the other, and an impressive crossbow on her back.

"And apparently, so did you." Davis said. He pointed to Kuri's own new attributes, a sword, arrows, and crossbow to match her partner's, all seemingly comprised of purple energy.

She looked at her new weapons in amazement for a moment before glancing up at Davis and noticing that he also had new enhancements, a golden positron laser cannon on one arm, and a small scythe on the other. The familiar, gigantic form of Imperialdramon stood behind him.

"No time for gawking, y'all." Terence yelled as he ran between them, wielding an impressive red mace in one hand and a shield in the other. "It's time to fight back!"

Pings, in the form of Vikemon, lumbered alongside him, roaring out his anger as they ran into battle.

Kuri scanned the area quickly. "Where's Clara?"

"There," Peko answered, pointing upwards.

Everyone looked up and saw that she and Marta, in the form of Phoenixmon, had already taken to the air and were continuing the battle there.

"Let's go help her out." Davis said. "Kuri, you're new to flying, so stay close to me-"

He wasn't surprised when she paid no heed to his instruction and immediately took off into the air, Peko trailing slightly behind her.

He pulled out his digivice with a sigh, smiling despite himself. "Okay, Veemon lets go to fighter mode. It's time we ended this."

* * *

Tai and WarGreymon stood back to back, throwing Terra Forces like madmen and mowing down groups of hybrids like bowling pins. Both wore almost indulgent grins as they helped their side begin to take the upper hand in the battle.

"This is just like old times, eh Tai?" WarGreymon rumbled.

Tai nodded. "Well, not quite, but I know what you mean."

He spun around delivering mega claws to two attacking hybrids and ducked as WarGreymon cleared out another couple that were approaching from behind with another terra force attack. A shadow suddenly fell over them and Tai looked up to see Sparks leaping over him in his Saberleomon form, landing in a good sized group of hybrids, and ripping and slashing until all were deleted. Jun leapt down from her impressive partner's back and ran over to Tai.

"We've pretty much cleared out our area already. Where are the other guys?"

"Right here."

Curtis ran up behind the two, brandishing an imposing blue energy axe, followed by Taps, who'd digivolved into the very powerful and warrior-like Boltmon. "We cleared out our section as well."

Tai nodded. "Good, but where's Rosa?"

"Up here!"

Everyone looked up and saw the girl in question gliding down to them, her partner beside her.

"We had to clear the way so Jonathan, Nadia, Krista, and Xian could get out of the thick of things." She said as they landed. "No problem."

Tai wore a look of mild surprise as he looked at her mega level, plant digimon partner. "I always thought Rosemon was a girl." He said.

Curtis smirked a little. "And before I met you guys, I thought Patamon was a guy."

"Point taken," Tai conceded, before something caught his eye. "Heads up guys. We've got incoming."

A large airborne group of hybrids had formed overhead and was bearing down upon the group in a collective frenzied dive. On the ground, several of the creatures had managed to regroup and were beginning to make a final charge as well.

"Alright guys, choose your targets wisely. There's eight of us and hundreds of them."

Everyone entered fighting stances and stared down the coming onslaught.

Rasa took it all in with a small grin. "They don't stand a chance."

With battle cries, everyone stepped forward and began to attack.

* * *

"Davis! Where the hell are you going?"

The cry came from Terence, who was fighting alongside Taps on the ground, periodically receiving air support from Clara, Marta, Kuri, and Peko.

"I saw a disturbance over there earlier!" Davis hovered in the air, blasting positron laser attacks as he spoke. He pointed toward the edge of the forest. "I think it was a portal! I'm going to check it out!" Wasting no more words, he turned and took off toward the indicated area.

"Fine, but we're coming with you!" Terence shouted back. "Clear us a path girls!"

It only took a few lightning arrows and crimson flames to take out several hybrids and give the two a rather large berth.

"Thanks!" Terence and his Vikemon partner ran along Davis' flight path as the girls followed overhead.

When they reached Davis and Imperialdramon, the group came to a stop very suddenly. Everyone stood on the ground cautiously at the forest's edge.

"You guys feel it too?" Davis asked quietly when they arrived.

Kuri stepped forward. "Yes, something very powerful is in there."

Terence nodded in agreement. "It's like the vibe I was getting from Sensei Enn earlier, but like, at least twice as bad."

"Maybe it is Enn," Clara suggested. "Maybe he's waiting in there."

"Well, if he is, then we have to go in there and find him." Peko declared heroically, raising her sword.

"I'm not sure about that," Davis countered. "For as powerful as I feel right now, as powerful as we all feel, I don't think we can even match up against whatever's in there."

"I sense it too Davis." Kuri said. "I think you're right."

"He certainly is." The group turned and saw Willis and Keyan approaching them, smoking plasma rifles in hand. "What's in that forest is nothing any of us can face right now."

"And how do you know that?" Terence asked accusingly. "Because you knew about Enn's powers all along?"

"No...well, yes…but no." Willis seemed flustered for a moment. "Look, that doesn't really matter at the moment. Right now, we have a very large problem in there and I don't know how long Sensei Enn can hold out against it."

"Against it?" Clara asked. "Against what? He started this whole mess!"

"Yeah," Terence echoed, "and whatever's a problem for Enn can only be a good thing for us, as far as I'm concerned."

Willis shouldered his rifle as he walked into the midst of the group. "You say that now, but if you saw…" He trailed off and seemed to shudder slightly. "Look, we need to regroup. We need to meet with Gennai to help figure out our next step."

Davis gave Willis a scrutinizing stare before speaking. "I'm not so sure we should meet with people who have been lying to us the entire time we've been here."

Keyan stepped forward. "It was for your own good, Davis-"

"Yeah, if our own good includes Enn almost killing us."

"Davis, please, you have to believe us…"

"I did once. That's how we got here."

Kuri put an hand on his shoulder. "Listen to them, Davis. It's the only way we'll get any answers."

Her words dulled his anger a bit, and his demeanor softened slightly.

"Fine. Just tell me this Willis," He said, turning to the young genius, "What exactly are you so afraid of in that forest?"

Willis didn't answer. He looked down at the ground and seemed ashamed of something. "Something very bad…"

"I guessed that, but what?" When Willis didn't respond again, Davis stepped forward and summoned all his restraint to simply grab him by the shoulders. "Willis, tell us what's in there!"

Just then, an ear piercing scream of anguish and peals of laughter rang out and seemed to echo over the entire realm. Something shot out of the forest at remarkable speed and sent everyone, digimon and human alike, flying in different directions in its wake.

"What was that?" Terence said as he quickly got back up from the ground in a fighting stance.

"I don't know," Imperialdramon rumbled as he too rose to his feet, "but I've only felt dark power like that from one other digimon."

Kuri glanced at him. "Really? Who?"

"MaloMyotismon."

Clara gasped involuntarily. "Whatever that thing was, it was as powerful as-?" She dared not finish the sentence.

Davis stared in the direction that the strange phenomena had headed off in. "It was Enn." He said quietly.

Kuri looked at him with concern. She could feel the anger he wasn't expressing. "How do you know that?"

"I saw him. It was sensei."

At Davis' words, Willis ran over frantically. "Do you still feel a powerful presence in the woods?"

"No," Davis answered calmly. "Because Enn left."

"No…" Willis fell to his knees, his face in his hands. "No! God help us."

"Willis, what's wrong?" Keyan asked, her concern quickly spilling over into fear.

"He won…"

"Who won?"

If Willis was going to answer, he wasn't given the chance as a massive clap of thunder rolled across the entire realm and a swirling dark shape began to amass in the middle of the battlefield. It was a portal, the largest any of them had ever seen.

* * *

Tai watched as all of the digimon hybrids began to quit the battle and quickly headed for the dark portal that had suddenly appeared. A shadowed figure hovered next to the object and surveyed as the ranks of dark digimon began to pour through it.

"Enn," Tai grumbled. "WarGreymon, let's go. We have to get him before he goes through!"

The two partners took off from the ground quickly, but stopped almost as soon as they started when Gennai's tinny voice come through Tai's digivice.

"Knights, do not pursue them! Allow them to leave through the portal!"

"What!" WarGreymon roared. "How can he just let them go?!"

"Perhaps Curtis is right," Tai mused. "Maybe Enn _is_ controlling Gennai."

"So we should go after him right?"

Tai was seeking an answer when a sudden wave of raw dark energy overtook him. He saw that Enn was staring directly at him from across the expanse between them and smiling.

"I have what I wanted for now, Kamiya." He said calmly, his voice carrying to the knights' leader as if they were only two feet apart. "But don't worry, I will return for the rest when I'm ready. You shall have your chance then."

Tai stayed his ground. Years ago, he would've likely blindly charged at Enn, regardless of the consequences, but now-

"Are we going after him Tai?" WarGreymon asked.

Tai thought for a long moment, and finally came to a resolution. "No," he answered reluctantly. "He's too powerful for us now. We need to find a way to defeat him other than physically."

At that moment, the front doors of the mansion burst open and a figure cloaked in white bounded through, moving at great speed toward the hovering Enn and the last groups of hybrids entering the portal.

"Stop!" He shouted. "You cannot leave! I'll not allow it!"

Though he certainly spoke with an air of authority, Tai doubted the veracity of Counselor Gen's claim.

"Do you think he can fight Enn?" WarGreymon asked somewhat desperately. "Maybe he has powers too?"

"I'm not feeling any power coming from him." Tai said. "And by the way he's running, he certainly doesn't seem to have any superhuman abilities."

"Oh." Hope drained from Tai's partner's features.

"But I wonder what he _is_ planning on doing."

The two watched as Gen ran boldly right up to the portal and seemed ready to attack his empowered counterpart. With a casual wave of his hand, Enn shot forth an invisible attack that sent the counselor tumbling violently along the ground, back toward the mansion. For a moment, Enn watched the crumpled figure of Gen in silence. Then with a shrug, he turned and prepared to leave. With one last parting glance at Tai and an indulgent smile, the former Sensei exited through the portal himself. The large construct dissipated moments after he did so.

All of the Knights and their digimon now stood alone in the clearing, each one confused as to what exactly had taken place over the last few minutes and what to do now. Silence descended upon them, save for the plaintive cries of an obviously anguished Counselor Gen as he came to.

Tai and WarGreymon solemnly flew back to the ground and reunited with their group. They were soon joined by Davis and those who were accompanying him. Upon meeting up everyone began to speak at once about the battle and the extent of Sensei Enn's treachery.

"So from the beginning, he's been trying to set this trap for us." Terence said ruefully. "We should've seen it all along."

"Yeah," Rosa chimed in. "Now he has an army all to himself. Who knows what he's going to do with it?"

"Maybe he's headed for the real world." Willis added somberly.

Everyone suddenly looked at him, the gravity of what he'd said hitting them unexpectedly.

"Are you serious?" Tai asked. "Can he do that?"

Willis nodded.

"Then that's it." Davis said, "We have to go back home. They have no idea what's headed for them."

"I agree." Tai said resolutely. "Willis, you have to open a portal to the real world-"

"No," the blonde genius responded. "Not yet."

"What!" Davis seemed ready to attack him again. This time Kuri was making no attempt to calm her enraged boyfriend. "You're just going to let Sensei Enn go into the real world with no one there to protect it?!"

A sizable crowd began to congregate around the group of their highest-ranking knights.

"Don't you get it? Sensei Enn never betrayed you! That isn't him!" Willis shouted. He sobered quickly and averted his gaze to the ground. "For all intents and purposes, Enn is dead."

"What?" Davis took a step back. "What do you mean?"

The conversation was interrupted by another academy-wide address from Gennai on everyone's digivices.

"All Knights are to report to the mansion auditorium immediately." It began. "You are owed an explanation for what just happened today…and much more."

Willis looked at Davis, his face a strange mixture of depression, anger, and frustration. "You're about to find out."

With that, two hundred knights and digimon turned towards the mansion and headed for what was to be their ultimate awakening as to their true purpose at the Academy and as defenders of the light.

_To be continued…_

* * *

Well there it is guys. I'd really appreciate some reviews on this. Maybe I can get the next chapter a lot faster! (God, I hope so)

Next up: **War Part II "Answers"**

Find out what Gennai reveals to the knights about the mysterious Ineg, his connections to the rest of their enemies and the real truth behind the formation of the digital knights. Everything will be changed.

Plus, there's also the meeting of the original digidestined as they begin to discuss their own courses of action, while the Assassin plots their untimely deaths. This is all leading up to the knights return home to the real world and the true war between good and evil on the very near horizon. Hope to have it up soon! Thanks for reading guys! Don't forget to review!


	14. War Pt 2: Answers

Hey, Knights fans. Sorry it took a while to get this chapter up. I've been a lot more busy and tired lately than I thought I would be. Fortunately, my lovely girlfriend has been rather…forceful, in making sure that I got back to really working on this story. In this chapter, the story takes a few twists. Enjoy the ride.

* * *

**War Pt. II: Answers**

**Odaiba- Ground Zero**

Kai Atuma and his attractive, dark haired assistant looked out across the mounds of rubble and twisted metal that was once the Hitachi Tower. Both were dressed for the encroaching twilight and unseasonable cold, outfitted in dark form fitting ninja like suits and long, black overcoats.

Kai viewed the scene before him with a warped sense of pride. "This, Jade, is a testament to true dedication and drive. Hitachi's devotion to his goals is unmatched by any we've dealt with before. You see the lengths he is willing to go to? That is why we'll succeed."

Jade nodded. "It is impressive."

Kai's face fell slightly as he remembered the task immediately before him.

"Beautiful as this is however, I must admit I never realized what an obstacle it would become to us reaching the catacombs."

The two apprehensively took in the massive amounts of emergency personnel and news media that still surrounded the site.

"We shall have to use an alternate route to reach the underground facilities?"

Kai nodded. "Yes, but the alleyway that leads to the hidden entrance is still within the security perimeter they've set up."

Jade placed a hand on the hilt of her blade. "How many are near it?"

"Calm yourself," Kai said, glancing at his watch. "Its just one detail of three guards."

She prepared to take action. "Easily disposed of."

Kai reached a hand out and grabbed her arm. "Or we can just handle this the easy way."

She looked at him inquiringly.

"Observe, a shift change is due."

As if on cue, the three guards began to head toward a trailer on one of the side streets.

"They will be debriefed and their replacements won't be in place for another thirty or so seconds. Plenty of time for us. The area is covered by surveillance cameras, so stick to the shadows."

With that, the two went into motion, exhibiting an expert amount of stealth befitting their years of martial arts training. They reached the mouth of the alley without incident and were just about to slip into its murky depths when an authoritative voice suddenly stopped them.

"Hey, you two aren't supposed to be in this area."

Kai turned and his eyes widened greatly when he saw the owner of the voice. It was one of the Original Digidestined. The tall, bespectacled one named Joe.

"Its dangerous to be this close to the site. Many of the surrounding buildings have been condemned and rendered unstable since the attack."

Jade took note of the emblem stitched on the front of Joe's shirt. "You are here in medical capacity." She observed. "What authority do you have?"

She once again slid her hand to the hilt of her katana, inconspicuously sheathed against her thigh.

"None. I am simply looking out for you safety. The guards who will be along momentarily can and will treat you with legal authority, however."

Jade clenched her jaw and began to move forward. "That won't be necessary." She said, her voice carrying every bit of her intended threat.

Joe backed away a bit. "Look, I don't want any trouble here, ma'am. But, I can't allow you to stay here. It isn't safe."

"Yes, but for whom?" A smile began to form upon her face as she continued to move toward him.

Kai grew impatient with Jade's behavior. She often did this, indulging herself in the pleasure of killing rather than just completing the job. He subtly reached inside his suit jacket for the Glock strapped to his side. This hadn't been part of the plan at all; offing one of the digidestined early and thus forewarning the others, but if it was what he had to do…

Just before he could pull his piece, something at the mouth of the valley erupted behind Joe, a swirling dark concave vortex from which stepped a very familiar looking figure.

"Gennai!" Kai shouted, pulling his gun without thinking and aiming it squarely at the man's head. "How dare you show your face here!"

A thoroughly confused and frightened Joe turned to see what the assassin was referring to. He was likewise surprised. "Gennai? Is that you?"

The man simply smiled in an eerie, condescending manner. "If I were Gennai, would I do this?"

He casually picked Joe up from the ground by his collar and slung him into an adjacent brick wall with ease, smiling as the body of the digidestined of Reliability slumped to the ground and was buried under mounds of unstable debris and rubble.

Kai lowered his weapon after witnessing the action. "You're the contact, aren't you? From the other realm…"

"The one that's like Gennai, but isn't? Yes, that would be me."

"Then who are you, if not Gennai?" Jade demanded. She had yet to sheath her sword, and was not planning to do so in the near future.

"I am Ineg, a part of him, you could say. His better half."

"His darker half…" Kai expertly observed. "I do not know how you came to be. But if you are a part of Gennai, I am not entirely sure that I can trust you."

"Oh but you can. You see, we both want the same thing, Assassin, the destruction of Gennai, or at least the part of Gennai that betrayed you all those years ago. You see, I was the part of him that agreed with you, that saw the merit in your views and actions. Unfortunately, even I was not enough to override his loyalties to the weak, as provided by the light. I was not the one that betrayed your trust."

"That is something that you will have to prove to me over time. Am I to assume that besides you, there are other portions of Gennai in the other realm?"

"Yes, his aspects of knowledge, wisdom, and light, to be specific. He had a combative side, as well, but I managed to destroy him, and took great pleasure in doing so."

"So why is it that you are here?" Jade questioned, lowering the point of her weapon slightly, away from the stranger's throat. "What do you want with my master?"

"It is very simple-"

"Hey, you! Put your hands where I can see them!" Several guards came running from the trailer toward the alley, firearms drawn. "This is a restricted area!"

Kai and Jade raised their weapons again.

"I'll handle this." Ineg said. He waved a hand flippantly toward the interlopers and a large shockwave shot forth from it, sending them all flying in different directions. The wave continued until it finally impacted with the trailer itself, sending the large vehicle careening into a building behind it before exploding in a shower of flames and smoke.

Jade dropped her jaw slightly in awe of such power. Ineg gave her a suggestive grin.

Kai seemed wholly unaffected. He turned around and headed toward a nearby sewer grate. "Come on." He beckoned them. "Lets go."

* * *

**The Green Room**

The mismatched group of digidestined friends sat in their usual places, awaiting the arrival of the one who had called them all here.

Kin glanced at his watch. "They're late." He muttered. He glanced up at the building's discolored windows and took note of the onset of nightfall outside. "We don't have long before the patrol sweeps."

Noriko placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure they'll be here soon."

"I hope so." Jiro said, also looking at the windows with growing trepidation. "I've been caught by those guys once for being out after curfew. Not something I want to go through again."

TK, seated next to Kari on an old sofa near the front of the room, spoke up, "I'm sure Ken and Yolei will be here soon enough. Knowing Ken, they're probably trying to find a way here without drawing too much attention."

Almost on cue there was a light tapping on the room's main door, a practiced cadence that was recognized by everyone in the room.

"Its them," Kentaro rumbled as he got up to answer the door. He opened it, and Ken and Yolei quietly stepped through, nodding their greetings to everyone inside. Everyone returned the welcome before bewilderedly staring at Ken, who had found it appropriate to wear a trenchcoat and fedora for the occasion.

"You have got to be kidding me." TK muttered under his breath, he slapped his forehead lightly and shook his head.

Kari cracked a small smile. She would have laughed, had the circumstances of their meeting not been so grim.

Kentaro took in the aspiring detective's appearance with a raised eyebrow of his own. With a shrug, he turned to close the door but was surprised when something stopped him, a foot in the doorway. He peered through the small crack created by the sudden interference and saw Cody looking back at him. Kentaro let out a breath of relief that he wasn't aware he had been holding.

"Hope you haven't started without me." Cody said dryly.

"No," Kentaro answered. "Come in. Quickly."

As Cody came through the door TK spotted him and stood. "Hey, where in the world have you been Cody? I've been trying to call you for the past hour."

"Sorry TK, I had to visit a friend." Cody took a seat at the fringe of the group, signifying that was all he had to say on the matter.

Ken cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. "Well, now that we're all here, I suppose I can get started." He pulled a manila envelope from his coat lapel and placed it on a small folding table at the center of the group. "This will be decent practice, since I'll have to do this again in about an hour at Matt's place."

He began taking papers from the folder as he started the address the group. "As you know, since most of you were here the other night, TK, Stingmon, and I saw the Hitachi explosion first hand as we chased after the man spying on us. The man, also known as Detective Funaki of the Odaiba Police Department-here is his official record of service-" Ken handed a paper to TK, who glanced at it before passing it on to the rest of the group. "-fled back to the tower in question with us in pursuit. Moments after entering, he was violently thrown from a top story window."

"You told us all that already." Kin noted. "So, what's the big deal?"

Ken continued. "This evidence adds up too well. In fact that's the easy part. Funaki leads us to the apparent headquarters of the people who found it necessary to spy on us. Moments afterward he is murdered and the tower is purposely blown up. He obviously made a mistake in being discovered and leading us there. The repercussions were obviously severe. His superiors were not happy. The question is, who are these superiors that they would go to such lengths to cover their tracks?" He gave the group a level stare. "I have one possible answer, Hitachi himself."

Various voices in the room clamored their disagreement with Ken simultaneously. Though he couldn't pick out each individual protest, Ken gleaned that the basic gist of their objections was questioning why Hitachi would kill himself in the destruction of his own building.

Ken lifted a hand and raised his voice by a few octaves. "And who says that he died in that explosion?"

Kin snorted. "Just about every major media outlet between here and Timbuktu."

"Which, I suspect, is exactly what he wanted."

"What?"

"When Stingmon went up into that building, he saw a countdown display on one of the laptops in the conference room on the floor Funaki fell from, likely the timer for the explosives that took the tower down." Ken pulled another sheet from his folder and handed it out to be passed around. "Those are a copy of the original blueprints from the company that built the tower, American based, Barke Construction. Though most of the bottom floors are missing from this copy, it was enough that, upon looking at it, I noticed that the way the building went down was much more indicative of an elaborate implosion rather than some random attack."

"Wouldn't the police be able to figure this out?"

"The ones Hitachi doesn't control? Perhaps. But I highly doubt it's something they would mention. Not if they value their lives."

"I don't know, Ken." Noriko frowned. "This is very impressive detective work and all, but I'm just not sure it's enough."

"Then how about this?" Ken pulled yet another set of papers from his envelope and handed them out. He waited patiently as everyone had a look at them before continuing. "Notice anything about these pictures?"

"Yeah," Kin ventured. "They all seem to be some kind of publicity photos of Hitachi at different important events."

"Yeah, in mine, he's meeting the U.S. president." Jiro said.

"In mine, he's meeting members of parliament at the top of his tower." Kari chimed in.

"UN convention for mine."

"What's the point of this, Ken? To show us he was a powerful man?"

"No. Notice what else all of those pictures have in common?"

"They're all outside?" Kentaro guessed while scratching his head.

"True, and what's in the background?"

Kin peered at his photo, then took a look at Noriko's. "They all seem to have the same aircraft in the background." He said. "A helicopter."

"Precisely." Ken answered with a smile. "Good eye Kin."

Yolei rolled her eyes. "Great, he wins the prize. Come on Ken, get on with it."

Ken obeyed he request without further ado. "According to my research, this helicopter is a larger variation on the design of a Russian military aircraft, the Kamov Ka-50, better known as the black shark. It was originally made as a one seat, combat vehicle, capable of carrying an impressive amount of ordinance, and possessing great maneuverability. For security reasons, it was employed by Hitachi on most of his short distance travels. In order to accommodate his essential staff, he had the original Shark design expanded to a larger six passenger one. Once commissioned and completed, Hitachi found himself in possession of quite a rarity, the only aircraft of its kind to exist in the entire world."

TK looked up suddenly. "I know where this is going…"

Ken nodded at him and continued. "Hitachi was the sole owner of the powerful aircraft, and apparently took great pride in it. He allowed no one else the use of it and kept it in great condition." Ken reached into his folder once more and took out its last remaining content, a large, dark photo. Instead of passing it around, he held it up for everyone to see. "This is a picture I took the other night just prior to the tower's destruction. In it you can see the unmistakable silhouette of a helicopter fleeing the scene. If you look closely, you'll notice that this particular aircraft has he distinctive angled look of the "Black Shark," but is a bit too large to be a simple military helicopter."

Kari reached out and took the photo from Ken. She stared at it for a moment. "Hitachi's helicopter." She said quietly, in almost a whisper. "He really is alive. He faked his own death and killed thousands of people to do it. He was after us… What can this mean for my brother?"

"Your brother?" Noriko exclaimed. "What about Davis, Kuri, and Jun? They don't matter?"

Kari paid the girl no attention. She looked desperately to Ken.

"I'm not sure what it means, Kari." Ken answered her look honestly. "For some reason, Hitachi was very interested in us finding out what happened to Tai and the others. This can only be because of two reasons; either he knows and doesn't want us to, or doesn't know and wants to find out. Either way, the efforts he went to not to implicate himself in the whole affair leads me to believe we all may be in great danger. Each one of us here represents a loose end, and as we've all seen, Hitachi has a penchant for tying those up."

"S-so what do we do?" Jiro asked, his voice now practically dripping with fear.

"We bring more people in on it." Ken said resolutely. "Our missing friends have allies other than just those of us in this room. Perhaps these 'allies' need to be reminded of this fact, something which I plan on doing tonight. With their cooperation and influence, we may just be able to figure out what's going on and who exactly we can trust. Until then, tell no one about what we talked about here. Be extremely careful and cautious and keep yourselves safe. We could all be on borrowed time." Ken began to pickup his various papers and pieces of evidence. "Now, go home quickly and don't stop for anything."

They all began to move quietly to do as he requested when a radio on the table suddenly cracked to life with a loud hiss of static. Everyone jumped in unison, volumes of anxiously compiled fear spilling over at the sudden sound. Ken picked it up.

"Stingmon? Everything okay?"

"No," the champion level digimon responded. "Someone's coming."

Several looks of apprehension were shared in the seconds of silence that followed.

"It's that kid with the dog…"

A collective sigh of relief. Kin motioned to Kentaro, who went to answer the door. The kid seemed surprised when the door opened without him actually having knocked on it. Kentaro ushered him in quickly.

"Kado, what are you doing here?" Noriko chided. "You know this is well past your age curfew."

"I know," he responded petulantly. "I just wanted to tell Kari somethin'."

Kari looked up, startled. "What?"

"Well, I was headed home after walking my Dog, _before_ curfew," he scowled at Noriko. "When I saw people going up to Kari's place. I think it was Matt and Sora. It was weird 'cause they went inside but I knew Kari was here at you guys' secret meeting. Then later on the way here I passed Izzy and Mimi and I think they were going to her place too."

"Interesting." Ken said, quickly packing his folder inside his overcoat. "We should go over and have the meeting there then. The less movement we do around town, the better."

"We have to get there before they leave." Yolei said as she got up. Cody, TK and Kari followed their cue.

As they all raced for the door, Ken called back to the rest of the group. "Get home quickly, for safety reasons. And be careful."

"We will," Kin called back, as all the Green room kids got up to leave. "And good luck."

Ken nodded his thanks before heading out.

* * *

**Kamiya Residence**

Matt continued to massage his temples impatiently as he watched Sora inspect the note Tai had left for Kari for what had to be the billionth time.

"What's in there, Sora? Some secret code that I don't know about?"

Sora looked up at her fiancée questioningly.

"Maybe." She went back to studying the small piece of paper.

"Sora, this is dumb. We came here to find Kari and TK, not break in and start snooping through their stuff."

"I am not snooping through their stuff. This letter was left on the kitchen table."

Matt rolled his eyes.

"And I didn't break in either. The door wasn't locked."

"And now it isn't closed either." The voice of Izzy carried across the room.

Both Matt and Sora quickly glanced towards the door. The digidestined of knowledge stood there, Mimi behind him. They entered the apartment together.

"Figured we'd find you here." She said. "We stopped by your place and you weren't there."

"Yeah," Matt answered. "We came here looking for my brother and Kari, but no luck."

"I see." Izzy scratched his chin. "And what's that that's holding Sora's attention so well?"

"It's a note from Tai to Kari." Mimi answered, already peering over her friend's shoulder.

"A note that means nothing." Matt said. "But she apparently doesn't think so."

"Well, what does it say?"

Mimi answered again. "Just that he's leaving to clear his mind and put things in order for himself, whatever that means."

"Like I said, nothing." Matt crossed his arms over his chest. "Basically that he's a selfish little child and since he can't have what he wants, he's running away for a while."

"Matt," Sora said in a tone of warning, "that's enough."

"It's true! I mean, there are obviously a lot more important things going on right now in Odaiba, and yet, here you are, still falling for his ruse. The least we could do is help out down at the site. Our presence and stature would probably do a lot for the relief effort."

Sora lowered her gaze and looked away from the note. "I don't want to go there." She said sadly.

Matt's tone softened somewhat. "Sora, I know it's depressing, but we can do a lot of good-"

"It's not that, Matt." Mimi interrupted on her best friend's behalf.

Matt seemed a bit surprised. "If not then what-" It suddenly came to him. "Oh, come on, not that again. It was simply a case of them being in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"No it wasn't Matt." Sora said quietly. "There's something that TK and Ken aren't telling us. They saw something at that site, or something happened to them, I don't know, but they aren't telling us."

Matt kneeled beside his troubled love and took her hands into his. "Listen, Sora, no one is as concerned about what happened out there as me. I mean, TK is my brother after all. But you have to understand, the difference in their behavior is just because they've been though something very traumatic. They'll be okay. We just have to give them some time and space."

"We've been giving them time and space Matt, and they're just moving further away from us. I mean, over the last couple days, we haven't seen TK and Kari at all. We never see Ken and Yolei. I've even heard they've been hanging out with those kids down at that old factory."

"And? That's their business. If they want to go and 'hang out' while Odiaba remains under terrorist threat, then that's their problem. There are much more important things to do than be wrapped up in our friend's social lives."

"Matt, what are you saying? Our friends and _their _social lives? The two go hand in hand."

Matt seemed slightly flustered at that. "Yeah, well, I mean not at a time like this. Maybe later when such trivial things matter."

"Trivial…" Sora echoed.

"Yes," Matt insisted. "At a time like this, a lot of things that once seemed important are proven trivial." He pointed to the letter in Sora's hand. "Especially that crock of bull."

Izzy and Mimi exchanged knowing glances.

"Matt," Mimi began. "Don't you think that was maybe that's a little harsh?"

"It may sound that way, but come on guys, look at what Tai is doing because he can't be with _my_ fiancée. Can you really fault me for seeing it the way I do?"

"I suppose not," Izzy said after a moment of thought. "But still…"

"Still what?"

"Someone is going to have to make up here, Matt. You can't stay mad forever."

"Maybe I can't be mad forever, but I see no reason to make-up. That would imply that for some reason, Tai plays an important role in my life. I have news for you guys; he doesn't. These aren't the old days back in the digital world. I don't need him now, and sometimes I wonder if we really did back then-"

"That's enough Matt," Izzy said sternly. "While you may not need him now, that's no reason to disparage what he did for us back then. After all, he never left us, as you did. At least not on purpose."

Matt grumbled something under his breath that sounded an awful lot like "Your girlfriend left too."

Sora, who had begun to quietly observe the conversation, thus showing her begrudging agreement with Matt, spoke up. "Matt left because of his concern for Mimi, and eventually…he saved me by doing so." The two shared an intimate look and smiled. "The time I needed someone there for me the most, he was there, not Tai."

"Well, I can understand that, I guess." Mimi reached down and clutched Izzy's hand. He gave her a slight squeeze in response.

"And so can I," he admitted with a sigh.

"So what about this weird meeting they called for us tonight?" Mimi asked, changing the subject in her usual flighty manner. "Did you guys get that message from Ken, too?"

Sora nodded. "That's why we're looking for Kari and TK. We figured maybe they knew what's going on."

Matt scoffed. "She means that's why _she's_ looking for them. I already know what's going on."

"Really?"

"Of course. Once again, someone wants to pander to Tai's immaturity. They're probably just over concerned about him and whomever else he's with. I've put up with this for as long as I can, but I really just don't have time for it anymore."

A voice interrupted. "Then make time." It was Yolei. She walked into the room, followed by Kari, TK, Ken, and Cody.

Matt didn't hide his surprise as he looked at the group. "What's going on?"

"This is an intervention," Yolei said, her voice low and not masking her anger. "It's time you actually earned that crest of Friendship, Matt." She turned to her boyfriend. "Ken?"

He stepped forward, reached into his overcoat, and pulled out a manila folder.

* * *

**Odaiba Underground**

Kai stepped down into the expansive sewer drain carefully. He turned up his nose as the massive stench of the place reached his nostrils.

"You would think Hitachi would have found a more sanitary clandestine entrance to this place."

Jade leapt down next to him, unperturbed, and patiently waited as Ineg followed shortly after.

"Ugh, the things I've had to resort to," he grumbled.

"You've barely been walking the earth for but a few minutes." Kai said.

"And yet I'm already traversing your waste management systems. I must say, I'm not impressed."

Kai flinched in annoyance, as he took the point and led them. "So, to what do we owe this visit? Did you succeed in your campaign against our enemies?"

"Indeed I did, to a certain extent."

Kai paused. "What does that mean?"

"It means that I accomplished my own personal goals through my own means."

"Your own means? We granted you the use of the Dark Ones to aid in your efforts. Such powerful weapons-"

"I did not use your 'Dark Ones.'" Ineg said simply.

Now Jade looked at him in surprise.

"Then how did you escape?'

"With my own brand of manipulation, I managed to amass quite a capable army of my own."

Kai considered him skeptically. "Is that right? So why are you here then? I trust you have no further need of our services."

"Incorrect. Though I was able to accomplish my primary objective in my assault on the realm, my army essentially acted as little more than a very large decoy once Gennai's champions showed their true power."

Kai suddenly found this all very interesting. "Gennai's champions? The missing digidestined I presume?"

Ineg nodded. "They are formidable, to an extent. If I return with an even more powerful army, such as the one you've placed at my disposal, they won't stand a chance."

"Why would you want to return?" Jade questioned. "I thought you accomplished your objective."

"My original objective, yes, but there are other things, loose ends if you will, that need to be taken care of."

A broad smile formed across Kai's face as he imagined the wide scale destruction Ineg likely had in mind. "I see. Then why are you here? We gave you the location of the pocket dimension where the Dark Ones were taken, re-raised, and trained. You needed only to go there and get them."

"Yes, I'm aware of this. But I simply wished to know those who I will be collaborating with by using these weapons. I wanted to be sure that our goals aligned. Fighting a war on two fronts does not interest me."

"So long as you seek the destruction of Gennai and his- 'champions,' our goals are very much in common."

Ineg smiled. "All I needed to hear. He turned and created a swirling black portal along an adjacent brick wall. "Until next time, Assassin."

"Good hunting." Kai responded with a nod.

After Ineg disappeared into the construct, Kai walked forward a few more steps, to a wall in front of them that was seemingly a dead end to their current path.

"Do you trust him?" Jade asked.

Kai shrugged. "For now." He began to push the bricks on the wall in a sequential order. After a moment a confirmation chime played and a section of the wall folded downwards to reveal a fingerprint pad and retinal scanner. "Our goals intersect at the moment." Kai paused before placing his hand on the pad, "And perhaps later he can return the favor by returning what they took from me so long ago."

He performed the rest of the equipments' requested actions and then waited as Jade did the same before pressing a finalization key. With a telltale hiss of hydraulics, the wall began to lift and revealed a second set of doors, beyond which was a long, brightly illuminated hallway. The two entered the airlock and immediately after the wall lowered a fine mist began to descend around them. Jade involuntarily coughed at the strong scent of the industrial strength disinfectants as they cleared away any potential incoming germs. After a moment the mist ceased and the second set of doors opened. The pair entered the white clinical hall, their eyes gradually adjusting to its intense fluorescent lighting.

"Your lost abilities." Jade said, continuing their conversation. "You believe that is still possible?"

Kai set his jaw resolutely, pulling the hood from the back of his coat over his head and shrouding his face in shadows. "It has to be."

Moments later a man in a characteristic white lab coat with unnaturally pallid skin came around a corner and approached the pair. He bowed deeply. "Assassin. Ms. Jade."

"Doctor." Kai answered.

"Right this way," the doctor beckoned.

Jade looked at him perplexedly, while Kai, slipping fully into his alter ego, remained calm.

"It seems you were expecting us, doctor."

"Mr. Hitachi told us of your impending arrival moments ago."

"Did he?"

"Yes, we had to make some rather hasty preparations, but we have several subjects ready to go."

"Good." Kai paused. "What exactly did Hitachi tell you, by the way?"

"Only that you would be making a move tonight and that we should be ready to accommodate you."

Kai only nodded, sparing a brief glance at Jade as they continued forward.

The doctor continued. "I hope your journey here wasn't too uncomfortable. With the main entrance being destroyed due to the other night's...events, movements in and out of here have been anything but routine. It has made working on his _other_ project very difficult. Of course I wouldn't know of what you went through myself, since Mr. Hitachi doesn't allow any of us lab techs to actually leave this place." There was a slight hint of bitterness in his voice. The three then settled into a business like silence.

After a bit more walking they reached the section of the massive underground facility known as the catacombs. As they entered the expansive room, featuring several large fluid filled tanks occupied by various unconscious humans and digimon, Kai began to probe the doctor for information.

"Did Hitachi tell you who sanctioned tonight's move?"

"Yes."

"Who?"

The doctor regarded Kai with a puzzled expression. He had become used to the ways of his employers, which were to keep conversations to a minimum, only offering information or explanations when they were necessary.

"He did." The doctor answered unsurely. "He said the information was in your com-link."

"Of course." Kai reached into his pocket and pulled out the small black device. He kept it inactive most of the time, due to not wanting to be tracked through constant satellite contact. Also, his relationship with Hitachi was one of subordinate partnership. He worked for Hitachi, but unlike the multi-billionaire's thousands of other employees, he wasn't subject to his every beck and whim. The Assassin didn't truly work for anyone. He had chosen to offer up his litany of skills into Hitachi's service (for a price, to be sure), but he wasn't about to go around constantly taking orders from a little box like one of Charlie's Angels. He thought Hitachi had known this-

The com-link's screen lit up with Hitachi's message already on screen. Kai read it with scrutiny.

:Message Received –Today-Three hours ago:

_Assassin, I know that this is not our normal means of communication, but I must request a favor of you. The other day's transpirings have left me in hiding and exile and unable to act on some things which require my immediate attention. Therefore, I need you to do this for me: Destroy the original digidestined. They present too great a threat to me and several of them in particular know too much. I entrust only you to lead with this task. I have told the techs in the catacombs to provide for your needs in this capacity. In order to cover your actions, I will make this the night of our true exposure. Targets will be attacked around the world. As usual, you will be rewarded handsomely for your labors. _

:End Message:

"Quite the coincidence." Jade whispered as she finished reading the message over Kai's shoulder.

"Great minds…" He responded with a small smirk.

The doctor cleared his throat, causing the two to look up. "We're here." He said.

Behind him was a pair of large metal doors, hazard warnings printed in bold lettering on each. The doctor walked to a control panel on the wall next to them and punched in a long code. There was a hiss, followed by a mechanical whir as the doors began to open.

"Mr. Assassin, meet your team."

Kai moved toward the room with a feral smile shrouded in shadow as he watched several lethal forms with glowing white eyes begin to step forward from the darkness within.

"Perfect."

* * *

**The Digital Realm**

The auditorium was filled with the buzz of hundreds of academy students, curiously and anxiously awaiting the arrival of their headmaster long before Tai arrived, his usual assemblage of friends following closely behind him. Everyone in the room suddenly quieted and cast furtive glances at the group. There was something different about their expressions, the way they moved… The students watched as the group of eight and their digimon stormed down the massive room's center aisle and right to the stage at the front. Almost simultaneously, they all leapt neatly onto the platform, ignoring the stairs on either side. With that, they tuned back toward the crowd, looking past them back to the doors they'd entered through, and began to wait.

"How long do we give them?" Jun whispered.

Tai glanced at the clock on his digivice. "Another five minutes." he said.

"And what exactly do we do if they don't show by then?"

"We find our own answers." Tai said darkly.

"I like the sound of that." Terence commented. "I don't trust any of these fools anymore."

"Down boys," Kuri interrupted. "That won't be necessary."

She nodded toward a hidden corner of the stage, where several shadowed shapes were emerging. As they moved into the intense light of the stage, everyone got a clear look at the haggard countenance of Gennai, flanked by Nai, Willis, and Keyan. Gen hung behind them, looking clearly depressed, and even further back were Xian and Krista, seemingly only there in a formal capacity.

Without ceremony, Gennai shuffled to the front of the stage and cleared his throat. "Let's get on with this, shall we?"

"Let's." Tai said, making no attempt to talk under his breath.

Gennai glanced at the enraged leader. "Very well, what is it that would you like to know?"

"Everything." Davis answered for him. "But you can start with what the hell just happened out there."

"Yeah, just who exactly was that that attacked us, if not Sensei Enn?" Kuri looked toward Willis skeptically, showing she still doubted him.

"He-" Gennai began hesitantly, "he was me." The headmaster hung his head shamefully, the first time any of them had seen him behave in such a manner.

"We gathered that, but how?"

It appeared Gennai was about to answer when Willis stood up to interrupt him.

"I'll tell them."

"No, Willis you don't-"

"Willis raised a hand to stop him. "No, it was my fault. I'll tell them."

Rosa raised an eyebrow. "Tell us what?"

"That the man who attacked us, Ineg, was my creation."

Every student but the eight on stage gasped.

"You don't seem surprised." Nai noted.

"We're not," Rosa answered. "Curtis told us about the simulation thing on Willis' computer."

Willis was startled at that. "What, you saw my simulations? How?"

"The last combine, when I activated Tai and Jason's evolutions." Curtis answered matter-of-factly.

"Oh," A look of dawning came over Willis. "I forgot about that…"

"So, how did you create him?" Davis pressed.

"An unfortunate byproduct of data manipulation. When Gennai first thought of creating this place, he sought me out, so that I could help him accomplish his rather ambitious goals. The first order of business for us was to provide the academy with ample instructors. We already had people such as Xian, Krista, and Keyan in mind for authority positions here, but when it came to the actual teaching of major aspects of the digital world, the only person Gennai trusted was himself. Since I had already shown some capacity for data manipulation, he decided that together, we could find a way to manipulate his pre existing short term ability to separate into several individuals into something with a longer lasting effect."

"As you can see, we were successful…somewhat. Our solution to this particular conundrum was to isolate his splitting ability and find a way to specifically cause it to last longer. The answer we found was to make each of Gennai's separate personas stronger by investing complete aspects of his personality into each one. This caused each to be inherently stronger because instead of only a percentage of Gennai being in each separate personality, causing the degradation between each to occur very rapidly, a complete percentage of separate aspects of Gennai was put into each, causing them to last for, as you can see, a long period of time."

Curtis nodded. "Ok, fine, that all makes sense. But where did it go wrong?"

"From the beginning. Like the starlet simulation you likely saw, Gennai separated into all the traits we specified, plus one more-"

"His dark side."

"Yes, and I should have seen it coming. From the moment Ineg was born, he seemed hell bent on destroying us and recombining with Gennai on his own terms by absorbing each of his personalities in a recessive capacity."

"But why? Why would he want to absorb Gennai's personalities? He obviously seemed to be doing well enough on his own." Curtis asked.

"And why wasn't he successful?" Jun added.

"Well, to answer the first question, though our current method of data manipulation lasts much longer than Gennai's original ability, it still isn't infinite. If the separate personalities don't combine after a certain amount of time, they will all begin to pixilate and eventually cease to exist."

Clara was taken aback. "Gennai will die?'

"Yes," Willis answered sadly. "And the time he has left is drawing short. At some point we're going to have to somehow get Ineg to recombine, but on Gennai's terms."

"Because…" Curtis began as he started to place the pieces together, "If Ineg isn't recombined into the whole they will all die, but if he does recombine on _his_ terms, he will possess all of Gennai's strengths and be in full control."

"Right."

"But that doesn't answer my question." Jun said. "Why wasn't he able to do this the first time around?"

Gennai stepped forward. "Because of the timely and brilliant thinking of Willis." He obviously wanted to make it known that Willis had done some things right throughout the ordeal. "Using only his wits and his laptop, he was able to create a portal to a void and shapeless dimension as Enn did his best to hold off my dark counterpart. Once the construct was complete, Enn lured him into the void and quickly returned so Willis could close it before Ineg could follow."

"Couldn't he just have created a portal?"

"No."

"But Sensei Enn can, and they seem to have very similar abilities."

"Because portals are a product of light or technology, not darkness. You see, Enn and Ineg's abilities are similar in power level, but quite dissimilar in origin. Whereas Ineg's powers are derived from darkness, Enn's are-" He stopped himself with a sad shake of his head. "_were_ taken from the light."

"Wait, so Enn was Gennai's aspect of light then?"

"No, Gen is. You see, I was very specific in how I separated Gennai's attributes and personalities. Although Gennai's abilities were tied to his aspect of light, I was able to isolate them and combine them with his combative personality. I mean, they really wouldn't be of much use had I left them in Gen's hands would they?"

Jun glanced at Gennai's forlorn counterpart, seemingly lost in his own depression and not paying much attention to the ongoing conversation.

"We had to give them to Enn. Someone who could make real use of them."

"But why lie to us about them? You came up with that ruse of Enn not having powers. Why not tell us from the start?'

Gennai spoke once again. "That was my decision. I knew that considering Enn's rather forceful and abrasive nature, his having such considerable power would not be something that any of you would be able to cope with comfortably. Thus we decided it was an aspect of the sensei that was best kept under wraps."

Tai shook his head. "There's so much here that doesn't add up. If you had these abilities all along Gennai, why did you never show them before? And why, if the balance of darkness and light is equal, was Ineg able to defeat Enn so easily?"

"Interesting that you would ask those two questions Tai, as their answers are very closely tied to one another. If you recall, I once told you that back before I recruited you and the other seven original digidestined for the mission of defeating Myotismon that I was shot with a dark spore, much like the one that turned Ken into the digimon emperor."

"Yeah… Piedmon did it." Tai acknowledged thoughtfully. He'd forgotten about that long ago. "But-how does that relate?"

"While the spore didn't turn me into a dictatorial maniac, it did manage to exponentially strengthen the darker side of my personality, having the immediate effect of causing me to age very rapidly. Though I was able to gradually combat this symptom through meditation and ancient rejuvenation techniques, I was unable to recoup most of the fighting abilities that I had. As Willis told you, the powers I used were tied to my aspect of light. This was entirely my decision. Had I wanted, I could have turned to my darker side and allowed my abilities to originate from there, but that would have resulted in me being inherently evil. Once shot with the spore, my aspects were thrown out of balance. My dark side was strengthened immensely and thus negated my ability to choose. My abilities could either originate from darkness or nothing at all. You obviously know what my choice was when faced with that quandary. It was because of this that I was forced to seek out Davis's second group of digidestined."

"So, back on the Ineg subject." Curtis directed. "We established that he was incapable of creating portals. How do you explain how he got here?"

"That, I do not know. He never succeeded when trying before."

"Before?" Rosa inquired.

"The flares." Curtis answered. "I knew it. Those things weren't random. They were Ineg, trying to get into the realm, weren't they?"

Gennai sighed. "I can see you've put much thought into many of the realm's happenings, Curtis, as should be expected."

"And?"

"And you're right, the flares are not a random occurrence."

"I knew it!" Curtis exclaimed.

Only Tai heard Jun whisper, "So did I."

"So then what were they?" Terence asked. "I mean those damn things were popping up quite often to not be random."

"They were what you suspect, Ineg trying to force his way into the realm."

"I thought he couldn't create portals."

"He can't. But he likely has the ability to create more rudimentary digital constructs, such as the ones you've learned of in class, like starlets, force fields, and siphons."

Curtis keyed in on the last one. "Siphons? Like taking things from one dimension and placing them in another?"

Gennai nodded. Much like the starlets, siphons were yet another construct that Nai had the academy students practice making ad-naseum. Also like starlets they were points of light, but what they actually represented were what could best be described as digital tubes, visible as light in one dimension, yet existing as portals in two entirely different ones. They were much like black holes in the real world, and precursors to actual portals, the most complicated of digital constructs.

"So, he created what, a siphon from the digital world to our realm?"

"Yes, at the beginning they were relatively small, however, and easily guarded against, but over time, Ineg kept at it and made them more powerful, eventually overcoming Oikawa's efforts and our third defense shell."

"Oh, the one that doesn't exist?" Jun asked, skepticism in her tone.

Tai looked at her questioningly. "What?"

"Early in our term here, Willis laptop showed that there were actually three different shells protecting the realm around the academy. He told us that that was a mistake, however, that there were only two. The third one didn't exist."

"That's right." Clara said. "I remember that now."

Terence narrowed his eyes at Willis. "Yet another lie?" It was more of a statement than a question.

"Well, yes." Willis shrugged. "I mean, if we told you that one of our protective shells had completely failed, I'm sure you would have been considerably upset. We couldn't afford to do that. The last thing we needed was you guys doubting us even further."

"So each time one of these siphons was created, some digimon came through." Rosa mused. "That explains a lot. And as the siphons became bigger, so did the digimon."

"Yes."

"And that seadramon during the last combine? How did it get under the arena?"

Willis frowned. "That, I'm not sure about. I'd like to say that the seadramon dove underground…but that really isn't in their nature."

"There's more you aren't telling us," Tai said, his suspicions aroused. "I know it."

"It's the truth, Tai. The portal that brought the seadramon would have to have existed inside our inner defenses, but that isn't possible…"

Willis' voice faded away as Jun was progressively hearing less and less of the ongoing conversation. Things were starting to click in place in her mind. She looked to Gen, a persistent mantra of his playing in the back of her mind. _Darkness and Light._

"Willis," she said suddenly, ignoring whatever they were talking about at the time. "When that seadramon attacked, where was counselor Gen?"

The counselor suddenly looked up anxiously, his eyes darting back and forth between the young genius and the Insightful Knight.

Willis thought for a moment. "He was at the main computer, trying to take the arena walls down, if I recall."

Jun nodded. "Did he get far?"

"Well, he didn't actually take them down, but he got much deeper into the system than I expected he could have. Why?"

Jun ignored his inquiry. "So he was quite adept with your system. Unexpectedly so. Did you ever see him use computers in order to gain such knowledge?"

"No."

"Wait," Nai interjected. "He often borrowed my laptop to prepare his lectures for class."

"What?" Davis exclaimed. "We read all our lectures from books or went walking outside. He never used a computer."

"So he had much experience with computers, and used deception to get it. Hmm." Jun began to pace. "Was it possible to communicate with Ineg in his other dimension?"

"Yes." Willis answered. "If you knew where to look, it wouldn't be difficult at all."

"That's it." Jun said. "That's the key."

"Um, what?"

"Curtis, where was Gen when you returned from seeing Enn burying the dark spire material?'

"Coming down the main stairs. I already told y-"

"Where, as a chaperone for the holiday dance, he didn't need to be. He needed only to guard the main hall door to ensure that no one went upstairs." She continued questioning Curtis. "When you saw Enn burying the material, you mentioned to me earlier that you heard him saying something about collaborating with someone else?"

"Yeah. Well, it sounded like he got the idea from someone else anyway."

"I'll bet he did." Jun glanced at the Counselor, her eyes filling with anger.

Curtis looked between them. "Wait…are you saying-?"

Jun continued. "Lastly, Willis, where was Gen when the portal that Ineg came through opened?"

"He was…" Realization washed over Willis like a wave. "In the main control room. He said the dark presence of the digimon was making him weak."

"But not too weak to go running after Ineg, the darkest presence of anyone out there? I don't buy it." She turned to Nai. "Professor, have you checked your computer's activity logs before?"

"Well, no." He answered. "I was generally the only one to use my computer, and since nothing ever went wrong with it-"

"Check them. Now."

Nai quickly unfolded his laptop and began furiously typing at the keys.

"Jun, you can't possibly think-" Gen began.

"You be quiet!" She shouted. "I don't want to hear a word from you.'

"Oh my god." Nai gasped as the logs began to unfold before him, each line passing in a blur. "I don't believe it."

Everyone looked to him.

"What is it?" Willis asked.

"He was viewing my extensive data files on Arukenimon, specifically the material which made up her hair."

"The only material known to be able to create dark digimon from dark spire material." Willis grimaced.

"There's enough data here to allow someone to synthesize a large amount, given enough time."

"Just as I suspected." Jun said.

Gen suddenly began to back up, looking extremely uncomfortable. "Don't be ridiculous-"

A mental message passed between Davis and Kuri and immediately both sprang in to action, each grabbing one of Gen's arms and slamming him back into a partition.

"Don't move.' Davis warned.

"Trust us," Kuri added. "It would not be in your best interest."

Jun stormed over to stand in front of the counselor. "It's been you the whole time hasn't it? You've been collaborating with Ineg from the start. All those flares, the Seadramon, today…you were behind it all."

Gen didn't respond. He simply stared at her for a long moment before hanging his head and effectively convicting himself. The entire audience looked at him in shock and dismay.

"How?" Was all Gennai asked. His face seemed especially weary now.

"It was easy most likely," Jun answered for the exposed instructor. "He always knew where Ineg was and he trained himself to become well versed in your computers' technology. It would be simple for him to converse with your darker half and aid him in ways to overcome the realm's defenses."

"She's right." Nai said, glancing at his computer screen. "According to these log files, Gen has been transmitting our shield frequencies to Ineg's dimension for quite a while. No wonder it was so difficult to stop the flares. Ineg knew exactly when and where to make them."

"That's not all, however." Jun continued, a finger placed thoughtfully to her chin. "Gen apparently had two plans. At first he was simply trying with the flares, but at some point, everything must have changed-"

"Yeah," Curtis interrupted. "At some point he turned to plan B, which was to somehow actually bring Ineg himself here from the other dimension."

"But he couldn't just bring Ineg back by himself," Terence. "Or he'd have all of us all over him. He had to have all those dark digimon here too."

"So then he must have used Enn," Rosa said. "But how?"

Kuri relaxed her grip on the counselor a bit. He wasn't really trying to escape anymore. "Well, we already know, from when Davis and I snuck out that time, that he and Enn talked a lot-"

"It wasn't difficult." Gen interrupted her quietly, surprising everyone with his sudden candor. "Enn was always so obsessed with training you all. I opposed him at every turn at first. The better you all became at combat, the less chance my plans would have of coming to fruition. But, once I realized the flares weren't going to work, after the Seadramon debacle, I began to embrace Enn's single mindedness. It became a tool for me."

Everyone was quiet, waiting for him to continue.

"To get the dark material here would be a two step process, one person needed to go get the material from the other dimension, while another was on the main computer, masking his portal from the alarm systems. All it took was a casual slip of the tongue in conversation to get Enn to bite. I only needed to mention the dark material and how it could be changed into dark digimon for Enn to put the rest of the pieces in place and decide that it would present a perfect training opportunity for you all. I knew he would attempt to acquire the material during the holiday dance, while everyone was busy, so that's when I went to the main computer and used the knowledge I'd gained from my previous experiences to hide his activities from the system. It went off without a hitch, save for those two."

He pointed to Curtis and Rosa, standing side by side. "They snuck out of the mansion that night, and I had my suspicions that they had seen Enn burying the material. Thus, I kept a close eye on them, and when the time was right, used them to my advantage."

"Used us?" Curtis asked.

"Or more specifically, just you. Once I was able to synthesize enough of Arukenimon's hair material, I buried it down there with the dark material. For as long as it remained covered, no reaction would take place. Air and light were needed for the material to breathe and be changed into digimon. Thus, when I was ready, I let it slip to Curtis that I had somehow felt a 'dark presence' in the area. He, as expected, took care of the rest. Once the digimon were freed and occupying everyone's time and attention, I was able to go to the main computer once again and open a portal for Ineg to come through."

"But…why? Why would you do it, Gen?"

Jun stepped forward. "I know why. He's been practically telling us all year. To restore the balance of darkness and light."

"_Darkness cannot exist without the light_." Several on stage and in the audience quietly repeated the Counselor's mantra in unison as everything started to make sense.

"You couldn't stand being apart from him, could you Gen? Without Gennai's aspect of darkness you had no reason to be, no true purpose, did you?" Jun let out a short, pained laugh. "In a cruel twist of fate, it was only when Gennai's darkness was taken away that it could finally overpower you."

Gen only responded by hanging his head.

"So how did it start? You contacted him in the other dimension and struck some kind of deal, right? I bet he said he would join with you if you found some way to free him from his prison."

Gen continued to stare at the floor, signifying the truth is all she was saying. Everyone, even Tai, looked at Jun, impressed and surprised by the extent of her insight and deductive skills.

"So you started with the flares, culminating with the one you collaborated to create inside the arena at the last combine. I'm not sure what you wanted to accomplish there. You knew Ineg would never be able to create a portal here."

Davis spoke up. "I don't think this that's what he wanted, sis. Like Terence said, if Ineg came here alone he'd have everyone here on him in a second."

Rosa was confused at that. "So then, what did he want?"

"Chaos" Curtis answered. "Uncertainty and danger. If the realm became unstable enough, the academy would be shut down, and Gennai would have no use for all his split personalities. He would likely try to rejoin himself."

Jun nodded. "That makes sense. But when that didn't work, which I'm sure was by Ineg's patient design, their actions had to be taken to the next level." She turned to look at the counselor. "Tell me, Gen, whose idea was it to use the dark material? Yours or his?"

"His…" Gen croaked, his hoarse voice barely above a whisper.

"As I thought. Ineg would never want to rejoin with you. He wanted power and control. He simply needed you to get it."

"Yes," Tai concurred. "In my experience, its only the light that sees the need for balance. Darkness always wants complete control, to destroy the light."

"And you should have known that, Gen." Jun continued. "He used you. And your gullibility put us all in danger."

Gen suddenly lunged forward, straining against Kuri and Davis' tightened grips. "He promised me! He said we would be one once again if I did my part!"

"There's a wise old saying, counselor." Clara said calmly. " 'The devil speaks with a forked tongue.' You should have known better."

"He betrayed me!"

"You betrayed us."

Gen began to move and writhe in a strange manner, seemingly fighting within himself. "No…" Gradually, his struggles began to subside and he accepted his fate. "No." He allowed himself to slump to his knees and tears began to descend from his eyes. He keeled over, his face in his hands, and was overtaken by heaving sobs.

Gennai watched him somberly for a few moments before speaking quietly. "It seems that subversion and secrecy have threatened to destroy us all this day."

The headmaster's words caused Tai to grasp onto an earlier train of thought. "You couldn't be more right, Gennai." He said, giving the old guardian a critical stare. "So tell me then, what are we really doing here?"

"What do you mean?"

"All this," Tai swung his arm around. "This mansion, the money, the technology." He took off his badge and opened the d-terminal. A picture and text appeared on its screen and Tai tossed it on the floor between them. "These criminal profiles. When are you going to tell us the real truth Gennai?"

"I'm not sure I follow, Tai."

Tai sighed in disgust. "I'm no fool Gennai. When you first called in the digidestined, it was to handle a problem you could have handled perfectly on your own. You still had all your powers and all the guardians when you first began the process of creating us. As I recall, Piedmon shot you with that spore as you attempted to hide our tags and crests. You could have battled him and the other dark masters easily, if Ineg's abilities are an indicator of what you were capable of, yet you didn't."

"Tai-"

"I know why that was, though. Because of the prophecy. You couldn't fight the dark masters yourself because there wasn't any assurance of victory. But if you followed the prophecy of the eight digidestined, the one which foretold of us defeating Myotismon and then saving the digital world, then you stood a good chance of victory. Obviously, though you lost most of the guardians to the hands of the dark masters due to this decision, you were ultimately right. We won in the end, didn't we?"

Gennai said nothing.

"Then you called upon the second group of digidestined. Unlike us, there weren't really any prophecies to guide them. You had to call them in because your powers had been taken away. There was no way you could fight. So with them, unlike us, you helped in any way you could, splitting yourself into multiples for a short time and calling us in to aid them when digimon began showing up all around the world. You even brought us power cores from Azulongmon. And, when it came down to it, you also helped us succeed with the aid of every single digidestined in the entire world."

Again, Gennai was silent.

"Now, with Willis' help, not only did you find a way of making your split selves last a lot longer, but you also found a way to recover your lost powers. There are thousands upon thousands of digidestined around the world now and you have the backing of many of the world most powerful governments and protection agencies. Like the first time around, you're very capable of doing this fight on your own, yet you have essentially called in bunch of kids once again to save the world."

"What's your point?"

Tai was blunt. "Even though you said the exact opposite when we first came here, there's a prophecy guiding your actions once again, isn't there?"

When Gennai didn't answer, Tai spoke once again. "Subversion and secrecy …" He gestured toward the crumpled counselor Gen.

At this the headmaster sighed, "Yes, you are right Tai. There is a prophecy."

Terence threw his hands in the air. "Okay, this is getting too damn ridiculous."

Gennai ignored him and continued. "Long ago, uncovered from the temple with the others, was a prophecy telling of a time when the greatest threat to both worlds would originate from the real world. According to it, eight digidestineds would be called upon once again. They would consist of four from the east," he glanced between Tai, Jun, Davis, and Kuri. "And four from the West." He then looked at Curtis, Rosa, Clara, and Terence. "Within these eight would be the key to saving us all, and the rest would all be necessary to get the key where it was needed the most. For them to do that, they would need an army behind them." He looked out over the sea of faces in the audience and the digimon in the balcony.

"At first I believed the key, like Kari before, to be Davis, especially as he came into possession of the shield of miracles. But now, now I know that a key can be comprised of more than one part, and more than one person." He looked meaningfully between Davis and Kuri.

Tai crossed his arms in a satisfactory manner. He'd suspected something like this ever since he and Gennai had spoken after the Tyrannomon battle in the second term. "So, the truth is revealed."

Jun noticed Willis frown as Tai spoke, as if there was still more to this.

Gennai answered somberly. "Yes, and I only hope I haven't compromised the prophecy by doing so." He seemed dejected, his face wrought with worry.

Keyan took a few steps forward and stood beside him. "I'm sure you haven't, master."

Gennai smiled at her sadly and patted her hand. "Thank you Keyan." He glanced at the floor where Tai had tossed his d-terminal, lost in thought. It was a moment before he spoke again. "But…while we're in the mood of exposition, I fear there is something else that I must tell you." He picked up the device, looked at the screen, and chuckled sadly upon seeing its display. "The Assassin. You know, I once called him friend, but like our counselor here, he also betrayed his friends and ideals for selfish reasons. He was actually once a guardian before his powers were taken-"

"KiAdjae." Jun said suddenly.

Gennai looked at her, somewhat surprised that she remembered that name from their conversation so long ago. "Why, yes."

Jun heard his surprise. "Well, the name certainly fits the Assassin's alias letter scheme."

"Yes, well. There are a couple of things about him that I've held from you all for too long now." Gennai sighed heavily. "A few deaths he was responsible for that directly affect you all."

The room fell perfectly quiet with the gravity of Gennai's words.

"What…deaths, Gennai?" Tai asked.

"Well first…first was the murder of Hiroki Hida, disguised as a political assassination attempt. It was after this that he disappeared for a while."

Tai and Davis' jaws dropped. "Cody's father?" Davis said. "He killed Cody's father?"

Gennai nodded slowly.

"But I thought he died in the line of duty, trying to save the councilman-"

"True, that's the way it looked. The bullet he took was not meant for the councilman, however."

Davis shook his head in utter shock. "I can't believe this. Why?"

"I have my suspicions, but ultimately that's something you would have to find out from him."

Davis clenched a fist. "Oh, I plan to."

Kuri felt his anger and placed a hand on his shoulder.

Jun did the same for Tai as she urged Gennai to continue. "The...other deaths Gennai…"

Gennai trembled a little and hung his head. This would be the one that hurt him the most. He spoke very quietly. "Darryl and Moira Constantine."

A loud scream of disbelief rang out over the entire auditorium. "My PARENTS?" Keyan shouted, her eyes wide with shock. "_He_ killed them?!"

"Keyan, I'm so sorry-"

"No! I do not believe you! They died in a car accident!" Tears were already forming on her face. "It cannot be true! _You_ told me that!"

"There was an accident Keyan. With another unknown car, not a highway median, as you were told. Your parents survived the wreck initially…but they were weakened. There were…signs of asphyxiation-"

"NO!" Tears now streamed down Keyan's face and a blue electric energy began to crackle around her. Her eyes started to blaze a hot white. "You are lying!

Davis recognized the power immediately. "Azulongmon." He mouthed to himself.

"Keyan, you know that your mother was a guardian avatar, just like you. He was trying to destroy the bloodline. You were kept a secret for your own protection. That is why he didn't come after you. Plans had already been made for you to be put under our care in the event of your parents' deaths."

"No!" She shouted again. Willis was holding her back now. "Why did you not tell me? I could have-" Electricity was now arching violently up and down her body.

"Could have what?" Gennai asked. "Keyan, you have come a long way, but you have still not fully mastered your abilities. It would be too dangerous-"

"If this is true, I will kill him Gennai. You cannot stop me!" She glared at the old man through blurry red eyes. "And I shall never forgive you!"

A persistent buzzing sound began, prompting Willis to turn and look at his laptop. The entire screen was flashing red. "A breach!" He shouted. "Another portal! Bigger than the last!"

Nai turned. "What? How?"

Gen, still lying on the floor, slowly raised his head and began to laugh ruefully. "He's baaack."

"You bastard!" Nai rushed over and slugged the Counselor across the jaw. "You gave him our shield frequency sequence, didn't you? He knew exactly what we were going to change it to!"

"Perhaps." Gen said, rubbing his injured mandible. "Either way, it doesn't matter. He's going to win regardless."

Davis glared at him. "We beat him before, we can do it again-"

Suddenly there was a loud rumble and the entire mansion shook. Everyone stumbled in different directions. "What the hell was that?" Tai shouted.

Willis looked at his laptop screen. "Something's attacking the inner shield…and it's succeeding!" He looked around. "We have to evacuate, now!"

Tai needed no further information. "You heard him! Everybody out of here! Yesterday!"

As one, all of the instructors, students, and digimon rushed for the exits.

* * *

When they arrived outside the mansion, the scene that greeted the young knights and digimon was one of total apocalypse. In the air was another large portal, just like the one Ineg had exited through earlier. Ineg himself hovered in front of it smiling like a madman.

Tai swallowed hard and forced himself not to look fearful or surprised. It was the new allies that Ineg brought that made him so uneasy and the dark guardian so confident. Four new digimon stood on the ground in front of the portal while a massive one hovered overhead.

"The dark masters."

Jun involuntarily gasped as she looked at the forms of Machinedramon, MetalSeadramon, Puppetmon, Piedmon, and Apocalymon.

Ineg laughed, a frightening, menacing sound that seemed to echo from everywhere. "As you all can see, I've made some new friends!" His expression became darker. "Plus, I brought a few old ones."

Suddenly the thousands of dark hybrids from earlier began spilling out of the portal.

"It seems digidestined, that Gennai's grand experiment has come to a mortal end. Prepare for your destruction-"

He pretentious speech trailed off as Tai began shouting orders to everyone. "Okay people, we're going to need mega level digimon to take on these guys. Davis! You lead the attack on Apocalymon! Kuri and Clara, and any other experienced flyers, you go with him! Remember, take out his tentacles first! Jun, you take Machinedramon, Terence, MetalSeadramon, Curtis and Rosa, Puppetmon. Piedmon's mine, everyone else, concentrate on the hybrid army. Help us when necessary, but make sure those guys don't reach the mansion!"

"What about Ineg?" Someone asked.

Tai looked and saw that it was Jason, with Helga, Ahmed, and Tony behind him, all completely ready and willing to carry out whatever he ordered.

"He's after them." Tai nodded toward Gennai, and Nai. "Willis, can you reconstruct a shield?"

Willis looked down at the laptop he held in his hand. "With this system? Maybe. But only a small concentrated one. It should be able to protect us, but we're all going to have to remain very close to the mansion and one another."

"Okay, get it done. Everyone else, get going!" They all took off, amid various flashes of evolution.

After giving out the orders, Tai prepared to launch into battle himself, but was held back by something grabbing his arm. He turned to see that it was Willis.

"What?'

"Tai, the prophecy! Gennai didn't tell you all of it!"

"So? He didn't have time to go into real detail. I'll find out later." He prepared to take off again.

"No, you must know. One of you will die!"

Tai stopped short. "What do you mean?"

"The prophecy says that you will be made stronger by the loss of one, when your ranks fall to seven."

"A martyr?"

Willis nodded.

"When?"

"I'm not sure exactly, but it mentions a battle against 'old enemies'" Willis glanced at their current foes.

Tai immediately understood. He looked to Jun and Sparks, who had already engaged a group of hybrids. "I'll have to make sure that doesn't happen."

"You think you can actually change the prophecy and still succeed?"

Tai was introspective for a moment. "I'm…not sure." Another thought suddenly occurred to him. "At the very least, if I can't change it, I can control it." His face was set and grim.

"Tai-"

"Willis, get that shield up. Don't worry about me. Do your job."

Willis seemed as if he would say something else, but was interrupted as something large, white, and blazing hot shot over their heads. It impacted with the mansion with terrific force and set off a huge explosion that forced both to their knees. Tai looked up at the point of impact and saw only a gaping hole of flame and smoke right where the rec room used to be. He turned back to Willis.

"Hurry!" Was all he shouted before taking off to join the fray.

Willis watched him go for a moment, melancholy playing across his features. He quickly turned back to his laptop and set to work. Tai was right; he had a job to do. They all did, if the world was to have any hope of being saved.

_To be continued…_

* * *

Well, there ya go guys. Once again, sorry for the delay. I really am working on getting these up sooner. Promise!

Next up: War pt III: The Beginning of the End

The epic battle against Ineg and the Dark masters along with the Assassin's move against the Original Digidestined. The return is very near (And I know, it's about time. It's been two years in the making).

As usual, please review! It's what I live for.


	15. War Pt 3: The Beginning of the End

Hey, Knights fans. Here's the final chapter of the "War" trilogy. Before we start, I'd like to give a shout out to SilentKill, Anthony1, goldengirl, The Digital Dragon, niner, Bohemiat and any other reviewers that have kept reviewing this fic, even after my long hiatus (sorry to anyone I forgot. Just tell me in your review and I'll shout you out in the next chapter). Sometimes this thing is hard to write with all my other obligations. It's you guys that keep me going.

* * *

**War Pt III: The Beginning of the End**

War. Chaos. It was always inevitable, always on the horizon, always a driving force in the lives of all two hundred of the Academy's students and the partner digimon. Its threat was the reason they were called here, its fury the fire that forged them, its end their ultimate motivation. It had always been there, as it had been for all knights. They just didn't know it. Until now.

Marta and Clara zigzagged through the air, expertly moving up and down and weaving through and around Apocalymon's various tentacles as he fired a variety of attacks at a multitude of targets. Each of his tentacles ended with a pod, from which the evil digimon could launch any digimon's attack he desired. Clara glanced up as she saw a couple of allies take a direct Crimson lightning attack and drop toward the ground. She dove swiftly, catching the two moments before they would have slammed into the hard ground. They thanked her, admonished themselves for being caught off guard, and quickly took back to the air. Clara watched them go for a moment as she pulled out her digivice.

"Davis, are you sure about this plan? I could really help you guys destroy those things. Let me digivolve to mega and-"

"No, you need to keep doing what you're doing! Keep distracting him. Things have gotten a lot harder since you went down to save those guys. As long as Apocalymon can pay us his full attention, he can keep launching attacks and we can't get near his tentacle pods. As the best flyer here, you're the only one quick enough to distract him and not get hurt."

Clara grunted, barely acknowledging Davis' long overdue admission of her flying prowess. She and Marta would have to stay in their more agile Silphymon form, since, though powerful, Phoneixmon's speed and maneuverability weren't quite up to their current task. She took off from the ground and headed for her partner, patiently waiting for her just out of their enemy's range.

"We keep doing what we're doing," she said, answering Marta's questioning look. "We have to distract him so the others will have a chance at destroying his pods."

"I guess he learned better since his last battle with the digidestined." Marta said. "Let's go show him what we've learned too."

* * *

Davis and Imperialdramon fired twin positron laser attacks at one of their enemy's inactive pods, only to be disappointed when he moved it out of the way at the last second and fired a Terra Force back at them. They parted quickly, allowing the powerful attack to pass between them.

Apocalymon laughed at their actions, his voice as powerful and raspy as ever. "Good show, digidestined! I have waited a long time for this. It's good to see that I won't be disappointed!"

He taunted the two by thrusting a pod forward and clasping it open and shut in front of them, threatening to launch an attack at any moment.

"Don't think so!" Someone shouted. It was Peko in Valkyrimon form, who flew toward the group with amazing speed and with a mighty downswing of her sword, sliced the pod cleanly away from its attached tentacle. The object immediately burst into a shower of pixels as its owner screamed in a mixture of pain and rage. Apocalymon retreated a short distance, retracting his remaining seven pods out of harm's way, but still found himself taking static force attacks to the face from Clara and Marta, who continued to dart in and out of his range and maintained their roles as massive irritants to the immensely powerful Dark Master.

Amidst the chaos, Kuri flew over to Davis, using a few swings of her energy sword to dispatch a couple of winged hybrids that had misfortune of wandering into her path.

"Are you okay?" It was a rhetorical question. If Davis had been hurt, she would have felt it as soon as he did.

"Yeah." Davis looked over Apocalymon's form with scrutiny.

"What is it?"

"From what Tai has told me about this guy, he's supposed to be one of the deadliest and most powerful digimon of all time. But right now, he doesn't seem to be trying to destroy us. It more like he's keeping our attention, like he's distracting us from something."

Kuri considered his words as she watched their massive opponent swipe at several knights and digimon hovering around him while firing attacks at others. "I agree."

"And whatever he's taking our attention away from has to be every bit as dangerous as he is, if not more."

"True." Agreed Peko. "So we need to destroy him quickly. Gotta hit him fast..."

"And hard. Come on. Let's give him everything we've got."

The four went forward quickly to truly take the battle to their opponent.

* * *

Meanwhile, down below, Curtis, Rosa, Rosemon, and Boltmon looked over their small wooden opponent warily.

"You have gotta be kiddin' me." Puppetmon groaned. "While everyone else gets some real action I get stuck with the brats and their pets."

Rosa scowled, insulted. "You want real action? We'll give you all you can handle!" She turned to the rest of her group. "Now!"

The four launched their respective mega-level attacks simultaneously, the impact blasting away tons of earth and creating a massive crater in the ground where their enemy stood. It was all Puppetmon could do to leap out of the way and roll to a clumsy stop before regaining his footing.

"No fair! Four megas against one? That's no fun!"

"I thought we were just brats and their pets." Rosa said darkly, advancing on him and preparing to fire another volley of Danger Thorns.

Puppetmon began to meekly back away. "Yeah, well um-" He suddenly launched forward with a deceptive speed that caught the quartet off guard, violently slinging his mallet and catching Rosa directly in the ribs.

She flew to the ground with a pained whimper from the unexpected and vicious attack, rolling to a stop and clutching her side with a grimace. Vermillimon and Boltmon immediately leapt between her and Puppetmon, while Curtis ran to her aid. He knelt beside her and took her hand.

It was a moment before Rosa caught her breath enough to speak. "I'm alright." She said through gritted teeth, flicking her eyes angrily towards her attacker. "I just need some time to recover. In the meanwhile, do me a favor. Kick his ass."

"Gladly." Curtis quickly rose back to his feet, a look of menacing promise etched on his face. He began to advance on the puppet like digimon with the other two mega-level digimon flanking him.

Puppetmon took up a defensive stance once again. "Now these odds are a little better, but not quite good enough." The wooden digimon quickly reached into his overalls pocket and pulled out a small remote device. "This should help" He pressed a single button on the device and smiled as it began to emit a pulsing red glow.

"A distress beacon," Curtis surmised. "What's the matter, can't fight by yourself puppet?"

Puppetmon shrugged. "Sure I could, but I figure, eh, why go to the trouble? This is a lot more fun."

As he spoke, a flock of hybrids began to wing their way toward the group from overhead. At the same time, several of the ground-bound dark digimon began to approach on foot.

Rosemon, having had enough of Puppetmon's smug demeanor, lunged forward angrily thrashing his thorn covered whips at the small mega digimon in frenzy. Puppetmon avoided all the blows with impressive agility and smiled as Rosemon was caught unaware and tackled by several hybrids from behind. Taps swiftly rushed over to help his friend combat the overwhelming onslaught, leaving Curtis in single combat against the Dark Master. Puppetmon grinned as he took in his only remaining opponent.

The Meditative Knight gave his opponent a grim stare as he took out his energy axe and brandished it before him. "Alright puppet, you want to have fun? Let's play then."

Puppetmon seemed positively giddy at the possibility of armed one on one combat. He held his mallet in front of himself, mimicking Curtis. "Let's."

The two ran at one another, their weapons clashing in midair as they began to battle.

* * *

Terence took in the appearance of his opponent. The gargantuan serpent looked like a regular Seadramon, save for the fact that he was much larger and covered from head to tail in an impenetrable golden armor. This fact led Terence to be more than a little bit apprehensive about battling the giant beast. Tai had had enough trouble with one of these things at only the champion level not so long ago. He knew that this one was definitely not to be taken lightly. Of course, being himself, Terence wasn't about to actually display his sincerity. He turned to address the powerful looking Vikemon standing beside him.

"Looks like we drew the ugly one, eh Pings?"

MetalSeadramon snorted in angry disgust at the insult. "You'll pay for that, digidestined." He began to coil and uncoil in the air, his eyes flaring, before diving down and attacking, repeatedly shouting, "River of Power!"

Pings slapped a massive hand to his forehead. "What is it with you and making our enemies more angry at us than they already are?"

"What can I say," Terence responded as they began to run and dodge the blue energy attacks, which produced massive explosions everywhere they hit the ground. "It's a gift!"

When he judged the time to be right, Terence slid to a stop and turned upon his opponent, launching a barrage of blizzard attacks that hit the pursuing digimon head on. Pings did the same. They stopped after a moment, both looking on hopefully as MetalSeadramon disappeared in a large cloud of icy dust.

"You think we beat him?" Pings asked.

Terence smirked. "Not in the slightest."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the Dark Master charged out of the cloud, wispy tendrils of moisture clinging to his armored frame as he bore down on them once again.

"Is that all you have? Don't you know that my armor is composed of chrome digizoid? You're going to have to do a lot better than that if you want to defeat me! River of Power!"

Terence and Pings leapt apart, avoiding the attack before drawing their respective maces and turning around in one fluid motion. Both struck downward just as the diving serpent flew between them, striking him and causing him to careen off course and headfirst into the ground.

Terence laughed. "Chrome digizoid might protect your body but it doesn't do a damn thing for your flight trajectory."

MetalSeadramon arose from the ground with a mighty roar and whipped around with an angry glare. "I will kill you!" He bellowed.

"I'm sure you'll try." Terence answered. "But your armor isn't gonna do it for you." He gave him a taunting hand gesture. "Bring it, big fella."

MetalSeadramon roared and dove for them once again, this time making sure to spread out his attacks more evenly and fire much more frequently.

It took every ounce of Terence and Pings' agility to avoid the ruthless attacks and both were forced to the ground by the wake of their powerful adversary as he passed between them.

MetalSeadramon turned and smiled when he came to a stop and saw the two regaining their footing. "It seems you are overmatched."

"And it seems that you're an idiot." Terence responded. At Pings' subsequent incredulous stare, he added with a shrug. "Sorry, I had nothin'"

"Obviously," The Vikemon snorted. "You could have at least mentioned that ridiculous looking helmet he's wearing."

MetalSeadramon, growing more incensed by the fact that the partners were effectively ignoring him for the sake of their own banter, prepared for another charge.

Terence looked up with a frown. "Well that pissed him off. Way to go Pings."

"Just following your example."

The two split up just as MetalSeadramon's random attacks began to rain upon them one again. Terence allowed himself a furtive smile as he continued to dodge. Things were going just as he planned.

* * *

"Giga Cannon!"

Jun leapt in the air and somersaulted as Machinedramon's attack passed underneath her. After landing in a three-point stance, she lunged forward and hit him with a direct Twin Fang attack, emitting vicious slashes of energy from her fingertips and sending the giant mechanical digimon stumbling backward a bit.

Machinedramon didn't miss a beat however, and quickly countered with a blast of Dragon Fire from his mouth. Jun was forced to turn and run, just barely staying out of the range of the searing hot flames as they licked at her heels. Spotting something out of the corner of her eye, Jun suddenly leapt high into the air and smiled as she landed neatly on her partner's back.

"Okay Sparks, let's go get him."

As SaberLeomon, Sparks roared his agreement and began to charge at Machinedramon. Jun gave their opponent a calculated stare as they began to approach him at high speed. He would have to make a decision. One or the other, her or Sparks…

Machinedramon made his decision, attacking what he perceived to be the more threatening of the two. Sparks leapt aside as the Giga cannon attack aimed directly at him streaked by. In the same motion he launched Jun forward into the air. She sailed toward their enemy, her arms raised in attack position, and delivered a devastating Holy Crusher attack as the two collided.

"Yes!" Sparks roared. "Nice Jun!"

His partner rolled to her feet, panting slightly from the acrobatic maneuver. She turned to look where Machinedramon once stood and was surprised to see that there was no sign of him.

"Watch out!"

Jun turned just in time to see that Machinedramon had somehow ended up behind her after their clash, and even as he was getting back up, was aiming his impressive pair of giga cannons directly at her back. She grimaced and silently cursed herself for believing that such a simple move would be able to take down an experienced mega digimon. Just as the metal hulk was set to fire, a golden blur smashed into his side, causing his shots to veer wide of his target.

Machinedramon turned on his attacker quickly in rage and with one swipe of his massive iron-clad hand, sent Sparks flying a great distance and roughly tumbling over the ground.

Jun rushed to her partner's side in concern. "Sparks, are you alright?"

The SaberLeomon growled, low and guttural, as he got to his feet. "Yeah-" He looked up and saw no sign of their opponent. "Now where'd he go?"

Jun looked around in exasperation. "God, he is way too elusive for his size."

She felt something just then, a prickle on the back of her neck, instinct brought on by a year's worth of intensive martial arts training. She quickly turned around and saw the familiar giant android shape bearing down on her from about 100 feet in the air. He had leapt during her moment of distraction and was now planning to crush them from above. Jun smiled inwardly, moving her hands into a readying position. He had punished her for underestimating him. Now she was about to return the favor.

* * *

Piedmon laughed as he viewed his opponents. "Tai Kamiya and WarGreymon. How I have longed for his day." He frowned just slightly. "Though I would rather have the MagnaAngemon that banished me to that god awful forsaken dimension, I suppose this is just as good. His time will come as well."

Tai eyed the clown digimon evenly, betraying no emotion. "Just how did you and your flunkies get here, Piedmon?"

"Oh, wouldn't you like to know." He laughed again. "You humans always were too smug, but to believe that three digimon reborn in primary Village and two banished to other dimensions would never return to exact their revenge upon those who sent them there? Even to me, that's a new low in gullibility. "

"Ineg brought you." WarGreymon deduced.

Piedmon waved a finger. "Tsk, tsk, not quite. But a good guess nonetheless. This thing goes much deeper than Gennai's split personality, to a power that makes even my creator," he looked up at Apocalymoon and the chaos that surrounded him, "seem like nothing in comparison."

Tai took the words with a grain of salt. If there was one thing Piedmon had always been good at, it was exaggeration and dramatics.

"Right."

"You're skeptical. Not that I blame you. These people are on a very ambitious campaign, after all, but I digress-Trump Sword!"

Both Tai and WarGreymon were expecting the sudden and underhanded attack. They leapt out of Piedmon's range and countered with a couple of powerful Terra Force blasts. With an array of spins and leaps, Piedmon expertly dodged the red energy spheres and came at them once again. WarGreymon was able to block of couple of his swings with his claw gauntlets, but was rewarded for his efforts with a foot to the chest. The blow was forceful, and knocked him well away from the battle. When he got up, set to rejoin Tai, he found himself suddenly besieged by a group of hybrids that attacked from above.

Piedmon watched the scene with a satisfied smile before seriously turning to his remaining opponent. "Finally, a bit of privacy. What do you say, Tai? Care to duel?"

He flaunted his swordsmanship, turning and spinning the gleaming weapons in mid-air. Tai followed suit, brandishing his orange energy versions of WarGreymon's gauntlets.

"Cut the theatrics clown." He said. "If you want a fight, you got one."

Piedmon seemed a bit annoyed by Tai's disrespect but didn't show it as he moved closer to the Courageous Knight, readying his swords for a first strike. Just when it seemed he would launch an offensive, Piedmon suddenly reached behind himself and produced a small handkerchief. He tossed it at Tai, watching in satisfaction as it increased to the size of a large sheet and began to descend around him. His satisfaction quickly disappeared, however, when Tai quickly ripped the sheet to shreds with only a few swipes of his gauntlets.

"Really, Piedmon? Still resorting to that old turning people into key chains trick? I would think you'd have learned some new moves by now."

"Like this?" The dark leader launched forward, swinging his weapons in wide deadly arcs, making no attempt to disguise that he was literally trying to sever Tai in two.

Tai leapt back, composed himself, and came forward to meet Piedmon's determined ferocity with one of his own. He attacked with not only his gauntlets, but also his legs and feet, catching the clown digimon off guard whenever he remembered to block one, but not the other. The two continued a wicked dance, their moves coming almost invisibly fast to anyone that wasn't paying extremely close attention. After a few moments, Piedmon let out a grunt and retreated away from Tai, clutching at three identical slash marks on his left arm.

"You're going to have to do better than that, clown." Tai said evenly.

Piedmon retaliated to the taunt by quickly and unexpectedly heaving his sword at Tai. The weapon whistled trough the air as it came at its target with high speed and velocity and Tai could barely produce his energy version of WarGreymon's shield in time to block it. After the sword embedded itself in the shield, Tai pried it loose and allowed it to clatter to the ground. He brought his gaze back to Piedmon.

"A lot better."

Piedmon scowled and began to levitate, slowly lifting up from the ground.

"You've shown your ability on the ground, Kamiya. Now, let's see how you do in the air." He produced yet another sword from a scabbard on his back.

Tai stooped low, preparing to quickly launch himself upwards, when something behind his enemy caught his eye; a gargantuan metal body falling out of the night sky, headed directly for them. Tai turned and began to run, much to Piedmon's amusement.

"A coward with no airborne fighting skills I see." He chided. "Well, fleeing won't help you. As they say Tai, you can run, but you can't h-"

Piedmon's words were suddenly cut off by the sound of a massive amount of metal crashing into the ground. Tai stopped in his flight and turned. He saw there the twisted form of MachineDramon and surmised that somewhere beneath the mess lay his antagonist.

There was a roar from the opposite direction and Tai turned to see Jun and Sparks approaching him.

"Your handiwork?" He asked.

"Yeah," Jun said simply. "I threw him."

"I see." He helped Jun down from her partner's back and eyed her critically. "You're alright?'

"Yeah." She answered, trying not to indulge herself in the look of concern on her love's face. "Where's WarGreymon?"

"Here."

Both looked up and saw Tai's partner descending from the air towards them. "I had to get rid of a few annoyances." He looked at the two before adding sarcastically, "Thanks for the help, Tai."

Tai waved him off. "It was just a few ultimate level hybrids. I knew you'd be fine."

"They're regrouping." Jun noted, watching as Piedmon began to slowly crawl out from under the body of his massive ally. "Should we let them?"

"Hell no." Sparks growled.

"He's right." Tai agreed. "Let's take them out now, fast and hard."

Needing no further discussion, the quartet charged forward with various battle cries.

* * *

Willis gave his laptop a few last keystrokes and nodded satisfactorily. "There, I've set up a small shield perimeter. We're all going to have to remain pretty much shoulder-to-shoulder, but it should be enough to keep Ineg out." He looked at the group inside the shield with him; Gennai, Nai, Gen, and Keyan, all standing in close quarters to one another and looking none too happy about it, especially the latter. "I'm sorry, it's the best I could do."

Gennai ignored Willis, taking his attention away from the battle around them and turning it on his protégé. "Keyan," He began, his weathered old voice beginning to crack. "I truly am sorry-"

"Save it Gennai, for someone who would like to hear your deception and lies." She spat acidly. "It is your fault that we are here today, that all this has happened. Because of your lies we now face a powerful enemy that none of us even knew to exist mere hours ago. We are unprepared for this war. Through your deceiving, you have undermined your own purpose with this…academy."

"It was for your benefit." He attempted to explain. "Perhaps I was wrong for it in some fashion, but I did not want you all to be consumed with anything other than your own training-'

"Oh, yeah?" Willis interrupted. "Then is that for our benefit?" He pointed towards the battle outside. "Why didn't you tell them the entire Prophecy, Gennai? To protect your precious ideal of not compromising it? Why?"

The old headmaster didn't respond.

Willis grew more incensed by his response, or lack thereof. "At least one of them is going to die out there Gennai! Do you even care?!"

"Willis I-"

Gennai was interrupted by a powerful force that suddenly attacked the shielding, rocking them all off of their feet.

Willis looked at his computer as he scrambled to regain his footing. He gasped. "God, that explosion took almost half our shield's power. We won't be able to take another one of those. Whatever that attack was, it's extremely powerful-"

"I'm flattered, but please, go on."

Willis looked up at the owner of the voice. Before him stood Ineg, his black robes now sporting white-gold trim and a long flowing cape. He sauntered up to the shield perimeter and cast a hateful look at the people inside it.

"I'm here for him." He nodded toward Nai. "Surrender him now and perhaps I will spare some of your lives-"

"Secret Swift punch!"

"Rapid Fire!"

Willis' partner digimon attacked the dark guardian from seemingly nowhere, striking quickly. Rapidmon and Turiemon were taken aback however, when they saw their attacks did nothing more than slightly annoy Ineg. He turned around, stretched his arms out toward them, and blasted the two with a dark energy attack that sent them sailing well into the distance. Willis seemed ready to run after them, but was held back by Nai's hand on his shoulder.

"So, what will it be, then?" Ineg continued, turning back as if nothing had interrupted him. "Give up the aspect of knowledge, or die and give him up anyway?" He gave them only a brief moment to respond before speaking again. "Who am I fooling here, I'd much rather kill you regardless." He raised his hands, allowing a large amount of dark power to accrue around them.

At this point, Keyan had officially had enough. The lies of a man she'd come to look to as a father, the outrage over the true nature of her parents' deaths, Gen's betrayal, and now Ineg's merciless attacks had come together to push the young guardian well past her boiling point. Energy began to crackle around her as her eyes turned a hot white. Her hair began to wave with the force of her own power flowing around her. She stepped out of Willis's shield, against his protests, and turned to face Ineg.

Gennai's dark half seemed almost ready to laugh. "What, am I supposed you believe you're going to fare better against me than anyone else has? I guess I know who I'll be destroying first."

"Silence!" Keyan shouted, making a throwing motion with both of her arms. She sent a giant blue sphere of energy, surrounded by several arcs of white electricity, flying at him.

Ineg had no time to react and took the attack directly in the chest. The explosion it caused was terrifically bright and released an enormous amount of concussive power that washed ofver the entire area in a wave. Ineg himself was sent flying along the ground, creating a trench in the earth, before tripping over a large stone and tumbling to a stop. He lay there a moment before getting up slowly. His robes were slightly tattered and wisps of smoke rose from them in several places.

"So Azulongmon's little avatar has learned a bit about using her powers," he observed, his eyes black with anger and his face contorted into a perfect picture of rage. Dark energy began to once again form around his hands. "Let's find out just how much."

Willis, Nai, Gen, and Gennai were far too engrossed in the conflict to notice that Willis' laptop was indicating yet another impending realm portal breach.

* * *

Davis and Kuri hovered side by side in mid air, observing the gigantic battle against Apocalymon grimly.

Kuri scowled. "This is way harder than TK's _Chronicles_ made it seem."

"Tell me about it." Davis agreed. "I have no idea how those guys were able to destroy all his pods so quickly. We probably have at least four times the digimon they did up here and we're barely making any progress."

"Do you think we can do it?" she asked, influenced by a fleeting moment of doubt.

"Of course I do. As long as you and I are together, we can do anything."

"That's definitely the corny line I'd expect out of the guy I fell in love with."

Davis smirked. "I wonder how long he's gonna give us, though."

"What do you mean?"

"Before he tries to use the "total annihilation" attack he tried last time." Davis's brow creased with worry at the thought of this possibility.

"So that's why you wanted to regroup and devise a new strategy." Kuri said, nodding to herself.

"Yes, we need to defeat him as fast as possible…unless-" He paused, suddenly thinking of something.

"Unless what?"

Davis snapped his finger. "I just realized, he's not gonna do it. That's why he's being so defensive with his pods."

"What, how do you know that?"

"Because last time he tried his annihilation attack, the digital and real worlds were kinda joined. He would have actually destroyed both worlds. If he does it here, I'm betting he'd only destroy the realm."

"Completely not worth dying for." Kuri observed. "So then, like we said, he really is doing nothing more than distracting us."

"Yeah, and making it really hard for us to eliminate him as well. We're still strategizing too much."

"What should we do, then?'

"Screw the pods, I say we go after the source." He pointed to the middle portion of the massive digimon, a central octagonal shaped body from which a torso and head protruded. "If we let everyone else keep him busy, me, you, and Clara should be enough to take him out."

Kuri watched Clara and Marta dodging in and out of Apocalymon's reach, delivering attacks to his head when they could. If they could digivolve to mega, and she and Davis joined them…it just might work. "I see what you mean, Davis." She said. "Cut off the head-"

"And the body will die."

Without another word the two sped toward their opponent and readied their weapons. Just as they came within striking distance of the powerful behemoth, however, he let loose with his most powerful attack yet.

"Magna explosion!"

A debilitating bright light enveloped the entire area, accompanied by a shockwave of force that sent all of the Knights, save for the four mega level combatants, to the ground, where they promptly devolved. Davis looked around in shock at the now meager forces that remained to battle Apocalymon and knew of only one word that could express his sentiments. "Damn."

Apocalymon now turned his attention to the four remaining Knights and digimon. "Now the game is over, digidestined. I will destroy the rest of you easily." He extended every one of his seven remaining pods and opened them, preparing to unleash countless attacks.

Davis was about to issue a retreat order when he was suddenly hit with a moment of clarity. "The game" wasn't over. Apocalymon was still trying to manipulate them. That was why he was stalling now, forewarning them of his intentions instead of just acting on them. He wanted them to retreat, help the others digivolve, and then come back to attack once more, thus taking up even more valuable time. Davis wasn't having any of that.

"Clara!" He called out to the girl on the ground, "Digivolve to mega! We're taking this bastard out right here and now!"

The light of Phoenixmon's evolution washed over them and Kuri glanced at Davis, innervated by his words. "Alright!" She shouted. "Let's do it guys!"

Each of the six remaining fighters picked out a different pod and set to work.

* * *

Curtis found himself on the ground yet again. He rolled to the side as Puppetmon came at him with a powerful downswing of his mallet and barely avoided the attack before flipping back to his feet. He swung his axe for his opponent's head but missed by mere inches and received a kick to the gut on the follow through. Curtis doubled over as Puppetmon raised his wooden hammer for the deathblow yet again. He was just about to swing downward with all his might when a small energy beam hit him directly in the back.

Krista Lee stood there, smoking energy rifle in hand, a hard and determined expression on her face.

Puppetmon was incensed as he turned around. "A human! A puny human WOMAN attacked me!" He began to advance on the combat instructor. "I'm gonna pound you so bad-"

"Now, Dumars!" Krista shouted.

The momentarily forgotten Curtis followed her cue, swinging his powerful axe before the small mega could turn back around and catching him in the head. Puppetmon let out an angry yell as he was sent flying by the blow and bounced along the ground.

Rosa, who had been watching Curtis and Puppetmon battle with bated breath, sighed in relief and laboriously pulled herself up from the ground. Her side was still throbbing with pain from Puppetmon's earlier attack and she grimaced, picturing the bruises that would likely be there tomorrow if she survived this battle. She stood shakily, having a hard time retaining her balance and footing for a moment before finally regaining her proper bearings.

No sooner had she finally gotten to her feet than Rosa was surrounded by a group of ten or so attacking hybrids, her sudden movement having aroused their attention. She looked around. Taps and Rosemon were still busy dispatching another group of hybrids, and Curtis, along with Krista and her Ninjamon were busy with Puppetmon. That left Rosa alone to deal with this threat. She struck out at one hybrid, hitting it directly in the face with a Thorn Spear attack, then spun, whisking another off its feet with the whip's backlash, while simultaneously delivering a kick to a third. Rosa then dove headfirst at a fourth, hoping to knock it backwards and thus escape the immediate center of the group, but failed at this when two hybrids grabbed her ankles and torso in mid-dive and drove her into the ground. She screamed out in pain as her injured side slammed into the rough grass, but took no time to pause before turning over and kick flipping back to her feet. Her action was met immediately with a point plank shot of electric energy to her back, followed by a barrage of countless blows as the young girl disappeared underneath the mass of punching, kicking, slashing, snarling hybrids, unable to utter so much as a whimper.

Her salvation came in the form of a frenzied Xian Chan and Ogremon, who both launched into the fray with no regard for personal safety in a mad dash to reach Rosa before she succumbed to the brutal assault. With the persuasion of Xian's powerful plasma rifle and Ogremon's club, and with a minimal amount of fighting, they were able to convince the hybrids to back away from their quarry a short distance.

Rosa struggled to grasp what was going on. Her vision was mostly spotty and her body was almost numb from the pain of innumerable attacks, but somewhere in her mind, she knew she had been saved. Something grabbed her shoulder and tugged, obviously trying to pull her to her feet. She obliged as much as she could, largely depending on the strength of her rescuer. As her eyesight painfully returned, she saw the swimming double visage of her combat instructor supporting her with one arm while using the other to hold a rifle that he was waving indiscriminately at their enemies to keep them at bay. Rosa's heart sank a little. They were still surrounded, and with her in no real fighting condition, the odds were almost as bad as before. Her consciousness began to fade.

"No, young one." Xian cautioned. "You mustn't succumb. We will prevail here, but only if you are diligent."

Reminded of her shield, Rosa forced her mind to grasp onto something to keep her focus. She turned to Xian with a single, mumbled question. "C-Curtis?"

He smiled, as much as anyone could when faced with their current, grim situation. "He was okay the last time I glimpsed him. Krista and Ninjamon are assisting his fight against Puppetmon."

"O-ok. G-good."

Rosa began to slip away again and Xian shook her to keep her attention.

"Stay with me, little one." He cautioned. "I will not believe that one of my favored students would falter so easily."

Rosa gave a weak smile. She'd always suspected that she was one of Xian's favorites, as evidenced by the fact that he was always willing to give her ample tutoring in addition to their regular sessions, whenever needed. Also, he was one of the few people she knew that actually seemed to enjoy her competitive and belligerent side, believing, like Curtis, that it actually brought out the best in her instead of vice-versa. Over the last term, she noticed that he'd treated her more like a niece than just a simple student.

"You are destined for greatness, Rosa. You cannot give up now. You must remember your will. It is your most powerful weapon."

Rosa nodded, ignoring the wave of dizziness that the action brought on. It wasn't the first time that Xian had told her that, and never did she doubt him more than now. It was her will that just caused her to take on such overmatched odds instead of simply turning tail and trying to fly away. Truth be told, her will seemed to get her into more trouble than anything else. As her vision began to become clearer and more focused and her suit's protective powers took effect, Rosa noticed that the hybrids were closing in once again, their circle becoming tighter as more dark digimon joined their ranks. She looked to Xian for guidance, but he just gave her a reassuring squeeze.

"Everything will be alright." He said, prompting Rosa to wonder how the hell he could sound so sure of himself.

Suddenly, as if called down from heaven, attacks begin to rain down upon the group. Rosa looked up and saw Nadia and Piximon zooming down toward them. Several other attacks joined theirs from another direction and Rosa turned to see Jonathan and Volcanomon running towards them as well. The four, combined with Xian and Ogremon, made short work of the hybrids, destroying most, and sending the rest to flee.

"Sorry about that," Jonathan apologized. "I know were supposed to be taking care of those buggers, but there's so many-"

Xian raised a hand to stop him. "No, thank you for your timely assistance."

"Is she alright?" Nadia asked, nodding to Rosa as she and Jonathan walked over

"I'm fine." Rosa said, not sounding too convincing. "Just need some time to-" She paused, her attention taken away suddenly by something she saw behind the two. "Nooo!"

Though a bit wobbly, Rosa took off at a speed belying her condition. Xian was the first to see what had made her so upset. Krista and Ninjamon were lying on the ground unconscious. Next to them was Curtis, down on one knee and straining as he used the flat of his axe to ward off Puppetmon's mallet. Puppetmon had a crazed look in his eye, and seemed to have come back from Curtis' earlier attack with the unbridled fury of vengeance. Xian began to run toward the scene as well.

Rosa was the first to reach Puppetmon, and tackled him from behind. The two rolled and wrestled for a moment before Puppetmon caught Rosa with a foot to her abdomen and sent the girl flying a good twenty feet into the air. She came back down with a loud thud and didn't move again.

"Rosa!" Curtis screamed, horrified. He ran towards her, but was caught off guard when Puppetmon got up behind him and slammed his mallet into his back. Almost immediately, Curtis fell into a crumpled heap on the ground and remained as still as his girlfriend.

Puppetmon turned towards the remaining fighters, swinging his mallet in wide, threatening arcs.

"Does anyone else want a piece of this?!"

A plasma shot hit him squarely in the face, sending him stumbling backwards a bit. Out of seemingly nowhere, Xian and Ogremon appeared, both immediately attacking with their respective weapons without so much as a word. Puppetmon was caught off guard at first, taking several more plasma shots and a few Pummel Whacks, but he recovered quickly, shrugging off assaults that essentially meant nothing to a mega level digimon and regaining the offensive. He struck out, knocking Ogremon's club from his hands and then swung his mallet into the champion digimon's chest before he could recover. Ogremon doubled over from the intense pain of the blow and was unable to defend himself when Puppetmon brought his mallet crashing down upon his back. Ogremon fell to the ground, to rise no more.

Xian watched in horror as his partner began to pixelate into the air. "Noooo!"

He leapt for Puppetmon, but was caught, tossed aside like a rag doll and slammed onto the ground sickly, countless bones in his body snapping like twigs. Puppetmon walked over and stood over the fallen instructor, raising his mallet high over his head with a vicious grin.

"You will not win." Xian said, trickles of blood appearing at the corners of his mouth. The Knights will stop-"

The words stopped there, as Puppetmon replied by bringing the mallet down on Xian's head, permanently ending their conversation.

He smiled as he stood over the man's lifeless body. "That was fun." He muttered, the evil behind the words almost palpable.

Puppetmon then turned to search for any more attackers but only saw, Jonathan, Nadia and their digimon, frozen in shock at what they'd just seen. He raised his mallet high and ran for the quartet. What were these four compared to the others he'd dispatched? Nothing, his mind told him, nothing but fodder.

* * *

"Here he comes." Terence looked into the sky and watched as MetalSeadramon turned to dive for him and Pings once again. "He's moving a lot slower now. He's getting tired."

"So now you're gonna try your stupid plan?" Pings asked gruffly.

Terence glanced at his partner, irritated. "Yeah, now I'm trying my 'stupid' plan. Thanks for the vote of confidence though."

"Well, you saw how it worked out for Tai and Agumon."

"This is different." Terence insisted.

"How so?"

"I have you to catch me."

With that, Terence began to run away from the hulking serpent, just as MetalSeadramon's River of Power attacks fell around him with much less accuracy than before. He waited patiently, feeling the giant mega approaching closer and closer. When the time was right, Terence leapt high into the air. He looked down, and as expected, saw the aqua and gold pattern of MetalSeadramon diving underneath him. He came down directly on the serpent's back. The dark master roared with indignation once he'd realized what had happened and began to thrash about, trying in vain to shake Terence from his back.

For his part, Terence held on remarkably well and slowly began to inch forward on the behemoth's body. He pulled out his mace and held on tightly, a definite plan of action working in his mind. He would need to summon all the strength he had for this maneuver.

"What do you think you're doing human?" MetalSeadramon growled. "Don't you know that I will destroy you?"

Terence noticed that they were starting to ascend higher into the air. "Obviously not. I think I would've ran away if I thought that, don't you? I mean, it's just common sense."

MetalSeadramon grunted and whipped his body in yet another unsuccessful attempt to unseat his passenger. "I've grown tired of your mouth, boy."

"That makes two of us," Terence said, taking the moment to raise his energy mace high up over his head. He brought it down upon the snake's back with a terrific scream and every bit of might he could muster. There was a flash of bright gold light where the weapon met MetalSeadramon's Chrome Digizoid armor. When the blinding glow faded. Terence was gratified to see that a spider-web series of cracks had formed on the golden metal.

"No! Not again!" MetalSeadramon screamed in pain and began to lash about even more wildly than before. Terence, exhausted from his attack, fell off easily. As he began to tumble through the crisp night air, the lights from several battles flashing all around him, he looked down and saw, much to his dismay, that Pings was busy taking on a group of hybrids that had suddenly attacked him. There was no one to catch him now.

A few tense moments passed before Terence felt the reassuring grip of strong arms grabbing him by the shoulders. He looked up and saw the unexpected face of Steve.

"I've got you Dumars." Said the burly digidestined as they began to descend.

"Thanks, man." Terence gave him a grateful smile as he looked between the Canadian Knight and Flareze, now ultimate digivolved to his mechanical dragon form, Gigadramon. "God, I am so putting a rendition of "Oh Canada" on my next album."

Steve smirked as they alit softly on the ground. There was a scream from somewhere up above, and both looked up to see MetalSeadramon flying wildly into the distance.

"What did you do to him?" The taller Knight asked.

"Dunno." Terence looked down at his weapon critically. "I guess my mace is made of Chrome Digi-whatever too."

Pings lumbered over. "I'm sorry Terence." He said, breathing heavily. "Some of those dark digimon jumped me. Took care of them though-"

"It's alright." Terence assured. His and Steve's digivices began to suddenly start beeping.

"It's a distress signal." Steve said, examining his.

Terence looked around. Everyone he could see was too embroiled in their own battles to respond. "Answer it."

Steve obliged and immediately Jonathan's panicked voice came though. "Puppetmon!…killing…Curtis and Rosa down…need help…can't last much longer."

Terence's eyes widened as he listened to the message. He looked to Steve. "Got their position?"

Steve nodded.

"Let's go."

Steve grabbed Terence by the shoulders and took off, as Gigadramon did the same with Pings. It was only a few seconds before they arrived at Jonathan's position and Terence could look down upon the grizzly battlefield himself. He saw his brother and Rosa lying immobile near one another. Not far from them was Xian, who looked much worse than they did. Krista was also lying on the ground, but she seemed to be moving, as if slowly regaining consciousness. Further away from the group Rosemon and Taps were taking a beating from a group of hybrids, too weak to fight back due to whatever had happened to their partners.

"Help them." Terence told Steve and Gigadramon as they landed. "You too, Pings. Then check on my brother and Rosa."

"What are you going to do?" Pings asked.

Terence looked around until he found the scene he was looking for; a small wooden mega-level digimon chasing and trying to destroy two ultimates and their human partners.

His expression turned dark, much of his trademark rage beginning to show through. "What I have to."

With that Terence took off. He ran, building up a remarkable amount of speed, his mind racing with anger and clouded by vengeance. He pictured his brother lying back there, unmoving. He could only hope… With a vicious, blood curdling scream, Terence launched himself into the fray, coming down with a two handed overhand smash with his mace, directly on top of the unsuspecting Puppetmon's head.

Puppetmon, rocked violently backwards by the attack, tumbled end over end a few times before coming to a stop, face-down in the grass. He recovered slowly, his legs shaky, as he struggled back to his feet. He looked up at Terence, a weird brand of insane anger still in his eyes, and his stare was met with every bit its equal. Without a word, both combatants ran at each other simultaneously, their weapons raised. They met, a bright flash of light and tremendous shockwave resulting from the clashing of their weapons. When the spectacle faded, Puppetmon lay flat on his back. He slowly began to get up once again. Terence was waiting, apparently unaffected by their collision, his mace held out in front of him.

Seeing his unmoved opponent, Puppetmon quickly got back to his feet and raised his mallet into a battle position as well, but was horrified to find that he only held within his hand a short nub of a stick. He looked around and saw that splinters and chunks of wood were scattered about the ground around him.

"No." He whispered. His eyes filled with the first hints of fear he'd shown the entire night.

Terence advanced on him, his mace glowing with the red light of his unmitigated anger. It created quite a frightening effect on the Inspirational Knight's fuming visage.

Puppetmon turned tail quickly and began to run away, almost tripping over himself in his fervor to escape Terence's wrath. Terence began to pursue him, intent on punishing the evil digimon for his crimes, when something suddenly entered into his mind…

_Baby, you can't let your anger get the best of you. You have to remember what's important…those who love you._

Clara's words rang true in his head, forcing Terence to slow to a stop. He sheathed his mace and turned around. He would get the puppet later. Right now he had to check on the others.

When he returned back to the rest of the group, Jonathan and Nadia cautiously following behind him, he found himself at a very disturbing scene. Krista was leaning over the still form of Xian, crying profusely, her chest heaving. Terence walked up to her slowly and carefully, almost not daring to ask the question that was on his mind.

"Is he…?"

"Gone?" Krista answered for him. She did her best to dignify herself as befitting a warrior's demeanor. "Yes, he has perished."

"No." Terence hung his head. He looked up, to where his brother had been laying, and saw that he was no longer there. Doing his best not to be disrespectful, Terence stepped away from Krista to search for Curtis. It didn't surprise him when he soon found his brother hovering over Rosa's immobile body, holding her hand and brushing a few stray hairs from her relatively unscathed face.

"How are you bro?" Terence asked as he walked over.

Curtis responded weakly, his voice almost a whisper. His eyes were filled with unshed tears. "I think I've been better."

"And her?"

"I _know_ I've been better." Rosa said, not opening her eyes or making any real efforts to move.

Terence smiled a little as his heart swelled with relief.

"What happened to Mr. Chan?" Curtis asked. "Is he going to be alright?"

Terence shook his head. "He…didn't make it. Puppetmon killed him."

Rosa let out a mournful wail of pain and covered her face with her hands. Curtis brought her into a tight embrace as he too mourned their deceased instructor. He looked up at his brother, the tears in his eyes beginning to fall freely.

"Did you get him, Terence? Did you get Puppetmon? Did you kill him?"

Terence stood there, feeling utterly useless at what he would have to tell his brother. "No, Curtis. I fought him…and I had the chance to, but I let him get away."

"What?" Curtis gave Terence a look of incomprehension. "Why would you do that?"

"I had to see if you all were okay. I know it seems stupid-"

"No, it's okay Terence." The tone of Curtis voice had changed to a more understanding one. Just as quickly however, it turned remarkably dark. "It gives us the chance to finish the job, anyway."

* * *

Machinedramon and Piedmon were officially on the receiving end of a world-class thrashing. Every time they tried to attack one of their enemies, another would blindside them from a completely different direction. Whenever Piedmon would make a move for Tai, the girl would kick him in the side, or WarGreymon would hit him with a Terra Force, or the Saberleomon would hit him with a Twin Fang attack. His partner was faring much the same, if not worse due to his relative lack of speed. Piedmon knew that the way things were going, they wouldn't last much longer. They needed help badly.

It was at that moment of desperation that something else came through the portal, something very dark and very powerful.

"Reinforcements are arriving." Machinedramon said mechanically, inclining his head upward.

Jun abandoned the attack she was about to perform and turned to follow his gaze. There she saw something she'd only seen before on the news many years ago.

"Tai." She cautioned.

At her beckon, Tai looked up as well to see what had gotten Jun's attention. His eyes widened with surprise when he saw the dark, mega level digimon that was descending down toward them from the air. It was shrouded in an elaborate red tunic, its face hidden within a small eye partition in its red, cone shaped mask. The digimon forcefully flapped a pair of large bat like wings as he approached the ground. "Daemon."

Daemon came to a landing between the two dark masters and their opposition. He barely spared a glance between the two parties before speaking.

"Piedmon, I trust the battle goes well."

"Well, enough, now that you're here." The clown answered. "You certainly took long enough to accept our invitation."

Daemon didn't respond. Instead he began to look around the battlefield.

Piedmon continued, oblivious to the dark digimon's ignorance of his words. "But now, we can destroy these cocky digidestined easily."

At that, Daemon turned to give Tai, Jun, and their partners a more appraising look. "I have no issue with them." He said dismissively.

"What?" Piedmon exclaimed incredulously. "What is that supposed to mean? We built the gateway from your world! You owe us!"

"They did not destroy my corps. They did not banish me back to the World of Darkness. They did not deny me the dark spore hidden within the emperor. I am not here to waste time…and I owe you nothing."

Daemon went back to his assessment of the battlefield. Apparently not finding what he was looking for, he turned his gaze to the air and the Apocalymon battle. There was sudden stiffening of Daemon's features. He'd found something.

Tai felt a sudden lurch of anxiousness. Davis. He was going to go after Davis, the only one of the digidestined that had defeated Daemon that was actually present in the realm. Willis' earlier words began to echo in Tai's mind. If Daemon went after Davis, he would stand a very good chance of killing him. As Tai recalled, Daemon was one of the most powerful digimon he'd ever seen. He couldn't let that happen. Davis was the key, according to Gennai. He was their best hope of saving the world from the dark forces that threatened it now. He and Kuri anyway. Tai scowled. If one of them had to die for the group to be stronger, to be successful, it couldn't be Davis. Tai knew what he had to do.

Daemon flared his wings and prepared to take flight.

"Terra Force!" Tai concentrated his attack on Daemon so much that he actually had to speak its name to properly focus it.

The giant sphere of bright red energy collided with the unsuspecting Daemon head on, only causing him to stumble backwards a few steps. Everyone looked to Tai in complete surprise.

"If you want your revenge, Daemon," he shouted. "You'll have to go through me!"

Daemon looked at the natural leader in understanding. "Granted. Evil Inferno!"

Tai had never felt pain like what coursed through him after Daemon's fiery offensive hit him full on. He fell to his knees and clutched at his chest, clenching his teeth to the point that they ground together. Jun was by his side in an instant, grabbing him by the shoulder and trying to pull him out of his kneeling position.

"No," Tai said. "You have to let me fight him alone."

"That's not happening." Jun dismissed. She helped him up and gave the orders he couldn't. "Sparks, WarGreymon, you guys keep Piedmon and Machinedramon busy. We'll handle Daemon."

Daemon seemed insulted. "I am not one to be 'handled.'" He fired another Evil inferno, but the recovered Tai and Jun were quick enough to dodge it.

"Jun! You have to go!" Tai insisted. "I don't want you to d- get hurt!"

"I'll be fine!" Jun replied. She leapt toward Daemon and unleashed a Twin fang attack. He barely responded, tossing her aside rather easily.

Tai came at him, bringing his claw gauntlets down with a double overhand swipe. Daemon blocked the attack with a forearm and gave Tai a potent punch to the stomach. Tai stumbled back for a moment from the force of the blow, but came at him again, this time aiming a gauntlet forward and planning to skewer his enemy. Daemon reacted quickly, stepping aside slightly and catching Tai's arm in the crook of his. He gave Tai a couple of powerful punches to the face before twisting his arm back completely and unsheathing a clawed hand from the sleeves of his tunic. Tai looked in revulsion at Daemon's disfigured appendage, just before it swiped down at him several times, slashing through fabric and flesh everywhere and leaving his body feeling like it was on fire. The slashes were followed up by countless punches to the body, until Tai no longer showed any signs of resistance.

"The way you fight, you must have a death wish, fool." Daemon rumbled as he picked Tai up and forcefully threw him aside.

He turned just in time to block the attacking Jun yet again and picked her up by her face.

"And you, you are simply an annoyance."

With his other hand, Daemon punched her and sent her tumbling roughly along the ground. He raised a hand and pointed it at her.

Tai's swollen eyes widened in shock and horror as he looked up and saw his love on the ground, facing away from her enemy as Daemon prepared an attack that would surely bring about her death. Tai blasted forward from the ground in flight, ignoring his own blinding pain. Everything suddenly began to move in slow motion. He could see Daemon forming his attack, could see the tendrils of flame leaving his hands. He sped faster, using every bit of power he could muster. Tai closed his eyes, straining with one singular thought on his mind.

"Juuuuun!"

There was a bright flash, and then…silence.

Jun turned around, hoping against hope. She had heard Tai's scream, Daemon forming an attack, felt the heat of impact…and then, she saw her worst fear; Tai lying on the ground, his body smoldering with smoke.

"NO!" She screamed as she got up and half ran, half stumbled over to him. "Oh god please no. Tai!"

She frantically turned his body over, cradling him in her arms and checking for vital signs. "Please be okay, please…"

Tears were starting to obscure Jun's view and she wiped them away furiously. "Tai, no, please don't-"

Tai began to cough and sputter, bringing a relieved gasp from Jun.

"D-die?" he said hoarsely. "Too late for that."

Jun looked at him in confusion. "What?" The she took in the condition of his body. Tai's flesh was irreparably scorched and scarred in several places to the point that it was blackened. His suit had been essentially been ripped to shreds, providing little to no protection or healing potential. Blood seeped from countless wounds. His breathing was very shallow and his pulse barely discernible. Jun did her best to fight back sobs as she took in her love's pitiful state. Tai was right. He couldn't live through this. He was dying.

"Wh-where is he?"

Jun looked up, searching for Daemon. She saw him taking to the sky once again, apparently having decided that they were no longer a threat to him. Further away, Piedmon and Machinedramon had gained the upper hand in their battle. WarGreymon was no longer fighting. He seemed to have been severely weakened by Tai's condition.

"He's gone, love." Jun futilely combed Tai's rough and matted hair away from his face with her fingers. "Please, just hold on."

"Jun?" Tai's eyes were closed, his voice growing weaker.

Hot tears flowed down Jun's cheeks now. "Y-yes?"

"This had- 'cough' h-had to happen…"

"No-"

"Yes, you will be okay. Take care of them for m-me.."

"No, please Tai, don't leave me…I can't go on without you."

Jun cradled him even closer to her chest. She thought about what a fool she'd been earlier, when she had complained to Clara about being jealous of Kuri and Davis' relationship. She now realized, now that it was too late, what she'd had all along. Tai had just given his life for her. There was no way he could've made it any clearer. He truly loved her more than anything, and what they had between them actually was the pinnacle of what love could be. Ironically, Jun simply hadn't had the insight to see it before. Love didn't need shield connections or mysterious origins to reach its peak, just the dedication of those who gave it. And now, Jun was about to lose the person who loved her more than anyone else ever had.

"J-Jun," Tai was overtaken by another bout of coughing, this one much worse than the last and accompanied by the unmistakable sound of blood seeping into his lungs.

"I'm here." Jun could barely say he words through her sobs. She wanted more than anything to believe that none of this was really happening, that somehow it was all a dream and when she woke up, he would be right there to hold her in his strong arms as he always did.

Tai forced his eyes open, giving Jun one last chance to look into their chocolate depths. "I will always 'cough' love you. Now and f-forever." He squeezed her hand briefly, before allowing it to go limp.

Jun wanted to scream as the greatest digidestined in the history of the world, the greatest leader she would ever have the privilege of following, the greatest man she would ever have the opportunity to love, allowed his eyes to close, and lay back to expire in her arms.

But it was not meant to be.

A familiar computerized female voice rang out. "Fusion evolution activated."

Throughout her grief and sorrow, Jun had missed the fact Tai courageous act had caused his shield to glow a brilliant shade of orange. She had also missed the fact that her realization of how deep their love truly was had caused her shield to glow just as brightly. She hadn't seen the connection form between them, building up a massive amount of power. But now, now she could feel it. Something was pulling her, all of her, from her fingertips to her very soul, into Tai, and vice versa. Power coursed through her very being, her essence, and suddenly she found herself becoming less of an individual and something much more abstract, yet powerful; the connection between she and Tai.

As the bright light of evolution faded, one figure stood in the spot where Tai and Jun had laid only seconds before. It was shrouded in a white and gold ninja suit, complete with hood and billowing cape. Strapped to its sides were a pair of long golden sais and an array of silver throwing stars ran along its belt.

Piedmon and Machinedramon approached the figure cautiously. They had already soundly beaten SaberLeomon, two to one, and wanted to kill Jun to complete the job. This new development, however, threw quite a wrinkle into their plans.

"Who are you?" Piedmon asked, still somewhat confident they could beat this single human.

"You may call me J'ai." The figure said. Though its figure was that of a man, its voice managed to sound both distinctly male and female at the same time.

Before the two megas could respond, a large shadow suddenly fell over the trio. Machinedramon and Piedmon turned around to see a very impressive and large digimon with the head of a tyrannosaur and the body and mane of a lion, completely dressed in shogun armor and looking very angry.

"And that," J'ai continued, "is SaberGreymon. Have fun."

With that, J'ai took to the air, intent on finding one digimon in particular.

* * *

Davis grunted after missing yet another of Apocalymon's pods with a well aimed Positron Laser shot. He was feeling weary as the strain of constant flying and attacking for so long at the mega level was taking quite a toll on his energy levels. Apocalymon fired some random digimon's attack at him and Davis dodged. He didn't even acknowledge what attack it was before returning fire.

Clara flew up beside him. "Starting to get tired?"

"Maybe a little." Davis admitted between shots. "But so is he."

"We can't stay at the mega level forever." Clara noted matter of factly. "At some point, we gotta start beating this thing."

"I know." Davis scanned the area for Kuri and saw her flying just out of Apocalymon's range, firing arrows unsuccessfully at one of his pods. "He's just being really defensive. It seems like he doesn't even care about defeating us. He just-"

A streak of dark flame shot between Davis and Clara, its great power forcing them apart.

"What the-" Davis turned quickly and saw a sight he absolutely was not expecting at the moment. To his credit, he reacted without hesitation. "Clara, move quick!" he shouted.

She did, just narrowly avoiding a follow up attack that came with a much wider berth.

Seeing she was safe, Davis turned to face their attacker. "Daemon, I don't know how you got here, but I'm sending you back to wherever you came from."

He fired a Positron Laser, squinting when the blast of concentrated light hit its target and flared up.

Daemon laughed as the glow faded away. "That didn't work for you last time. Why would it now? I have only gotten stronger since our last encounter."

"So have we!" Boomed a gruff voice. Imperialdramon flew directly at Daemon, wings fully extended and ready to deliver a brutal Blade attack.

Daemon reacted swiftly, using a judo-like move to grab Imperialdramon's arm and fling him forcefully downward towards the ground. Davis watched as his partner pulled out of his sudden plummet in a low dive, just barely avoiding crashing into the field below. He looked back up at Daemon.

"What do you want here, Daemon? You're working with the Dark Masters now?"

"Hardly. I have been afforded an opportunity to exact my vengeance upon you. I plan to take advantage of it."

"You won't win-"

"Crimson lightning!"

Davis found himself unprepared as Apocalymon slashed the powerful whip-like attack across his back, wounding him. With a cry of pain, he began to fall from the air, but was soon caught with one hand by the fast reacting Daemon.

"Such a death would be much too merciful for you." His voice resonated with authority. "I, and I alone will destroy you."

Davis, struggling to get a hold of his senses, responded in his typically defiant nature. "No, you won't."

Daemon followed the abrupt and ever so slight flicker of Davis' eye and turned to see two girls flying toward them, flanked by a Phoenixmon and a Valkyrimon. He casually fired an Evil Inferno into the midst of the would-be cavalry, scattering them in several directions.

"Oh, I beg to differ." Daemon raised his other arm, and a grotesque clawed hand was revealed as the overlarge sleeve of his tunic fell. Davis involuntarily recoiled in disgust. Daemon smiled. "Good. You should fear the hand of your death, digidestined- Ahhhhhh!"

As Daemon suddenly screamed in pain, he released Davis, who only fell twenty feet or so before the re-ascending Imperialdramon caught him.

"What happened?" His savior asked.

Davis looked up. "I'm not sure."

Daemon was writhing wildly, something sharp and silver protruding from his back. He reached back and clawed at the object, struggling until he could finally grab hold and pull it loose. The object glinted in the light. A throwing star. Infuriated, Daemon turned to see who would dare attack him. He barely had time to register the white figure that then slammed into him with unbridled fury.

"First you attack my love, and then my brother! I'll kill you!"

"Jun?" Davis said in surprise as he recognized the voice of his sister.

Daemon was confused and he came out of his mid-air tumble. He faced the man in white warily. "Fool, I do not know of you, and if what you say is true, then I have not attacked you. You have no quarrel with me."

"But I think I do." This time it was a male voice that came from the figure.

"Tai?" Davis again wondered aloud.

Daemon recognized the voice. He seemed genuinely surprised. "You should be dead."

"But I'm not." This time the two voices spoke together. "But you soon will be!"

J'ai charged forward, slamming a good ten punches into Daemon's face before the dark overlord could even respond. Daemon dropped in altitude from the attacks and used the sudden movement to create distance between himself and his furious assailant. Acting quickly, he raised his arm to attack. "Evil Infern-ackk!"

His opponent had thrown another of those infernal stars and hit him directly in the throat. He had just managed to dislodge it when J'ai came forward and slammed a foot into his abdomen, then followed up the move with a lightning fast spinning kick to his temple.

"Wow," Imperialdramon exclaimed as he watched the battle, "whoever that is, he sure is powerful. He's stronger than Daemon."

"No," Davis observed, "Not quite as strong, but about ten times faster."

Imperialdramon nodded. "Who is it?"

"I'm not exactly sure, but I think I have a good idea." Davis said. He glanced down at the ground below them and saw a giant lion-dinosaur hybrid digimon chasing Machinedramon and Piedmon. "A very good one."

"Really? Who?"

Davis ignored his partner's inquiry as something occurred to him. Save for the sounds of the newcomer and Daemon fighting, the area was relatively quiet. Everyone was watching the epic battle between the two with keen interest. Like the experienced leader he was, Davis planned to take advantage of the opportunity. Without warning, he turned toward Apocalymon and fired several Positron Laser blasts in rapid succession, cleanly blasting away four of the unsuspecting gargantuan's seven remaining tentacles.

As if awakened from a trance, Clara, Marta, Kuri, and Peko were galvanized into action by Davis' example and resumed the attack on their original enemy as well. They peppered him with multiple attacks, coming too frequently and from too many directions for him to properly defend.

Apocalymon went into something of a panic mode, waving his last three tentacles about wildly as he began to move toward the portal at the center of the clearing. His own condition, combined with seeing Daemon getting his butt thoroughly handed to him by the mysterious newcomer proved to be more than enough motivation for him to withdraw.

"That's it," He rumbled as he began to pick up speed. "I won't wait for Ineg's little project any longer. I'm leaving."

"Don't let up!" Davis shouted as he continued to lead the attack against the retreating behemoth. He didn't want to kill Apocalymon so much as he simply wanted to make sure he fully left the realm. None of them likely had enough power left to actually destroy the powerful digimon, which was precisely why they needed him gone as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, behind the group, Daemon was finding himself on the bad end of a one sided fight. He tumbled though the air after yet another vicious combo from J'ai, and managed to regain his bearings only with great effort. This person, obviously a fusion of the two humans he had fought earlier, was coming after him with a fury and intensity that he wasn't quite capable of matching. Daemon knew he would have to retreat for the moment. Being more of a soldier than a fighter, he knew that it would be more strategically beneficial for him to leave now, allow the focus and strength brought on by vengeance to fade from his formidable opponent, and return to finish this battle at a later time.

Daemon blocked a couple of kicks from J'ai but was caught in his midsection by a third and doubled over. Now, he would have to come up with a way to escape his opponent, who did not cease attacking him for even the briefest of moments. Daemon allowed his momentum from the latest assault to separate them a bit before trying a new tactic.

J'ai watched as Daemon drifted out of range, knowing the evil digimon hadn't been hit _that_ hard. J'ai braced for an inevitable attack.

"Chaos Flare!"

Instead of being a direct assault, the attack surrounded J'ai with several different spiraling flame apparitions, causing an illusionary effect that was very disorienting. J'ai faltered a bit in the air, unwittingly giving Daemon the opening he needed. As J'ai pulled out his sais and slashed through the air, cutting through the flames like a knife and causing them to fade away, Daemon took off, making a break for the portal. Knowing he wouldn't reach his departing adversary in time, the dual being placed both of his sais together and pointed them toward the retreating digimon's back. With a powerful crack and electric hum, a beam of golden white light shot forth from them and raced across the distance, hitting its target dead on.

Daemon let loose an unsettling howl of pain just as the blast burned into him and forcefully knocked him completely through the portal. Satisfied for the moment, J'ai replaced his sais and began to seek out the next battle, confident that Daemon wouldn't be returning anytime soon.

* * *

Keyan strained with all her might to concentrate her next attack, but found she was fighting a losing battle. As had happened to her repeatedly since she'd first found out she was the human avatar of the godlike digimon Azulongmon, her power was beginning to overwhelm her, causing her to lose control and the ability to wield it effectively.

Ineg watched her with a growing smile on his face. He looked as if he'd been thoroughly beaten. His robes were tattered, his normally neat and imposing appearance, disheveled and non-threatening. Yet, he wore a catlike grin. His plan had come to fruition. He had known that it would simply be a matter of patience involved in beating Keyan. As expected, she, much like her mother before, was unable to harness such a large quantity of power at such a young age. Now, every time she tried to form an attack within her hands, the power the process yielded would overwhelm her, causing her to lose focus, and even at some points scream out in pain. Ineg casually began to saunter up to the young girl, taking pleasure at the hints of panic exuded in her eyes and the fearful way she began to back away. Momentarily, his eyes shifted to Willis, straining against Nai's grip inside their little shield, as if he could actually do anything. Ineg almost laughed at the ridiculous sight, but resisted the urge and returned to the task at hand. With a snakelike strike, he sprung at Keyan before she could turn to run, catching the young guardian around the neck and viciously throwing her to the ground. Ineg slowly bent over her, indulging himself in a dark, mocking chuckle as he did.

"What a pitiful avatar you are, little girl."

He roughly grabbed her by the hair and picked up her head to meet his, causing her to involuntarily yelp in pain.

"Your parents were weak, and so are you. It would be befitting that you shared their fate."

With that, he slammed her back into the ground and quickly put a foot to her throat, causing the girl to gag as tears of pain and anger welled within her eyes. Ineg stretched a hand out toward her face and it began to waver as dark power built up around his fingertips. Without taking his gaze away from his victim, he began to speak in an unnervingly calm tone.

"Gennai, it appears I am presenting you with a choice here. You can either watch your little protégé die at my hands, or you can hand over your aspect of knowledge there." He briefly nodded towards Nai, who was straining with all his might to hold back Willis now. "What is it going to be?"

Gennai didn't answer. He was watching Keyan sadly.

"What will it be, old man?" Ineg prodded again, pushing his foot further into Keyan's neck. She would have screamed, were it possible.

"Please, let her go-"

"What is your decision Gennai?! I have no problem killing her and you know it. Answer me!"

Unable to take anymore, Nai suddenly threw Willis to the ground, leapt forward from within the shield and blindly charged toward Ineg. "Take me, but for the love of god, let her go!"

Ineg smiled with an air of superiority. "Done."

He removed his foot from Keyan's throat and roughly kicked her aside before stretching a hand out toward Nai. A shadowy beam shot out from his fingertips, hitting Nai directly in the chest and burying beneath. Nai screamed out with a violent inflection, conveying every bit of the intense pain he was undergoing to all who could hear. His back and his arms stretched out stiffly. His hands futilely groped at nothing in particular. His eyes bulged out and his mouth opened to its fullest as his scream became infinitely more blood curdling.

Willis looked up from the ground to Gennai fearfully. "What's he doing?"

Gennai turned away from the scene with a grim expression. "What he must."

Nai's eyes rolled back in his head as the intensity of Ineg's attack became too much. Shortly after, his body became limp and crumpled to the ground. Ineg sauntered over, and as Nai's body burst into a million pixels, he absorbed each and every one. He took in a long breath of conquest and turned to look at Keyan, still lying on the ground where he'd left her.

"Ah the knowledge I have recovered! It's quite amazing, the things I can do now." He walked toward the girl, a smile creeping into his features. "But first, it seems I'll have to take care of some unfinished business."

As if out of nowhere, a ninja dressed in white, brandishing an impressive pair of golden sais, alit on the ground between Ineg and Keyan.

"Leave her alone, dark one," It said with two voices.

Ineg immediately recognized the figure and its separate voices. "The fused evolution of Tai and Jun." He said smugly. "How good for you. And you come with a pair of gold forks I see." Ineg laughed, a strange lonesome cackle. "I suggest you move. You still are not a match for me."

"Then how about us?"

Ineg jerked his head up to see Davis hovering above him. Behind him were a multitude of knights and digimon in the air. Hundreds more surrounded him on the ground. Ineg looked around frantically. All the Dark Masters were gone from the battlefield. The last remnants of his surviving hybrid army were fleeing through the portal.

"Your army is defeated, Ineg. You've lost." Gennai said, stepping out of Willis' shield.

"Please, don't give me any of that rhetoric, old man. How could I have lost?" Ineg pointed to his temple. "I got what I came for." He began to back away. "And don't think that you've won this war because of one insignificant victory over the Dark Masters. You know as well as I do, Gennai, that they are all nothing but pawns in this game. Your real test will come when you dare to put this army of yours in the real world." Ineg laughed once again. "Then we shall see who the real victors are!"

He kneeled for a moment, and with a sudden blast of immense power, sped like a bullet between all of the knights, too fast for many of them to even see. He stopped for one last gloating moment next to the portal, then went through it. The dark vortex closed immediately after he did so.

Gennai turned to Nai's apprentice, who was still appalled at what had happened to his teacher. "Willis, secure the realm."

Drawing upon whatever focus he still had, Willis turned to his laptop and did so. He then folded it closed, stood up solemnly, and went to Keyan's side.

All of the Knights and digimon devolved as soon as the realm was secured, panting heavily from the exertion of battle and the power it took to stay at their ultimate and mega levels for such a long period of time.

Tai and Jun knelt in front of one another for a very long moment, gazing into the depths of each other's eyes, immersed in the emotional bond that they now shared. The things they now knew about one another, the connection they had now forged. It took great effort for the two to finally break their trance and join the rest of the Knights.

Curtis and Rosa walked toward the middle of the group, the latter leaning heavily against the former. Clara rushed over to them in concern. "Are you okay?"

Rosa nodded. "Took a few hits, but I'll be fine." Her voiced sounded emotional, and despite her words, tears still fell from her eyes.

"Then what's wrong?"

Curtis answered for Rosa. "They killed Xian." He said quietly.

Several gasps echoed throughout the academy.

As they did, Krista appeared. She slowly walked through the group, carrying the body of the beloved combat instructor in her arms. She walked slowly and deliberately, her head held high, not allowing the weight of her cargo to stop her or disrupt her warrior-like demeanor. Following behind her was Terence. Clara ran to him immediately after seeing Xian's body and buried her face in his chest. He wrapped her in his arms and soothingly ran a hand through her hair.

"Who did it?" Davis asked, his own arm reassuringly around Kuri's shoulder as she somberly watched the scene.

"Puppetmon," Rosa said. "And it was my fault. I acted rashly, just like he always told us not to do."

Tai stepped forward, finally finding reason to speak. "You can't blame yourself Rosa-"

"I'm not. It was my fault, end of story." She clinched a fist in front of her. "And I will make it up to him. I will be the one to kill Puppetmon."

"And I will help you." Krista added, turning her head only slightly.

To forestall any further talks of vengeance, Gennai spoke up. "This is a very tragic loss, as was Ogremon."

"And Professor Nai." Willis added while performing some rudimentary first aid on Keyan.

Gennai continued. "But we must go on. It is what they would have wanted. Perhaps a remembrance ceremony-"

"No." Krista interrupted. "We have no time for that, Gennai. It is time for them to return home. Our time limit approaches and the real world is in much peril."

Gennai nodded, understandingly. "Later, then." He looked to Willis. "Were there any other losses today?"

Willis reluctantly took himself from his loving medical ministrations at Keyan's neck and re-opened his laptop. "No, the system isn't showing any others-" He paused, realizing the implications of Gennai's question. "The eight, they're all accounted for." He said with surprise.

"Of course they are." Gennai sounded as if he expected nothing else.

"But the prophecy-"

"Was right. The eight were made stronger by the loss of one." He turned to Tai and Jun. "Significantly stronger in fact. Their ranks fell to seven, and it made them all the more powerful."

"That was you guys?" Veemon piped up. "Tai and Jun, you were that cool ninja?"

"Of course." Sparks answered. "Didn't you see me and Agumon as SaberGreymon?"

"I did." Davis said. "So that was in the prophecy too, I guess?"

Tai nodded as he listened to the conversation. "I should've known." He looked to Jun. "I almost made a big mistake because of that prophecy."

Jun placed a finger to his lips. "I know. In fact, I now know more about you than I ever thought I could." She wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned against him. "It's okay."

"What are you guys talking about?" Kuri asked, looking between them. "Was one of us supposed to die?"

"I guess not." Willis answered. "I guess only Nai and Xian were going to be taken from us tonight."

The words were followed by a somber silence that only Gennai found fit to break.

"It's time." He said simply.

"Time for what Gennai?" Terence asked.

"For you all to return to your world. Willis, activate the program."

Willis nodded and set to work on his laptop. After only a few seconds, hundreds of portals began to open up all around the clearing, each with a specific name inscribed over it in light.

"Each portal is assigned to a specific Knight and digimon." Gennai said. "They will all take you directly home."

"_Directly home?_" Clara exclaimed. "You mean we aren't all leaving together?"

"No, you must return to your specific homes first. It is the way the program _must_ be completed. I knew many of you would forge friendships here and wouldn't want to return directly home. Therefore, to ensure that you all return to your families and the people that care about you to reassure them first, the Knights program was set to be completed only when each of you exited through your specific portals and returned home. Also, agents will be meeting with each of you shortly to meet your security and technology needs. They'll need to know where you are."

"Agents?"

"You didn't think you all would be fighting this war alone did you?" Gennai said. "Several countries have come together to form a counterstrike force against those you're battling against. They will coordinate with you shortly after your arrival."

Clara didn't seem satisfied with the explanation. "But I thought you said the eight of us belonged together. We can't be separated-"

"We won't be." Terence interrupted. "Or did you forget that I'm a multi-millionaire? I'll have a jet ready and we'll be together in no time."

"But I'll miss you, and there's so much going on." She glanced to where Xian had been laid upon the ground. "I just want you to be safe."

"I know, angel." Terence tilted her head up and planted a long kiss on her lips. "I feel the same way," He said as they broke apart, "but don't worry. Just take care of Rosa. I'll come for you in no time."

Clara looked for her cousin and saw her sharing a similar intimate moment with Curtis before he helped her walk over to them. At the same time, the Odaiba digidestined approached as well. The eight stood together, exchanging sad goodbyes along with their digimon. Though Davis kept reminding everyone that it was only "see you later" the mood remained incredibly depressing.

Tai and Terence shook hands, before eventually foregoing the formality and pulling each other into a hug.

"Take care of them." Terence said, nodding toward Kuri and Davis.

"I will. You just make sure you get to Japan as soon as possible, alright."

Terence gave a haphazard salute. "Will do, o' fearless leader."

Tai smiled, albeit a bit sadly. "Funny. You've got jokes, as usual."

"Ahem!" Gennai cleared his throat, drawing the attention of everyone. "It has been quite a year for all of us, Knights. Throughout all of it, you have proven yourselves smart, loyal, and capable of taking on whatever challenge comes your way. The forces that threaten the world now appear ready to make their move. You all may well be the only thing that stands between the earth and its destruction. Be strong and know that none of you stands alone. Work together. It is the only way we can emerge victorious."

Gennai signaled Willis, who pressed a few keys on his laptop. The "trainee' designation that had been on all of the student's shields suddenly disappeared. Now, they were truly Digital Knights.

"I would have liked more time for our farewells, but alas, we simply don't have it. So, hurry. The world needs you now more than ever Knights. Good luck and Godspeed. I'll contact you all as soon as possible."

With some final goodbyes to Jonathan, Nadia, and even Jason, Tai turned toward the portal with his name above it. He squeezed Jun's hand tightly before letting her go to her own.

"See you on the flip side." Kuri said to them all. She gave Davis a quick kiss before heading for her portal with Peko, and he went to join Jun.

"It's been real guys," Terence said loudly, so everyone could hear him. "Now let's go save the world."

There were a couple hundred flashes of light, and then, nothing.

Only Willis, Keyan, Krista, Gennai, and a very silent Gen remained.

"Bring her inside." Gennai said to Willis, nodding at Keyan. "If the infirmary is still intact, we can treat her there."

Keyan barely acknowledged Gennai as Willis helped her up, obviously still harboring a lot of disdain for her mentor.

As they left, Gennai looked upon the inert body of Xian sadly. He placed a hand gently on Krista's shoulder. "He was a good man, and extraordinary fighter. He will be greatly missed."

Krista nodded, tears threatening to fall once again. "He was. When it is safe, I would like to take him to his home for a proper burial."

"Of course." Gennai looked up at the stars. "Let us hope that his is the only burial we must concern ourselves with."

He turned and began to help Krista carry Xian's body to the mansion.

Gen was left alone, to contemplate the grave consequences his actions had brought about. He reflected over the nature of darkness and light, the way he had been completely taken in by Ineg, the good people he had betrayed for the sake of his own quest. He thought about Xian, Ogremon, and Nai. It was his fault that they had all perished, his fault that they would never have the chance to fight another day, to stroll through the halls of the mansion and see the smiles of their students greeting them once again. His fault, all his fault… After a few more solitary minutes, the shamed Counselor began to weep.

* * *

Well, that's it guys. Hope you liked this chapter, I enjoyed writing it.

Next up: **The Return**: Our heroes go home. You've all been waiting for it. Here it is.

Also guys, I really do enjoy your reviews. Any that you give will be much appreciated. Thanks.


	16. The Return Pt 1: Revelation

The fic has returned knights fans, in more ways than one. :-) Sorry for the loooong wait, but it's really hard to find time to work on this during school. The reward for your patience however, is this story's longest chapter to date. So, without any further ado guys, the chapter you all have been waiting for:

* * *

**The Return Pt I: Revelation**

**The Catacombs.** **Odaiba, Japan. **

Kai looked over his newfound army in satisfaction. Each member was a well-crafted piece of genetic engineering previously unattained by mankind. Jade moved unsurely beside him, untrusting of the strange creatures.

"What-are they?"

Kai gave her a smile. "Victory."

Her unflinching look of confusion prompted him to explain further.

"They are the ultimate marriage of the digital world and ours, and well under our control."

Jade peered closer at the creatures. Each had unmistakable human features and walked upright on two legs, but they all differed in size and color. Two were very large and reptilian. Two others were similar, but more normal sized. And the rest were stone and elemental in nature. All of them seemed very menacing and wholly unnatural.

"They are demons."

Kai chuckled a little as he approached the creatures. "We can only hope."

The closest one to Kai, an orange creature that seemed to resemble a humanoid Greymon, growled at him, bearing rows of gleaming, razor sharp teeth.

Kai paused and turned back toward the lab tech, waiting patiently at the door. "Doctor, I assume you finally got all of the obedience protocols right this time?"

The doctor nodded. "Yes, we believe so. We unfortunately had to...dispose of the last batch, due to their lack of subordination." The doctor walked forward and stood directly in front of the orangish creature. "Thirteen, kneel."

"Yes sir." With a few growls and grumbles, it carried out the doctor's orders, dropping to one knee and bowing its massive, scaled head.

"They can be somewhat belligerent at times, but ultimately they are engineered to follow the voice pattern commands we have programmed into them.:

"I assume my voice was one of those recognized patterns?" Kai asked.

"Of course. Try it out."

"Stand, thirteen."

The creature grumbled again as he slowly rose to his feet.

"Excellent." Kai said, satisfied. He peered closer at his charge's eyes and could swear that there was a sense of loathing there. For the moment, Kai ignored it.

"Doctor, I would like you to prepare these things for battle."

One of the creatures, a large red one, moved to the forefront of his group. "Perhaps I can do that sir."

"You can talk?" Jade asked.

"Yes. I'm the clan's chosen leader."

Kai bristled. "_You_ are the leader?"

"Of the mutants, yes. Which means that I am here to make sure your orders are carried out as efficiently and effectively as possible."

Kai nodded, satiated by the explanation. "Very well, prepare them for battle then. Each of you needs to be armed, and garnished with appropriate protection." He turned to the doctor. "I assume they've all been properly combat trained?"

"Yes, they've all been put through even the most advanced programs and passed satisfactorily."

"Good. And they have armory clearance?"

"Of course not!" The doctor exclaimed.

Kai raised an eyebrow.

The doctor calmed himself. "I mean, there are people down there who will accommodate their needs. They need not enter."

"Fine." Kai turned toward the mutants. "You, red one that calls yourself leader. Take your brethren down there and carry out my orders. I expect you to report back here, ready to leave, within the hour."

"Yes sir."

With several loud grunts, all of the creatures shuffled out of the room. Kai counted about ten of them in all. There was a pair of small wiry green ones that seemed to be twins. Three winged pterodactyl-like ones that were various shades of blue. Three other black and grayish ones, which also had wings, but whose muscular build and large humanoid figures made them seem more adept as land-bound fighters. The orange one appeared to be the largest and strongest of them all, while the slightly smaller red leader seemed to be a perfect blend of all the creatures' characteristics.

As they all walked down the corridor, their loud footfalls echoing around the entire underground complex, Kai turned to the doctor.

"Information," He requested. "Now."

The doctor nodded. "Of course."

He walked across the outer room to the wall opposite the mutants' chambers and flipped a switch. With a mechanic whir, several large video screens began to descend from the ceiling behind him. When they stopped, the doctor pulled a remote from his pocket and activated the projector display. Immediately, the screens lit up with multiple video images of the mutants in various stages of battle with other digimon.

The doctor cleared his throat. "We performed these tests a few weeks ago with some captive digimon in the massive training chambers below here. As you can see, the results are very promising."

Kai allowed a small smile to cross his face as he watched the films. He had been given a truly impressive strike force with which to work. On one display, the gray, rock-like mutants were taking on a group of Frigimon without much difficulty, often eliminating their opponents with single, bone shattering, punches. They seemed to possess impressive strength and were military-like in nature, working with one another to take out opponents rather than going off on their own.

"X-57's," The doctor narrated. "Or Stone Sentries for short. They're very capable in hand-to-hand combat, and prefer it that way. They're not big users of projectile weapons. We gave them wings, but they only tend to use them to bludgeon opponents from the air. Not great possessors of agility and speed, but more than make up for their deficiencies there in other areas, such as precision and teamwork."

Kai nodded and shifted his attention to another screen. On this one, the blue creatures were featured. They were shown twisting and weaving through mid-air, slicing through a flock of Birdramon as if they weren't even there. Several times, the creatures even fired white lasers from their mouths with deadly precision, often incinerating their opponents upon contact.

"Y-13's. Blue Demons. Flight capable Pterodactyl-like mutants who possess superior skill in airborne combat. They are masters of agility and airspeed. They aren't very powerful physically or as effective on the ground, but have potent energy cannons housed within their beaks."

Kai turned to another display, which showed the smaller, green reptilian mutants in action. Kai squinted. At least he thought it did. The creatures kept going in and out of focus, though the rest of the video remained intact.

"Z-5's. Mercury Serpents." The doctor offered. "Don't strain your eyes. They truly are that fast. These snake-like mutants have the gift of supernatural speed, and use it well. Though they aren't flight capable, they truly don't need to be. They are fast enough to run vertically on any tall structures and avoid any attack. Their speed comes at a price however-"

"Size and strength." Kai noted sourly as he watched the screen.

"Right. But, they are very capable of wearing down their opponents until they can perform killing strikes, abilities which allow them to vibrate at high enough rates of speed that they can actually reach into their enemies chests and disable their very hearts."

"Useful." Jade commented.

Kai nodded. "Quite."

He turned to another screen, on which the orange and red mutants were featured, fighting side by side, and tearing through a variety of champion and ultimate level digimon like they were nothing at all. While the orange one was using brute strength to destroy his foes, the red one seemed to enjoy utilizing his fearsome teeth and claws to literally rip his adversaries apart.

"Alpha 1 and 2. Both prototypes that are exclusive to this particular team. The orange one, aptly dubbed 'Orange,' is Alpha 2. Based on Greymon design, he possesses a great deal of strength, agility, and weapons proficiency. He is by far the strongest and largest of the mutants and puts those advantages to good use. He's also a lover of "big guns," for lack of a better term. The larger the weapon, the more likely he is to have one."

The doctor paused to adjust his glasses. "Alpha 2, also known as Red, and based on a winged raptor design, is the most well rounded of the mutants. He possesses some of the Sentries strength and precision, the Demons' agility, and the Serpents' speed. As you can see, he is the second largest of the mutants, so he has much of Orange's advantage when it comes to size. His overall abilities make him, by far, the deadliest of the mutants, and also the default choice as their leader."

Kai nodded in acknowledgement of all that the doctor had said and watched the screens for a little longer. He found it interesting that all the mutants had their own fighting styles, and while being genetically engineered and controlled, managed to maintain their own combat preferences and personalities in battle. It was a surprisingly human-like trait. Something occurred to Kai, prompting him to turn and address the doctor once again.

"Who were these –'mutants,' before they became what they are now?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"I am no fool, doctor. I can tell that these creatures were not entirely created. They were human once, before their genes were spliced with digimon DNA. It is obvious."

"Well, yes." The doctor gave in with a shrug. "They were human, but I don't have information regarding their previous lives. It wasn't deemed important."

"I deem it important doctor. And I expect you to have the information, by tomorrow." Kai looked at one of the screens in particular. "It may prove very useful."

At that moment all of the mutants reentered the room with disappointed expressions.

Kai frowned at the group's unexpected lack of weaponry, save for Orange, who wore a large rocket launcher strapped to his back. "Where are your armaments?"

"We found them to be useless and unworthy of our time." Red answered. He glanced at his larger companion. "For the most part. Our own abilities and attacks are much more effective than those toys."

Kai nodded. "Very well, but I expect you to hold your own tonight. I won't tolerate excuses."

Red bowed deeply. "We will not fail you."

"It would be best that you didn't." Kai turned to the doctor. "Open the bay doors. We are ready to depart."

The doctor nodded and flipped a switch on the wall control panel. Slowly, with a loud mechanical whir, a large panel on the ceiling of the room began to open, dousing the mutants with a blast of cold night air and bathing them in moonlight. All of them began to growl bestially, the taste of blood already practically on their tongues as they waited for the door to come fully ajar.

Kai grinned. Tonight would be most enjoyable.

* * *

**Kamiya Residence.** **Odaiba, Japan**

Everything in the room was exactly the way it had been left. Clothes were scattered about the floor. The bed was unmade. The answering service light continued to blink like a lone beacon, countless messages no doubt contained within. The air was stale, from two straight weeks of no use, and smelled of a strange mixture of scents from an open bottle of cologne and unwashed laundry scattered about. In the middle of the dark void, there was a sudden flash of light, and from it stepped a tall, lean yet muscular man, flanked by a miniature orange dinosaur.

As soon as the portal dissipated, Tai walked across the room quietly and flipped a light switch, bathing he and his partner in a bright fluorescent glow. They blinked for a moment, adjusting to the unnatural light, then took in their surroundings.

"Well, we're home Agumon." Tai said, making a show of stretching, popping several bones and muscles as he did so, "Feels weird."

"Sure does." Agumon agreed as he moved around the room slowly. He looked up at the calendar on Tai's wall. "I can't believe we've only been gone for two weeks."

"Tell me about it-" Tai paused suddenly.

"What is it?"

"I think I hear something…voices."

He slowly crept to the bedroom door and carefully turned the knob, opening it just a crack. The sounds of conversation between several familiar people drifted to him.

"Ken, are you sure about the stuff you're telling us? I mean, it certainly sounds more than circumstantial, but those are some pretty big accusations you're making-"

"Of course he's sure, Izzy! What, you think he would just make something like that up?"

"Yolei, I'm not saying he made it up, but could he be mistaken?"

"No more 'mistaken' than the rest of you guys, following Matt around like puppets without brains of your own. At least he supports his stuff with little things called evidence and research."

"They're not just following me around. They just understand logic- yes, here's the good stuff." Several clinking noises accompanied Matt's exclamation.

Tai recognized the sound, the bottles in the rarely used wet-bar that had come with his apartment. It was supposed to have been locked.

Matt spoke again. "I don't know about all this really. On the one hand, it all seems fishy. But on the other hand, the night Tai left, he was already pouting about something not going his way, and we all know how he gets when that happens. I mean, he did leave a note, after all. And, if what you all say is true, and Davis really saw TK and Kari together, then he would have reason to leave too."

"So you're just going to dismiss it, just like that bro? Everything is moot?"

There was a pause, likely as Matt downed whatever drink he'd pilfered. "No TK. It could all be true. I'm just saying, you can't be so desperate to find Tai and believe the best of him that you disrespect all those other missing digidestined and that murdered detective by mixing their real cases with his possibly fabricated one."

"Matt, come on-"

"I'm serious. Putting aside the fact that you held this from us for so long, you also didn't go to the authorities with any of it. They could have probably corroborated all this evidence and been working to find Hitachi and all the digidestined as we speak. Ken you should know this."

"But we couldn't."

"Yeah. Because of corrupt cops you say, but really it was your unwavering support of an ideal, a hero, that isn't true. Because you wanted to find Tai first and foremost, you kept this all under wraps, hoping it could be solved by us, the "Original Digidestined," gallivanting around, digivolving and fighting 'til our problems are solved. Because of this obsession with Tai-"

"Matt, you're the only one obsessed with Tai here." Yolei cut in. "We have other friends missing you know."

"Who? Jun?" Matt laughed. "And no offense Kari, but the other girl is your friend, not mine. And honestly, it's not like either one has the most virtuous reputation."

Tai felt his blood begin to boil at that. There was a sudden beeping at his belt and he reached down and fumbled for his digivice, trying to silence it before anyone else heard.

"Hello." He whispered as he picked it up.

"Hey." Responded the familiar voice of Jun. Tai smiled, the afterglow of their recent bonding still washing over him as she continued. "I miss you."

"I miss you too." He said. "Where are you?"

"On the way to your place. So is Davis, after he stops to pick up Kuri."

Tai frowned a little. "I don't think you all should be out walking alone."

"Don't worry, I'm driving."

Tai cocked an eyebrow. Jun hardly drove her car anywhere, if she could help it. It was a large part of how she had always stayed in such good shape.

"So I'll be there in a few minutes, okay?"

"Okay." Tai nervously shifted his glance to his door. He would have to go out there, lest Jun be suddenly assaulted by a mixture of curious and hostile digidestined once she arrived. "Take your time. I have a bit of a crowd over here."

"Really?"

"Yeah, it seems 'the old gang' decided to have a little get together at my place. I've just been listening to them from my room. Matt's an ass, by the way."

Jun giggled. "I could have told you that. Anyway, Sparks and I are on our way, so you better go ahead and make an appearance there."

Tai sighed. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Aw, you'll be fine sweetie. I love you."

"I love you too."

There was a small beep as the link cut. Tai looked down to Agumon.

"Well, here goes-"

"Wait Tai," Agumon interrupted. "You can't go out there like that." He pointed to Tai's vestments.

Tai looked down at his uniform and had to agree with his partner. He was right. No one would take him seriously if he just walked out in this. Who and what he was now was something that would have to be introduced to them gradually. He went to his closet to change.

* * *

Kari listened to everything Matt was saying with growing apprehension. Some of it was actually starting to make sense. Had their focus on her brother caused them to miss the true nature of the other things going on around them? Maybe Tai really had just left. Maybe he'd decided to get a new start somewhere else. A new life. Tears began to form in her eyes. Even if Tai hadn't gone missing like the other digidestined, he'd still felt the need to leave. He still had been chased away. Kari had not been there for him when he needed her. No one had. Kari wanted to bury her head in her hands. She wanted to cry. No matter what had really happened to Tai, she had let him down. She had let them all down; he, Kuri, and Davis.

* * *

Tai peeked around the corner, into the living room, and saw the expression on his sister's face. Though no one else was paying much attention to her, Tai could tell that she was extremely distraught. As her brother, no matter what had happened in the past, he couldn't bear to put her through such heartache any longer. He stepped out into the open.

It was a only a moment before Kari, seemingly sensing his presence, looked up suddenly and saw Tai standing before her, wearing a lopsided grin. Her eyes widened and Tai could tell that, for a moment, she thought she was seeing things. It was only when he gave her a slight wave and a wink that she actually realized he was real.

"TAI!" She screamed, jumping from the couch and almost stumbling in her fervor to cross the room. When she was close enough, she leapt at him and he caught her neatly in his arms.

"Hey, sis." Was all he said as he held her.

She began to sob into his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Tai. I'm so sorry." She pulled her face back and looked at him, as if to be sure he was real, before burying her face back into his chest and holding on tightly.

He rubbed a hand lovingly over her hair. "It's okay, Kari. It's okay."

Alerted by Kari's shout, everyone else began to excitedly crowd around the two, all greeting Tai and voicing a myriad of questions simultaneously. Tai, overwhelmed by the sudden crush of attention, held up his hands to stall them.

"Please guys, I promise I'll tell you everything, but just give me some space."

His eyes flicked across the room momentarily to Sora, who, instead of approaching, was giving him a bewildered stare.

"Something wrong?" He asked, still smiling.

"You're…different." She said, approaching him slowly.

"Now that you mention it." Mimi gave Tai a once over, noting his tanned skin, stronger, more muscular physique, and slightly cropped hair. "You look a lot different than you did a few weeks ago. You're taller, even."

Tai shrugged. "Guess it was a good er-vacation."

"Yeah…guess so." Sora came to stand directly in front of Tai and drew a deep breath. "I'm sorry." She said.

"Sorry? For what?"

"The call that Matt and I gave and the way I acted toward you-"

Tai waved her off. "Oh that? Please, that was so long ago, Sora. I'm over that."

"So long ago?" Sora gave Tai a look of confusion. "So you're fine with me and Matt's engagement?"

Tai honestly was bewildered by Sora's questions and manner. Had he really been that obsessed with her? He looked her over. Sure, she was somewhat attractive and they shared a long friendship, but Sora was honestly nowhere near the vision of perfection Jun now was in his mind.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

Sora faltered for a moment, caught off guard by his complete indifference. "You said you were lonely-"

Tai suddenly began to laugh and had to stop himself. "God, was I really that pitiful?" He shook his head. "Trust me, that's not a problem anymore."

Matt finally chose this moment to speak up. "It better not be."

Tai cut a glare at the digidestined of Friendship and his demeanor completely changed. "Matt, don't. I'm not in the mood and this isn't the time."

Matt snorted. "Oh, really? Because lately it's hard to tell with you. You hit on my fiancée, disappear for a couple of weeks when you can't get what you want, in your typical childish fashion, I might add, then come back and suddenly you're happy and everything's supposed to be fine? All your friends are here worrying about you, your sister even, and you're just out living it up, laying on your ass somewhere on vacation and just having a great time. Some leader. With everything that's going on right now, when people here could use you, help you to actually do something useful with your life, you're nowhere to be found, just like before."

"Matt, you have no idea what you're talking about." Tai responded, his voice calm and collected. "At the very least you could actually ask where I've been all this time before you start making accusations. If you ask me, you're the one acting like a child."

The surrounding group of digidestined seemed surprised and impressed by Tai's words and manner. Only weeks ago, he and Matt would have already been rolling on the floor, slugging it out. Wherever he had been, their former leader had done a lot of maturing during his relatively short time away.

"Where you've been?!" Matt exclaimed. "Hell, I know where you were tonight. In your room, doing god knows what while everyone sat in here, wondering where you were, wasting time worrying about you for no good reason."

"I-" Tai began to reply before his eyes shifted to the muted television on the other side of the room. On the screen was an image of a destroyed building, with several safety workers sifting through its rubble. He nodded towards the screen. "What's that?"

Without waiting for an answer, Tai maneuvered between Yolei and Cody and picked up the TV remote from one of the chairs set up in the living room. Just as he began to turn up the volume, an enraged Matt spoke again.

"What, you're just going to ignore us now? Just turn your back on us? I don't think so."

Tai heard the footsteps approaching, their brisk manner giving away Matt's intention. He knew this was coming sooner or later. Just like countless times before, Matt was about to deal with their argument as best he knew how. Tai's combat trained mind saw the move coming from a mile away. It was telegraphed in Matt's voice, his shadow, his reflection on the television screen.

With swift alacrity, Tai easily blocked Matt's attempted punch with his free hand. Then, without taking his other hand from the remote or his eyes away from the TV, Tai twisted his rival's arm behind his back, easily overpowering him and holding it there. Matt let out a surprised yelp of pain.

"Matt, stop this." Tai said, annoyed.

Further enraged, Matt swung for Tai's head with his other arm. Still without turning, Tai ducked the relatively slow, sluggish strike and retaliated by giving Matt a firm shove, sending him tumbling over and behind an adjacent couch with a loud thud.

Tai glanced over the shocked expressions on the others' faces. "I told him to stop." He shrugged and turned back to the TV.

At that moment, there was a knock at the front door. Without taking her eyes from Tai, Kari slowly went to answer it. She, like everyone else in the room, was already beginning to look at her brother in a much different light than before. He continued to watch the news report as she intoned the visitor outside to identify themselves.

"Um, it's Jun."

Tai glanced up upon hearing the voice. He quickly began to head toward the door.

"What?" Matt asked groggily as he rose from behind the couch, rubbing his back. He gave Tai an angry but wary glare before turning to Kari. "W-what the hell is that crazy chick doing here?"

Kari shrugged and returned his bewildered expression as Tai gently nudged her aside to open the door. After he did so, Tai enjoyed the reactions of everyone in the room as they viewed the girl standing in front of him. The last time most of them had seen Jun was quite a while ago, well before they'd left to go to the academy. The girl that stood before him, with her lithe, athletic build, shoulder length mane, and beautiful smile, was as foreign to them as a complete stranger.

"That's Jun?" Izzy asked, surprised and somewhat impressed. "She sure has…changed."

Mimi gave him a cross stare.

Matt simply looked at Jun, slack jawed and dumbfounded, finding it hard to believe that this was the same girl that'd had a crush on him for so many years.

Tai and Jun ignored them for the most part, already lost in one another.

"Hey," Jun greeted, unable to keep a hint of mirth out of her voice despite the grim circumstances surrounding their return. "We're home."

Tai smiled. "Yeah, now we are."

He pulled her into his arms and after a short pause their lips joined in a tender exchange, which, as the two began sharing all of the emotions still coursing through them following their recent joining as J'ai, began to grow into something much more torrid, and not entirely appropriate in front of an audience. Jun was the one to finally break the kiss, gently pushing Tai back and giggling as it took him a moment to recover from his daze.

"That's enough for now, Romeo," she said, giving him one last peck on the lips. "We've got other things to do right now." She gave him a look that promised they would be returning to this activity later.

The already reeling Original Digidestined were now completely shocked, Sora most of all. She was caught off guard by the extent of the feelings of surprise envy that suddenly sprung up within her. When the couple finally broke apart, she was the first to approach them.

"So, you two are what, dating now?" Try as she might, Sora couldn't keep a hint of skepticism from her tone.

Jun picked up on it immediately. "Not exactly." She responded, sending a clear message by keeping her arms around Tai and leaning into his chest. "It's a lot more than that."

"Yeah," Tai echoed, looking down at her with a smile. "Much more."

"Oh," Sora said quietly. "I see."

Mimi gave her friend a knowing look before speaking herself. "So you hooked up and got this close over just a couple of weeks?"

Cody guffawed at hearing this. For some reason, he appeared to be particularly enjoying the way things had been going, thus far. "Mimi, they've been best friends for years."

"Really?" Mimi responded sheepishly. "I didn't…" She allowed the thought to trail off.

Jun seemed disappointed at hearing the exchange. "Tai, you didn't tell them?"

"Not yet. I was getting to it but Matt attacked me-"

"He what?!" Jun quickly turned a vicious glare upon Matt, who unexpectedly found himself shrinking away from the intimidating stare.

"Relax," Tai said. "He's no Daemon."

"Yeah," Jun finally agreed after a moment, quickly recovering and giving Tai an appraising look. "Right. You didn't hurt him too bad, did you?"

"Nah. I was trying to see something on the TV- which reminds me-"

Tai guided Jun into the house and closed the door. "There was a news report. It looked like some kind of attack took place while we were gone."

"Um, Tai." Ken said quietly, clearing his throat and stepping forward. "If you want, I can tell you what happened first hand."

"Really?"

"Yeah." Yolei answered. "He and TK were there when it happened. I'm amazed that you guys somehow managed to not hear about it, honestly-" She paused suddenly as a thought occurred to her. "Hey, where's Davis? Was he with you guys?"

Kari and TK both visibly squirmed as the question was asked.

"He'll be along in a minute." Jun answered.

Tai gestured to Ken. "So fill us in." He glanced toward the television. "Something tells me this may be more important than you guys know."

Though confused a bit about Tai's meaning, Ken began to once again tell his tale.

* * *

**Katsura Residence**

Davis nervously knocked on the door of Kuri's apartment. He hadn't really been expecting to meet her parents tonight. It almost made him long for a few hours ago, when he was battling Apocalymon.

"How do I look, Veemon?" He asked, running a hand through his hair and adjusting his coat

Veemon gave his partner a thumbs-up and a comforting smile.

Suddenly the door swung open and a lively Kuri leapt into Davis' arms, beaming before catching his lips in a quick yet tender kiss.

"Um, hi." Davis said, returning her smile. "You sure are happy."

"You won't believe it, well, knowing you, you probably will, but I still can't."

"Um, believe what?"

"Come see." She took Davis' hand and dragged him into the house, then waited until Veemon had entered before closing the door.

Davis remained confused as Kuri led him around a couple of corners and into the whole of the house. There he saw two adults awaiting them, Kuri's parents. Somewhat surprisingly, the two looked nothing like the monsters she'd always made them out to be. They quickly rose from the table at which they were seated and walked over to greet him.

"So this is the famous Davis Motomiya, Original Digidestined." Her father said, grinning. "It is an honor to meet you."

"You. Too sir." Davis returned nervously.

Mrs. Katsura smiled. "So, my daughter tells me that you two have become a couple?"

Davis nodded. "Yes ma-am."

"How nice. When did you two start dating? Just last week or so?"

"Um, you could say that." Davis nervously pulled at his collar and turned to look at Kuri. This would certainly take some skillful explanation. However, as he watched her face, her beautiful smile, and felt the radiance of her joy washing over him, Davis relaxed. She was his, now and forever. The rest was elementary.

Minutes later, the two were setting out on the relatively short trek from the Katsura household to Tai's place, with Veemon taking the lead and Peko hovering overhead.

"So," Davis began. "What exactly was so unbelievable about that? You mom was nice. Your dad was practically marrying us off. They even let you leave with me so soon after getting back home. Your parents seemed normal to me."

"I know they did!" Kuri exclaimed with a huge grin. "They got along so well, and have changed so much over the time I've been gone…No fighting! It was great!"

Davis smiled. "I'm happy for you."

Kuri's grin faded a little. "I know it seems weird Davis, but I mean, even though, in the back of my mind, I know my parents love me, as well as each other, it's just the kind of thing you gotta see sometimes."

"I know." Davis said. "Believe me. I wish my parents had been around more often. Most of the time, it was just me and Jun."

Kuri moved closer to Davis and leaned against his shoulder. "Too bad our parents can't be like us."

"Hmm?"

"Because of our shield connection, we can't help but to know how we feel about one another, no matter what. For us not to," Kuri pointed to a railway crossing down the street, "would be like standing on those tracks in the middle of the day and not noticing the noon express."

"I guess so." Davis chuckled. "We're very lucky, y'know, to have found each other."

"I don't know about that." Kuri said, fingering her shield through the fabric of her coat. "I think it was always meant to be."

Davis turned and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "You're right, of course."

"I know I am." Kuri said smugly, her grin returning as she grasped Davis' hand and walked more briskly. "Now let's get going. It's freezing out here."

* * *

**Atlanta, GA, USA**

Devin Smith had never seen his employer so determined. He walked down the soaked tarmac beside him, holding an umbrella over his head as they headed toward the chic black jet, fueled and waiting for them at the end of the runway.

"Mr. Dumars, you're sure about this?"

"Of course I am. I said it, didn't I?"

Terence continued to walk determinedly, the ends of his full-length leather coat twisting and flapping in the storm driven winds. He only faltered for a moment to adjust his ever-present designer sunglasses.

"But the weather-"

"The pilot said it would be no problem if we left immediately, didn't he?"

Devin nodded and futilely wiped at the water gathering on his spectacles. "It's just such short notice as well. You can't imagine how hard it was to get a flight plan to Mexico cleared so quickly."

"Money talks, Devin. I can imagine that."

"Yes, but still, your subsequent request. That's going to be much more difficult. As I told you earlier, there was a recent terrorist attack in Japan-"

"We've been over this already. Tell them that I'm really eager to do a benefit concert for the victims. I mean, I am, after all. That should give you something to work with."

"I suppose, sir." For a moment there was only the sloshing of their footsteps as Devin contemplated his next question. "Are you sure you're alright, Terence?"

Terence turned and raised an eyebrow at the use of his first name. Devin only did that when truly grave or serious.

"I-I just mean, you're acting so differently now. You decided not to have any type of press conference announcing the return from your 'sabbatical.' You have yet to visit your mother. There's at least a dozen endorsement contracts you'll breach and label meetings you'll miss by taking these proposed trips and actions. You may even lose substantial tour funding."

Terence stopped, placed a hand on the confused man's shoulder and lowered his glasses slightly, in order to look him in the eyes.

"Devin, honestly, right now, there are much more important things going on. We can handle that stuff later." He replaced his shades and resumed walking. "Pings, Taps, and my brother are already on board, right?"

"Yes sir." Devin answered, now trying his best to mask his confusion. "I saw to their boarding myself."

"Good." Terence stopped again. They had reached the steps leading to his private aircraft.

Devin handed over the umbrella and reached out to shake his hand. "If all is to your preference sir… good journey."

"Thanks, and don't worry." Terence smiled. "You're the best manager and publicist there is. This should all be a walk in the park for you."

Devin only responded with a grunt as he watched Terence ascend the steps and board the plane. He turned and began to walk back though the light rain toward the waiting limo. Sometimes he swore that that kid lived to make his job as difficult as possible.

* * *

**Kamiya Residence**

As Ken finished relating his story, Tai nodded thoughtfully. Though the former emperor was unaware of it, it was quite possible he had provided them with something very valuable in their current quest. Tai turned to Jun, who continued to stand beside him, their hands still entwined.

"…so you see," Ken continued. "We started to think you might have been taken by these people. If they cared so much about us finding out what happened to you, and were capable of such destruction to cover their tracks. Well, god only knew what might have happened to you."

Tai turned to Jun with a grim expression. "You thinking what I'm thinking?" He asked.

She nodded. "If that all checks out and Hitachi really is still alive, I think we may have just found the primary financial backer."

Izzy scratched his head in confusion. "What? What financial backer? What are you guys talking about?"

Tai sighed. "Well, in order to explain all this, I guess it's time we told you guys where we've really been all this time-"

The doorbell rang. The room was filled with a few groans, but Yolei quickly went to answer it. "That must be Davis." She said.

TK and Kari nervously looked at one another.

"Are you ready?" He asked her under his breath.

Kari shook her head. "He's going to be angry."

"We talked about this…"

"I know. We'll come clean." She seemed none too pleased with the resolution.

Yolei opened the door to reveal a couple that looked more appropriate on the cover of a glamour magazine than in the doorway. Davis, much like Tai, now sported a shorter hairstyle. His physique was stronger and chiseled, and his skin more olive toned. He still sported his trademark smile however.

The girl next to him was an absolute beauty, with a pair of the most piercing jade eyes any of them had ever seen. Kari looked upon her best friend in surprise. Not only did she look a bit different, older in fact, but she also had changes similar to the others, a more athletic build, tanned skin, and a flowing black mane that was longer than ever. Kuri had consistently been ranked by the boys at Odaiba High as one of the most attractive girls in the entire school. It was her standoffish demeanor and loner mentality that had kept her from enjoying any real popularity. Now, Kari realized, as she looked at her friend's uncharacteristic dazzling smile, she was an absolute knockout.

And Davis was holding her hand.

Kari frowned for a moment. That didn't add up. They barely knew one another. She forced the thought aside and walked toward Davis, TK beside her. Like the lively Yolei and everyone else in the room, they greeted their two friends with kind words of welcome before moving on to the business at hand.

"Davis, we have something to say that we should have a long time ago." TK began.

He waved them off. "Please guys, I already know. We all knew you two would be together from the start."

Kari continued. "Well, we know now that you saw us in the park, and we just wanted to say-"

"Honestly," Davis interrupted, "I should've seen the writing on the wall a long time ago."

"Davis, we talked about this." Kuri said, sounding slightly perturbed. "You said that you would tell them the truth and not keep so much bottled up."

Davis smiled sheepishly. "It just doesn't seem all that important anymore."

"Hold on," TK said apprehensively. "What truth?"

"That Kari used him." Kuri answered matter-of-factly, the smile fading from her face quickly. "That she was cold and heartless enough to toy with another human being's emotions just for her own personal gain. That she strung Davis along for years when he deserved better anyway. That truth."

Davis shrugged indifferently. "That's something she'll have to work past. I got over it, and her, a long time ago."

He pulled Kuri closer and the two walked between TK and Kari, further into the room, and began to greet everyone else along with Peko and Veemon.

TK turned to Kari, part of him glad that Davis had left him largely unscathed by the calculated words, and a smaller part of him likely even agreeing with them. "Are you okay?"

Kari seemed very surprised at Kuri's words, and more than a little hurt by Davis' "I-I don't know."

TK put an arm around her. "Come on." The two slowly walked back into the rapidly shrinking room.

Everyone else welcomed Davis and Kuri warmly, though Ken Yolei, and Cody were a little more enthusiastic than the rest. After he and Ken exchanged a friendly hug, Davis looked around the room.

"Where's Joe?" He asked.

"He's working down at Ground Zero." Yolei said.

"Ground Zero?" Both Kuri and Davis asked in confusion.

"Geez," Yolei exclaimed. "You all really were somewhere under a rock weren't you?"

"You could say that we were 'cut off' for a while." Davis said. "So what is Ground Zero?"

"Ken." Yolei said in a bit of a huff. "One more time please?"

"Sure." Ken smirked as he picked up a large envelope from the coffee table and began to pull materials from it. He told his tale again, trying hard not to skip over any details that he'd told the others.

As he wrapped up, Davis, Kuri, Tai, and Jun exchanged significant glances.

"So, you think that this Hitachi guy is the financial backer?" Davis asked.

Tai and Jun nodded.

"Okay," Izzy threw a hand up in frustration. "This is the second time you guys have mentioned this 'financial backer' stuff. Mind telling us what you're talking about?"

They ignored him. "So what should we do?" Kuri asked. "Should we go looking for him?"

"Maybe," Tai said. "But then, I think we have to wait for our contacts first-"

"What is that?" Davis interrupted, suddenly peering closely at the television that had, until this point, been going mostly ignored. "Is that live?"

Every head in the room turned toward the TV, spurned by the urgency in Davis' voice.

The news channel display was now split into four different compartments, labeled, NEW YORK, LONDON, SYDNEY, and BEIJING. Each intermittently changed to other cities, such as New Delhi, Cairo, Abidjan, Paris, Buenos Ares, Los Angeles etc. And all displayed the same haunting images; groups of large, nightmarish looking, creatures, virtually destroying the cities they were in, throwing cars, setting fires, firing hi-tech weapons, and attempting to kill people whenever possible.

"Oh my God." Kari gasped. "What is that? What's going on?"

TK, looking just as shaken as she was, couldn't find his voice to respond. Instead he picked up the remote from the coffee table and turned up the volume.

The field reporter's frightened voice filled the room.

"These things are everywhere. Authorities here have said that large scale military response is planned but as you can see, its execution leaves much to be desired."

The broadcast anchorman cut in. "These creatures- and thank heaven they aren't being reported in Japan- they appear to be related to the digital world phenomena of recent years. Any word on if that is, in fact, their origins?'

"I'm not sure Ryu, but they are very powerful. Police level ordinance has no effect on them, as you can see in these videos. These things, whatever they are, seem thus far to have only appeared in the very hearts of major cities worldwide. It seems that this massively coordinated attack was meant to be seen, heard, and felt-"

The reporter was suddenly interrupted by a roar and loud explosion. The feed abruptly cut and his end turned into snow.

Obviously caught off guard and visibly upset at the apparent loss of his colleague, the main anchor took a moment to unsuccessfully try to compose himself and continue.

"W-we are, ah, having t-technical difficulties obviously, and uh, we will try to regain the connection momentarily o-of course-"

The anchor suddenly paused, put a finger to his ear, and stared intensely at someone apparently behind the camera.

"Is this correct?" He asked in an anxious, hushed, tone. "You're sure?"

After receiving confirmation he turned gravely back to the camera.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I am now getting reports that Japan has in fact, _not_ escaped the wrath of these worldwide attacks. There are reports of an incident coming in from, hold on now, this information is new-"

He looked down at his news desk, trying to make out the information coming through his earpiece.

"It has to be Tokyo." Davis said for him during the interim. "Tai, we need to-"

The elder leader stopped him by raising a hand. "Wait, we have to be sure."

Kari looked between the two, somewhat confused. Surely they weren't entertaining thoughts of going out and getting involved in this by actually trying to fight those things.

Finally the anchor appeared ready to speak once more. "Odaiba." He said. "The reported attacks are in Odaiba.'

Several gasps echoed around the room.

"Fortunately we do have a reporter that anchors for our local affiliate there in the field and near the site of this incident, Mr. Ishida?"

As the weathered face of a familiar blond reporter filled the screen, both TK and Matt leapt to their feet.

"Dad!" They yelled simultaneously.

Mr. Ishida began to speak. "Ryu, as you said, I am in fact very near this disturbance."

He turned momentarily and gestured. The area behind him, mostly indiscernible by the darkness of night, was flashing brightly, each accompanied by loud, violent blasts and massive smoke plumes.

"What you see behind me is an area on the outskirts of the city, more specifically." He paused for a moment and seemed to be trying to calm his emotions. "The estate of my eldest son Matt Ishida."

"_Matt_ Ishida? Of _The Wolves_?" The main anchor interrupted, obviously connecting the names in surprise. "I-is he alright? Is he still inside the house?"

"I ah, do not believe he was inside the house at the time this attack began, but I cannot be sure. Matt, Sora, if either of you are watching this report, please call me at-"

There was a loud explosion and the integrity of the picture began to waver greatly. Mr. Ishida's voice continued in a garbled, interrupted fashion and his frightened face fluctuated in and out of focus.

At that, Tai rose from the couch. "I've seen enough. Knights, let's go."

Sora instinctively leapt to her feet and grabbed Tai's arm.

"What are you talking about? Are you crazy? These aren't the old days Tai. You can't just go out there with Agumon and-"

"Look Sora," Tai interrupted, jerking his arm from her grip. "There are a lot of things you don't know about me right now. We can handle this." He turned to Jun, Davis, and Kuri. "It's what we came here for."

Kuri nodded. "He's right." She pulled a small silver device from her pocket and pressed a button on it. In a brilliant flash of white light, her wardrobe disappeared and was replaced by a sleek, black, form-fitting uniform. An impressive silver badge hung around her neck, gleaming brighter than any jewelry Kari had ever seen. During the transformation even Kuri's hair had gone from long and flowing, to gathered into a more manageable and convenient ponytail.

Every person in the room was shocked, save for Tai, Jun, and Davis of course.

Kari looked at her friend in awe, completely at a loss for words. Kuri returned her stare and simply shrugged as three more flashes, identical to hers, transpired.

During the subsequent transformations, Sora stumbled backward in surprise and had to support herself on the edge of one of the sofas. Tai, Jun and, Davis now wore uniforms just like Kuri's. Each also had their own chains and pendants around their necks, though Davis' was gold rather than silver.

"Look Sora," Tai began as she slowly regained her footing. "We'll be fine. And don't worry, we'll save Matt's father." He turned to address the rest of the room. "Everyone stay here! Do not leave under any circumstances. We'll be back shortly. Knights, let's go."

With that, the quartet and their digimon stormed out of the apartment. As soon as they had left, everyone in the room rushed to the windows to watch them depart. Once again, they all collectively gasped as they saw the four evolve their digimon with larger flashes of light, and afterwards suddenly take to the air, flying alongside the large creatures as if it was routine (Save for Jun, who rode atop SaberLeomon).

A few more moments of shock passed before anyone found their voice.

"I don't believe it," Izzy whispered, more to himself than anyone in particular. "How is that possible?"

"I learned a long time ago," Sora said softly and thoughtfully, "that anything is possible with Tai." She wrapped her arms around herself and stared out of the window in an unfamiliar pose of insecurity.

Ken looked from the window to the television and back again, the wheels of thought beginning to turn in his mind.

"I'm starting to believe that our friends were up to _much_ more important things, during their time away, than Matt would have had us believe." He said.

"Well, obviously." Matt responded, irritated, despite the concern for his father still etched in his face. "But still, they could have told us something at least-"

"Matt, please, just shut the hell up." Yolei interrupted with finality, having had enough. "Maybe they couldn't tell us. You don't know what's going on, so don't act like you do, okay? It's the least you can do while they're out there trying to save your dad."

For once Matt didn't have a retort. He slowly walked back to the couch and sat next to his brother to anxiously await the latest on the news report.

* * *

**Ishida Estate**

Kai watched despondently as the red mutant broke down yet another outer wall of Matt's mansion before walking over to him with a disappointed expression.

"We have searched the house and the wreckage. They are not here."

Kai seemingly took the news from the mutant leader in stride.

"Very, well. Destroy everything else then."

He turned away from the group of fearsome creatures and brusquely walked over to his understudy. "How are they not here?" He hissed to Jade. "If that little bastard lied to me-"

"I told you to let me kill him." She said indifferently. "So, what should we do now?"

Kai thought for a moment before responding. "Red!"

The corresponding mutant ran over quickly. "Yes sir?"

"I need you to carry out a mission for me."

"Yes sir."

Kai reached into one of his coat pockets and pulled out a sheet of paper.

"Visit each of the addresses printed here. If you find any Original Digidestined at these locations, kill them quickly, on the spot, no questions asked."

"How would you like it done, sir?"

"I do not care. Sloppy, clean, I have no preference. Shoot them if you want, plant a bomb if it suits you, just make sure they're destroyed one way or another, understand?"

Red nodded obediently. "Yes sir."

"If you need assistance, contact one of your faster brethren. Now go."

At the command, the mutant leader disappeared quickly in a whirl of wind, the only evidence of him having been there being a few leaves and bits of stray trash stirred in his wake.

"You trust he can manage such a task?" Jade asked, looking in the direction into which the mutant had disappeared.

"As long as his programming functions properly, yes." Kai answered. "It is essentially a last resort effort, regardless. The chances of all of the nine remaining digidestined being at these addresses are somewhat remote."

"Hitachi will not be pleased."

"We'll deal with that when the time comes. For now-" Kai paused suddenly, an intense expression on his face.

"What is it, master?" Jade asked, pulling out her katana with a metallic _shing_. "Are the authorities approaching?" She smiled. "That could salvage the night for me."

"No, something bigger." With a flare of his coat, Kai produced two black semi-automatics from his shoulder holsters. He cocked his head once more to hear a bit better, however, before coming to a decision. "We are outmatched, Jade. Run."

* * *

"What are those things?" Peko asked as she and Kuri began their descent toward the Ishida estate.

Davis took in the multi-colored mutants with growing apprehension. "I don't know." He said. "Let's hit 'em hard and fast. We'll ask questions later."

As the group began to dive, Kuri felt something, a presence moving quickly from the battle. When a glance showed her nothing else in the area, she chalked the sensation up to nerves and pulled in tighter behind Imperialdramon, who was acting as their main shielding from any possible counter attacks.

"Everyone ready your attacks!" Tai yelled out from further below, where he was flying nearer to Jun.

The group followed his command, holding their energy weapons or energy attacks out before them like beacons in the night.

"Now!"

With a blast of blindingly powerful light, the eight released all holy hell on their targets below, reducing what was left of the particular section of Matt's mansion that they were near, to essentially dust. The creatures themselves had scattered in several directions just before the multiple blasts hit their location, roaring and growling in indignation as they did.

"Incoming!" Davis shouted.

Four of the things had taken to the air and we speeding towards them; three blue ones that looked like dinosaurs, and one hulkish gray one.

"Handle them!' Tai shouted. "I'll go help Jun!"

Tai and WarGreymon dove downward just in time to ward off the attacks of two more gray creatures that were diving toward Jun and Sparks and landed beside the duo.

"We could have handled them." Sparks growled, annoyed.

At that moment a large menacing, orange T-Rex like head with an equally impressive humanoid body came crashing through one of the few outer walls of the house that was still standing. With a bellow of rage, he leveled a rocket launcher mounted on his back right at them and fired.

"Dino-guy's all yours, Sparks." WarGreymon yelled as he and Tai dove out of the way.

Sparks snorted. "The hell he is!"

He jumped straight into the air, narrowly avoiding the missile as it sped between his legs and incinerated a tree in the courtyard behind him.

"Fine, then he's mine!" Jun leapt from her partner's back and unleashed a Holy Crusher right into their attacker's chest, send him crashing back through the wall he'd entered through.

She landed in a three-point stance and rose to her feet with a satisfied smile.

"That wasn't too har-" Jun's words were cut off as something hit her in the mouth and sent her to the ground.

"What the hell was that?" She exclaimed, quickly regaining her feet. She suddenly doubled over and fell forward as something else hit her from behind.

"Jun, what's going on?" Sparks demanded. "You're completely spazzing out!"

"I'm not. Something's attacking me!"

Sparks looked around. "I don't see anyth-" His face suddenly jerked to the side as something hit him very hard across the cheek. "Okay you little bastard!" He roared in anger. "Where are you!"

"Right here." Twin hissing voices said simultaneously. Two huge green serpents with human like heads and arms suddenly appeared before Sparks.

"What the-" Before Sparks could finish the exclamation, the two creatures disappeared and he suddenly felt the impact of two punches hitting him directly in the jaw.

After stumbling backward from the blows, Sparks roared again. "What are they, invisible?!"

"No," Jun said, leaping back to her partner's side. "Just really fast. We need to move to a more open area."

"Then what do we do?"

"I'm working on that."

With a loud smack, Sparks' head involuntarily jerked to the side once again and he grunted gruffly. "Work fast!"

* * *

Tai and WarGreymon, separated from Jun and Sparks during "Dino-guy's" attack, found themselves facing off against two heavily muscled gray creatures and their old orange foe, still shaking off the effects of Jun's counter-attack.

"I got the big one." Tai said with a smirk.

"But you're smaller than me-" WarGreymon protested, to no avail as Tai ran head-first in to the orange mutant and knocked it back with a Terra Force attack. WarGreymon sighed. "Fine."

He turned to the two somewhat smaller, gray, rocky, creatures and raised his claw gauntlets. "You guys sure you want to do this?" He asked, a vicious glint in his eyes.

His question was quickly answered by one of the creatures diving and grabbing a firm hold of his legs while the other leapt forward and delivered a very solid punch to his chest. The impact of the move caused all three of them to crash backward through a wall into what looked to be Matt's kitchen, or what was left of it anyway. As debris and dust fell all around them, WarGreymon was the first to get back to his feet. He immediately ran to the kitchen's brand new, state of the art refrigerator and unceremoniously ripped it from the wall. Before his opponents could react, he threw it at them. The well-aimed shot hit one of them head on and sent him crashing through the nearby patio doors and into the backyard.

The remaining one launched itself at WarGreymon with a loud roar, flailing his wings and throwing a wild haymaker as he approached. The experienced mega easily dodged the attack, grabbed his assailant by the arm and flipped him across the room into a very expensive looking stove. He hit it with a loud thud and sank to the ground with a groan. Suddenly a piercing hissing noise began to issue forth from behind the crushed appliance. WarGreymon and his opponent looked at each other with anxious expressions, both noting the various exposed and sparking wires protruding from the partially destroyed walls. Both turned and began to run, their battle momentarily forgotten, and dove though the previously destroyed patio doors just before the kitchen lit up with the bright hot flash of a gas-fueled explosion. Flames licked at their heels and debris fell all around the two as they landed roughly in the well-manicured grass of the backyard.

* * *

Davis shielded his eyes from the explosion and resumed his fight with one of the flying blue things as the afterglow faded away.

"What the hell are they doing down there?!" He shouted to no one in particular, deflecting one of his opponent's blows and hitting him with a well-aimed Positron Laser.

"Dunno," Kuri said, flying up beside him. She looked down toward the destruction. "But it looks like nothing's left of Matt's estate but his garage and guest-house at this point."

At that moment, the one gray creature that had taken to the aerial fight with the other blue ones attempted to attack Kuri from behind.

"Watch out Kuri!" Both Imperialdramon and Peko shouted.

As she quickly ducked out of the way, both hit the creature with their respective Positron Laser and Lighting Arrow attacks, sending him hurtling to the ground with yet another large explosion.

"Thanks, guys." Kuri said, before looking down at the aftermath of the event with a slight frown. "And now we're down to just the garage."

"Heads up!" Davis pointed upwards. The three blue creatures had gotten into formation and were bearing down on them from above at high speed.

All four below began firing attacks up into the midst of their attackers but found the three to be far too fast and agile for any of them to connect.

"Screw this!" Kuri said, frustrated. She ascended up toward their opponents, avoiding the bright balls of white energy they shot from their mouths, Davis right on her heels.

Just when it seemed the two groups would collide, everyone began maneuvering for their strikes. Kuri managed to grab a passing opponent around the neck and gave him a crushing punch over the head as he attempted to pull her downward. She released him and he fell to the ground below without so much as a whimper.

Davis dispatched another brilliantly by blinding him mid dive with a laser burst, then grabbing his arm and redirecting the creature's trajectory right into the side of a nearby, steel, hi-rise building. He also fell to the ground without a sound.

Peko and Imperialdramon took care of the third by simply allowing him to pass between them and seemingly escape, then turning and firing attacks directly into his back, sending him flying onto the roof of an apartment building below, where he collided with a large satellite dish and slumped to the ground.

"Nice, Peko." Imperialdramon said. "You knocked out those peoples' cable. Now, how are they supposed to see the news and know what's going on?"

Peko narrowed her eyes at him. "Oh, I dunno, maybe they could try just looking out of their windows. In any case, you shot him too, so-"

"Who's that?" Davis flew up between the two. He was looking toward the roof with scrutiny.

Kuri came to a stop beside him. "It looks like two men. One has a camera-"

"It's Matt and TK's dad!" Davis exclaimed. "Let's go check on him."

The four dove toward the roof quickly.

* * *

WarGreymon stared down his two adversaries with a smirk.

"What are you smiling at?" One of them demanded.

"You two." WarGreymon said confidently. "You don't stand a chance."

"Really? We'll see about that!"

The two charged together, just like before, but this time WarGreymon was ready. He waited patiently as they came at him. Predictably, as they got close, one went high, and the other went low for his legs. It took hardly any effort for WarGreymon to pull out the shield from his back at the last second and block both of them. With a strong push of the powerful barrier, he had both tumbling backward across the yard like ping pong balls, where they landed in Matt's massive, guitar-shaped pool with a loud splash.

WarGreymon replaced his shield and quickly took to the air. Before his opponents could re-surface and climb out of the pool, he built up a very powerful Terra Force and launched it down at them. It collided with the water in the pool with terrific noise, superheating it all to the point of being steam and causing the concrete surrounding the pool to crack and cave in upon itself, and its occupants, with mountains of rock and dirt.

"That should hold them for a while." WarGreymon said, satisfied as he ascended away from the scene. "Now, to find Tai."

It didn't take long for WarGreymon to come across Tai. As expected, he found his partner slightly overmatched against a much larger opponent. The two were locked in hand-to-hand combat, with Tai's larger foe appearing to get the best of the conflict. WarGreymon stalled for a moment, slightly enjoying Tai's compromising position. Perhaps now he would start taking on enemies that were more his size.

Suddenly Tai cried out. His adversary had picked him up by the arm and flung him away violently. WarGreymon watched in alarm as Tai sailed across the backyard and crashed through the front of Matt's garage in a huge shower of wood splinters and bricks. After a moment, silence prevailed and a cloud of dust descended over the scene.

"No!" WarGreymon screamed, flying toward the garage and cursing himself for not helping his partner as soon as possible.

Suddenly, there was another abrupt crash as even more wood splinters and shingles exploded from the garage roof, leaving a gaping hole in their wake. Tai rose through the newly created opening with Matt's gargantuan, brand-new, sliver Hummer held aloft over his head. On Tai's face was a look of pure venomous rage.

"Agumon, move." He said darkly.

WarGreymon did so quickly and watched as, with supreme effort, Tai heaved the vehicle forward, towards his enemy.

As the large dinosaur brought his hands up to catch the gigantic SUV, Tai formed a Terra Force in his hands and launched it at the sailing vehicle. All three entities met at exactly the same time, resulting in an epic explosion that sent "Dino-guy" flying through the air, tumbling end over end, well into the distance, with only a trail of smoke to mark his path.

"Matt always was good about keeping his tank full of gas." Tai commented, grimacing as he rubbed his back and gently landed. "Never thought that would come in so useful for me."

WarGreymon smiled, glad that his partner was all right, and let out a bated breath.

Tai scanned the area quickly and frowned before taking to the air again. "Let's go find Jun." He said.

* * *

Sparks slashed through the air in frustration, struggling in vain to hit one of his attackers. His efforts were rewarded with another couple of punches to the face, plus a kick to his posterior.

"Damn!" He bellowed. "Jun, thought of something yet?!"

Jun stood in the center of the front yard, surrounded by the mansion's circular driveway. She had her eyes closed in an effort to pique her other four senses and concentrate on the sounds around her. She concentrated hard on the technique, which Krista had taught her, just as she had done all those months ago with Tai. Focus was the key- Abruptly, Jun heard something; a high squealing, buzzing noise. The sound of speed. She struck out, and much to her surprise, found her fist connecting with something solid.

Jun opened her eyes and saw one of the serpent men on the ground before her. He was rubbing his jaw and giving her an incredulous glare. Jun pumped a fist in celebration and began to approach him when suddenly, from out of nowhere, she was blindsided from behind by his partner. The strong punch he gave her actually lifted her from the ground and sent her flying head first into the large statue and fountain in the center of the front lawn.

It took a few moments for Jun to groggily recover from the hit. She groaned, rubbed her head, and looked at the stone structure she'd been knocked into. It was a sculpture of Matt in a performance pose, guitar over the shoulder and microphone in hand. Even under the circumstances, Jun had to marvel at just how egotistical her former crush had become. She noticed something else too, the fountain surrounding the statue, which she was now waist deep in. A thought occurred to her. _Water_.

She looked up toward her partner, who was bellowing in rage as their two unseen opponents continued to assault him from all sides. Coming to a quick decision, Jun reared back and buried her fist into Matt's statue, reducing it, in one huge blow, to a pile of rocks and pebbles. After a moment of sifting through the rubble, she found what she was looking for; the underground water line that fed the fountain. Jun grabbed it with both hands and pulled against it with all her might. It ripped upward from the ground violently, unearthing a good portion of the yard as the pipeline burst open and showered the entire area with an impressive downpour of water.

Sparks looked up in surprise between taking a couple of punches. "Jun, 'oof' just what the hell are you 'ugh' doing?"

Jun pulled out her digivice. "I thought of something." She said. She pressed the screen and triggered she and Sparks' de-evolution all the way down to the rookie level.

If Sparks was confused before, he was completely flummoxed now.

"Hit the ground hard!" Jun shouted before Sparks could protest, kneeling down as he reached his Elecmon form.

Sparks' followed her orders without question and both released Sparkling Thunder electric attacks into the ground. The attacks spread out over the lawn quickly, due to the fact that it was covered with water, and lit the area up like a Christmas tree. Two snake-like screams rang out over the air.

Jun looked up and saw that her plan had worked perfectly. The electric attack had spread out over the wet lawn and electrocuted everything it came into contact with, including their two elusive enemies, who were now being forcibly held in place by the current running through their bodies.

"What now!" Sparks asked. "We can't keep this up forever!"

His question was answered by two large spheres of red energy from above colliding with the twin serpent creatures in massive explosions and sending them flying well clear of Matt's front lawn and seemingly halfway across Odaiba.

"You okay?" Tai asked Jun as he and WarGreymon landed near her. He reached out a hand and helped her up. "That was impressive."

"Thanks." Jun responded, slightly out of breath. "Are there any others?

Tai shrugged. "I'm not sure." He looked around the area, scanning for any signs of other battles, with no luck. "Let's have a look around. If there are, they can't have gone far."

Jun evolved Sparks back to his SaberLeomon form and leapt onto his back as Tai and WarGreymon took off from the ground. Together, they began to search the grounds.

* * *

Jade stood next to Kai on a low rooftop, not too far from the Ishida estate battle, arms crossed and katana sheathed. She seemed very irritated.

"So, what are we going to do?" She asked impatiently.

Kai ignored her and looked out over the aftermath of the battle through a pair of high-powered, night vision binoculars. "Extraordinary, aren't they?" He said. "I certainly am impressed by Gennai's aggressiveness in making his move here. This is much more like what I know him to be capable of. Perhaps he learned something from me all those years ago, after all."

Jade ignored him and huffed. "So, what? We are simply going to stand here and watch?"

Kai sighed. "Jade, one of the first things I ever taught you was to know thy enemy. For now, we must observe them, know their strengths and weaknesses-"

Kai stopped speaking when his communicator suddenly began to beep. He pulled the device from his pocket and brought it to his lips. "Go ahead."

"Sir, this is Red. I have found most of the digidestined. Nine of them in total are at the Kamiya residence."

"Are you sure?" Kai asked anxiously.

"Yes sir. I cannot account for the other three, however."

"I can. One was dispatched earlier and the other two are here. Do not concern yourself with them. Can you take care of the ones you have found yourself?"

"Yes, sir. From the window I can see that they're engrossed in whatever is on the television. They will never know what hit them."

"Good, take care of them and be thorough. I will not tolerate any failures. Report to me as soon as you have finished."

"Yes sir."

As soon as the communication cut, Kai patched through to another channel.

"You don't seriously believe he can handle it alone, do you?" Jade asked.

"Of course not." Kai answered. "Honestly, I'm surprised he found them in the first place."

Kai's communicator began to hiss with static that indicated an open line. "Mutants!" He requested.

"Yes?" Came a low, guttural reply.

Kai seemed startled. "Orange, are you the only one available?"

"Perhaps. I am no longer at the scene."

"I know. I saw the ending of your excuse for a battle with Kamiya."

This was greeted with snarling on the other end.

"Calm yourself. I want you to carry out a mission."

"What?"

"Red has found most of the digidestined and is in the process destroying them as we speak."

Oddly, this statement was also met with a series of snarls.

Kai continued. "I need you to use your ability to lock on to his location and assist him in any way you c-"

"Already on my way." Orange interrupted. The communication was suddenly cut.

"That was surprisingly obedient." Jade observed.

Kai smirked. "Competition usually is a powerful motivator."

A faint engine hum began to become audible over the now still night air. Jade and Kai turned around at the same time to see a small black Jet zooming towards them from the distance.

"Finally." Kai said. "Our transportation is arriving."

* * *

"You hear that?" Tai asked WarGreymon as they circled around what used to be the rear of Matt's mansion.

"Yeah." His partner answered gruffly. "Sounds like some kind of plane."

"That's odd. The news said that all air traffic had been grounded since these attacks started."

"Maybe it's the Air Force."

"Possibly." Tai said. "But I'd think we would hear a lot more than just one plane."

"You want to check it out?" Jun hollered up to Tai from below. Tai smirked. He knew Jun hadn't heard his and WarGreymon's conversation. They were all simply thinking along the same lines.

"Yeah." Tai dove down quickly and gently plucked her from Sparks' back "We'll go check on this. Sparks, you and WarGreymon keep searching the area. I don't think any of them are still around, and Kuri just sent me a message that said they've just found Matt and TK's dad safe and sound, but we still need to be sure."

"Okay." Sparks said reluctantly. "But if you guys need us-"

"Don't worry. We won't hesitate to call." Jun said. "Let's go, Tai."

With that the couple ascended away from their partners and toward the jet engine like noise that was growing louder by the second.

"Mmm, I like this." Jun said, smiling as she wrapped her arms around Tai's neck and allowed him to cradle her in his arms.

"Jun, come on." Tai said, looking stern and a little irritated. "We have no idea what we're headed into. We have to be serious."

Jun simply continued to look at him with a smile, even chuckling a little. Predictably, Tai finally broke and softened as well.

"Yeah, I like it too." He admitted with a smirk.

"I know." Jun gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before turning serious again as the two approached an office rooftop. Perched atop it were two suspicious looking figures, one armed with twin handguns, and the other with a lethal looking sword.

"They don't seem to be up to any good." Jun whispered.

Tai nodded. "Let's find out."

Tai alit behind the duo quietly and released Jun before forming a small Terra Force in his hand.

"Okay, who are you?" He demanded, the red glow of his attack glinting faintly off of he and Jun's uniforms.

The two turned to face him quickly, surprise evident on their faces, or at least the woman's. The man's countenance remained mysteriously shrouded in the shadow if his wide brimmed hat.

"Hello." He said, his voice even and emotionless. "It's about time we met, Tai Kamiya."

Tai was unfazed. Millions of people knew his name. "Who are you?" He repeated.

The man laughed darkly, his coat undulating slightly in the higher altitude breeze. "Honestly, you don't know?"

Jun narrowed her eyes. "The Assassin." She said.

"Bingo!" The man moved quickly and leveled his firearms at Tai and Jun, prompting the two to raise their hands and ready their own attacks.

The woman next to the Assassin jumped in between the two parties, brandishing her impressive sword before her. Her eyes were as cold as steel, and her face very grim.

"It seems what we have here is a stalemate." The Assassin said. "Unless, of course, you are willing to spill the blood of an innocent."

"If she's working with you, I can hardly believe that she's an innocent." Jun said, giving the woman an equally fierce glare.

The Assassin laughed. "I suppose you are right. But the fact remains, you don't know that, and she hasn't done anything to you…yet."

The woman feinted a little, causing Jun to take a step forward. "Please," Jun said darkly. "Just give me a reason."

Suddenly a large black plane arose over the edge of the roof with a deafening roar, sweeping the whole area with a strong hot wind. It turned slowly as a large panel opened on its side and a ramp lowered behind the Assassin.

"Well, that's our cue to exit!" The Assassin yelled, his coat whipping about wildly now, revealing four more firearms strapped to his waist. "We'll be going now."

"You're not going anywhere Assassin!" Tai yelled.

"Oh really?" The dark man yelled back. He nodded to his companion. "She's coming with me Kamiya, so if you decide to shoot down my plane, that would make two innocents you're killing, counting the pilot! Is that something you're willing to do?"

"It's something I would expect you to do."

The Assassin laughed once again. The sound sickened Tai. "You're right! But, I don't believe that Gennai has reached the point of advocating outright murder, has he?"

Neither Tai, nor Jun answered. Both simply stared at him, their jaws clenched and anger welling in their eyes.

"I didn't think so." The Assassin stepped into the opened portion of the plane and waited for his partner to enter as well. "Now, please don't try to follow us, you two. One of you original digidestined has already perished earlier today. I'm sure you and your friends don't need to deal with any further tragedy."

As the plane door began to close, The Assassin appeared to enjoy the shocked expressions on Tai and Jun's faces.

Jun turned to Tai as the plane began to lift off. "What should we do?"

Tai watched the plane gain in altitude and begin to bank away. "We need to get downtown, now."

"Why?"

"Joe was the only one not at the apartment earlier. Yolei said he'd been working at the site of that terrorist attack. If something happened to him, he may still be there, especially with people now paying attention to all this other stuff going on."

"And what about The Assassin?"

Tai grimaced and scooped Jun into his arms. "We have no choice. Right now, finding Joe is much more important. Something tells me we'll have plenty of opportunities to get that bastard later."

"You're right." Jun said, somewhat dejectedly. "Let's go."

Tai kicked off from the roof and headed away from the departing plane, toward the skyline of downtown Odaiba.

* * *

On another rooftop, not too far away, the other two knights were busy setting a worried father's mind to rest.

"So, you're sure Matt and Sora are okay?"

Davis put a reassuring hand on Mr. Ishida's shoulder. "Trust me, they're alright."

Mr. Ishida let out a big sigh of relief. "Thank you Davis." He looked between he and Kuri. "We came up here once the destruction got too intense for us on the ground level. That was about the same time we lost our live connection and had to start broadcasting on a five minute delay. I tried calling the house, but there was no answer, and all cell phone networks are down, of course-"

"Hey! Stay away from that thing!" Kuri yelled at Mr. Ishida's cameraman, who was filming the unconscious mutant that had fallen onto the roof. "We don't know when it may come to."

After he moved back, Kuri sighed and turned to Davis. "We have to get off of this roof."

"I agree." He said, smiling at her. "You sure are take charge tonight, huh?"

Kuri rolled her eyes. "Don't even start with me, Davis. The past twenty-four hours have made for one hell of a day." A small smirk on her face showed that she wasn't entirely serious.

Mr. Ishida chuckled a little, noticing the chemistry between the two teenagers, before glancing back down to where his son's house once stood and sobering considerably.

"I can't believe the whole thing is basically gone now." He said. "Why would these things go after Matt like this?"

"Well, he is the most famous of all the original digidestined." Davis offered. "If those digi-er…digi-men were after us, Matt would be the logical first choice for them to attack and the easiest to find."

After a moment of thought Mr. Ishida nodded in agreement. "I suppose you're right." He said to Davis, before looking him over with scrutiny. "You know, you've changed quite a bit since the last I saw you. You have definitely matured a lot."

Davis rubbed the back of his neck unsurely. "Um…thanks?"

Mr. Ishida nodded. "You're welcome. You guys were absolutely amazing out there. If you don't mind, and off the record, can I ask you exactly how you got these new…abilities?'

Kuri walked over between them. "Maybe later," She cut in. "Right now, we still have work to do."

"Oh, I understand." Mr. Ishida said. "You're going to go after that red one?"

Kuri flinched. "What?"

"That big red creature. He was down there with the rest when I first arrived, but took off like a bullet just before you guys got here."

"Damn!" Kuri exclaimed. "I knew it! Which way was he heading?"

Mr. Ishida rubbed his chin. "Um, back the way you guys came in actually."

"No. He's going after the others." Like a bolt, Kuri ran over to the edge of the roof and leapt over with Peko, into the night.

Mr. Ishida jumped to his feet and turned to Davis as the two dove. "What's going on? What others?"

"Don't worry!" Davis said, already running to the edge to follow. He watched as Kuri and Peko pulled out of their dive and came parallel with the street below before devolving to the much faster Prairiemon. They then accelerated, causing a booming shockwave that displaced several parked cars as their speed approached the sound barrier, and disappeared into the distance. "She'll get there in time."

Davis crouched on the ledge of the roof, ready to depart before noticing that he was still on camera and Mr. Ishida was still standing there in confusion. His eyes darted to the unconscious mutant near them. Davis looked to his partner. "Imperialdramon, take Mr. Ishida and his cameraman back to their TV station and make sure they're safe. Then come to Tai's place."

Imperialdramon nodded and gently scooped the two men into his arms.

"And hurry. We may need you." Davis took off after Kuri while the others went in the opposite direction.

As he set to the air, Davis could make out the silhouette of a large humanoid dinosaur leaping across rooftops in the far distance.

* * *

Red crept to the Kamiya's window very quietly. He peered inside and allowed himself a feral grin. This was a great opportunity awaiting him. A majority of his targets were seated around the television in the apartment's living room, fully involved in whatever was on the screen. Red unsheathed his claws with a low growl, all notions of military tactics forgotten. If he moved quickly enough, one of his death rake attacks could clear out the entire group. He smiled, looking over his lethal talons and remembering a previous life. It had been a while since he'd had the opportunity to eviscerate someone. This could certainly prove enjoyable.

* * *

The television in the apartment continued to cycle through images quickly. There was so much going on in the world, it seemed that the news stations could hardly keep up. Each area of coverage was lucky to receive five seconds of airtime, at the most.

As the images continued to quickly change, the announcer's voice remained constant, in the background. "…And now, ladies and gentlemen, it appears that, in fact, not all hope is lost, and the situation is not as dire as it once seemed. All over the world, champions have shown up to battle these creatures head-on. An elite fighting co-op between digimon and humans, it seems, has taken up the charge against these invaders, and appear to be having much success."

The video on screen changed and a small "Pre-recorded" icon appeared in the corner. "As you can see, even in Japan, these heroes have come to our defense. Two of them have already been identified as Original Digidestineds, Tai Kamiya," The camera showed Tai ripping through the roof of a small shed, and throwing a large, silver vehicle, which caused the screen to flare white as it exploded.

Matt's eyes widened in alarm.

"-And Davis Motomiya." Another shot showed Davis swinging a flying creature into the side of a building.

"The other two, their unidentified female companions, have been equally impressive in fighting this new menace."

Shots were shown of Jun smashing through a stone statue and Kuri ducking an attack in midair just before her assailant was shot through a small structure on the ground.

"-As have been their digimon partners." The announcer continued.

The next shot featured WarGreymon and another creature leaping through a glass window just before an entire section of Matt's mansion suddenly exploded.

Speechless, Matt dropped his face into his hands and TK put a hand on his shoulder. Sora sat next to Matt, but unlike him, she mirrored everyone else in the room, who had looks of amazed bewilderment on their faces.

"I still don't believe what I'm seeing." Izzy said, his voice in complete awe. "How in the world are they doing this?"

Mimi sat in stunned silence, one hand over her mouth while the other gripped tightly onto her boyfriend's arm.

"Wherever they went," Ken said. "They obviously were given a lot of new abilities. They're just as powerful as their digimon."

"But to learn to fight like that in just two weeks?" Cody asked. "And what about Jun and Kuri? They just came out of nowhere. Plus, their digimon seem stronger too."

"It's weird." Yolei said. "I'll give you that. But the only way we're going to get answers is to ask them about it when they come back."

Gatomon sat on the floor, in front of Kari, throughout the news report and ensuing conversation. She understood most of what was going on, but found it all utterly perplexing. Tai and Davis seemed to now be as strong as any mega-level digimon, and acted way more mature than they ever used to. Agumon and Veemon also seemed to have changed a lot as well. Veemon had barely said anything to her, much less fawned over her, as usual. By contrast, he had seemed very businesslike, as did Agumon. Perhaps Ken was right. Maybe they did come back in order to fight those things tonight. And the _way_ they fought- Gatomon had never seen such effective battle tactics in digimon before. After seeing most of them in action on television, she was convinced that any one of them could have easily taken on Myotismon by themselves-

_Click._

Gatomon perked up her ears. Someone was outside. She rose and stealthily padded across the room to Wormmon, the only other digimon there.

"Did you hear that?" She whispered to him.

Wormmon shook his head. "Nothing besides the TV, why?"

Gatomon sniffed the air.

"There's someone outside. He doesn't smell human, but his scent's not quite digimon either. It's a mix."

Wormmon glanced at the TV, then turned back to Gatomon. "Do you think it's one of those things?"

Gatomon nodded. "Maybe."

"We have to tell-"

"No!" Gatomon hissed.

"What? Why?"

"Whatever that thing is out there. It's hunting us. It's stalking."

"How do you know that?"

"I'm a cat, Wormmon. Trust me. Go tell Ken, so he can digivolve you, but nobody else. If any of them go to the door to check it out, whatever is out there is going to attack them. I know it."

Wormmon, who hardly possessed any of the personal fighting instincts or skills that Gatomon had picked up during her years of hardship serving under Myotismon, hurriedly followed her orders and went to his partner.

As he left, Gatomon began to slowly stalk toward the front door. "Okay, whoever's out there." She whispered. "Make your move."

Moments later, there was a loud bang as the door burst from its hinges and several splinters of wood flew across the room. Gatomon barely took time to register the large red creature in the doorway, rearing its arm back to unleash an attack, before she leapt forward.

"Lightning Paw!"

She managed to hit the creature right in the chest, forcing it backwards, away from the door, through a guardrail, and into the street outside. Gatomon followed him and prepared to attack again.

"Lightn-"

The words were cut off as the creature quickly struck forward grabbed her around the neck.

"Digimon." He snarled. "You always have to voice your attacks, don't you?"

Gatomon struggled to free herself from his vice-like grip, but found her efforts useless.

"Spiking Strike!"

Gatomon felt the creature leap aside to avoid Stingmon's attack. He laughed, casually swinging her around in his hand as he turned to see his attacker.

"Another challenger? Then come. Test your luck, fool."

With a mighty swing, the creature threw Gatomon aside. She flew through the air easily, unable to alter her course at such speed. Gatomon turned her head slightly got a brief glimpse of a hysterical Kari, running from the apartment and into the street, just before slamming into a lamp post and seeing no more as her vision went black.

* * *

Kuri and Peko sped as fast as they could through the streets of Odaiba. They had to get back in time. Kuri cursed herself. She had the inkling that perhaps one of them should have stayed behind. In the back of her mind she'd known that if those creatures were attacking Matt's house, Tai's would likely be next in line.

Kuri's self-effacing thoughts came to an abrupt stop when she saw an alarming sight in the distance. Though the figures were small, she could make out Kari kneeling in the middle of the street, bent over a small white shape that could only have been Gatomon. TK was running towards the two. A large red creature, much like the ones they'd fought at Matt's house, was walking towards them, leaving an injured and battered Stingmon in its wake. Kuri put her head down and grimaced. She had to get there…

* * *

Cody looked out upon the chaos in the street and found himself clueless regarding what to do. Stingmon and Gatomon had been beaten fairly handily. Kari had run out to get Gatomon as soon as she'd figured out what was going on. Of course, TK had gone after her. And of course, Matt went after TK. Then, Sora followed Matt. Ken would have also gone to Stingmon's side were it not for Izzy, Mimi, and Yolei holding him back.

The big red thing was now approaching where Kari and TK were. With a growl, he raised his large, taloned hands and smiled as his fingertips began to glow. As he grinned, the city lights reflected off of his hundreds of razor-sharp teeth. Cody could hear the monster speak.

"And now," He growled. "I'll paint the streets with your blood-"

His words were interrupted by a sudden, powerful force, blowing through the area. Cody turned away and shielded his eyes as a loud, echoing roar passed over him, forcing him and everyone else backwards with a strong blast of wind. When the sudden phenomena subsided, Cody looked up to see that the red creature had disappeared from the street. Where he'd once stood now were Kuri, and what he supposed was her digimon, Peko, in a different form than what he'd seen on television. Cody pieced together what had happened when he saw a gaping hole in the wall of the office building across the street.

"Is everyone here okay?" Kuri asked, not taking her eyes away from the wall.

Surprisingly, Cody found himself being the first to answer her. "Yes, for the most part. Stingmon and Gatomon were badly injured."

"You're lucky they were here." Kuri said. "Or else you all would definitely be dead."

Cody was taken aback by the bluntness of her remark. Kuri glanced at the group still standing in the street.

"What are you guys doing, just standing there?" She shouted. "Get back! This thing means business!"

They did as she said without question, quickly picking up Wormmon and Gatomon and vacating the immediate area. Just as they reached the curb, the creature reappeared and laboriously climbed out of the hole he'd been knocked through. He looked even more menacing than before, if that was possible.

"And just who the hell might you be?" He snarled, gracing Kuri with a look of utter contempt.

"None of your business." She replied, taking up a battle stance. "You gonna stand there talking, or are you going to fight?"

The creature roared and struck out, moving faster than any digimon Cody had ever seen. Impressively, Kuri and Peko were even quicker. They dodged their assailant's charge easily, and shot him with several concentrated waves of sound as he passed between them, knocking him off his feet and into the ground, head first, where he slid to a stop and left a substantial sized trench in the concrete in his wake.

"Was that it?" Peko taunted as he slowly got back to his feet. "Come on. Can't you do better than that?"

The creature flinched slightly and smiled. "I won't have to." He said.

Cody looked up and noticed a large shadow forming over Peko and Kuri. In the air, he saw that another large creature, this one orange, had leapt from the roof of the apartment complex and was bearing down on the two, his claws raised and his mouth opened wide.

Suddenly, a beam of intense white light struck the orange creature during his descent, knocking him away from the street and, with a loud crash, through the third story of the very same office building the red one had been slammed into. Davis then flew onto the scene, smoke still rising from his hands after throwing the attack. He glanced around the area, likely scanning for any other threats, before coming to a landing beside Kuri and Peko.

Throughout the incident, Kuri didn't even so much as flinch. She kept her eyes firmly on her opponent. "I hope you weren't counting on him, were you?"

The red creature snarled, exposing his teeth once again, then reared back suddenly, quickly swinging his arm in a large arc and unleashing several strands of red energy from his fingertips.

"Move!" Davis shouted, pushing Kuri in one direction and diving in the other.

The energy bands passed between them and continued down the street, where they sliced through several cars and buildings, causing bright flashes and huge explosions.

Cody took a step back involuntarily and shielded his eyes from the flashes, grimacing as several waves of heat washed over him. He didn't raise his head again until the sensations faded away.

When the spots faded from his vision, Cody saw that Davis, Kuri, and Peko were now pulling no punches. They had begun launching a constant barrage of attacks at the creature, who was barely managing to avoid them with a series of quick, acrobatic, maneuvers.

As he watched the battle, Cody noticed something in his peripheral vision. He turned to see a distressing sight. Rounding a corner down the street was a young boy with a small, colorful, dog. Cody's eyes grew wide in alarm.

"Kado!"

He jumped the apartment rail and ran out into the street.

"Kado, get out of here!"

The kid looked up. There were tears in his eyes and he seemed very frightened. "C-Cody?"

Cody quickly came to a stop upon reaching the boy and grabbed his hand. "Hurry. We have to get out of harm's way."

Cody began to pull Kado away when the wall beside them suddenly exploded and sent both sprawling to the ground. Hundred of bricks and tons of dust were sent flying in all directions as something very large and powerful emerged with an ear-splitting roar. Cody quickly brought himself and Kado to their feet while the giant orange creature stood before them, unaware of their presence. It sniffed the air with interest, then suddenly turned to face the two boys.

Cody stepped in front of Kado and held the boy behind him, causing the creature to flinch backwards.

"You…"

"Wha-?" Cody couldn't help but to show his surprise as the creature talked to him.

"Hida…"

"What?" Cody trembled as he replied. "H-how do you kn-know my name?"

The creature brought its massive head down to Cody's level, forcing him to step back while still shielding Kado.

"Your father. Your father's killer…"

Cody suddenly found his fear draining away. "My father? What about my father?"

"Seek out your father's killer."

Cody ignored the creature's hot breath washing over his face and body.

"What do you mean?"

"You must-"

"Get away from him!"

A powerful blast of light slammed into the creature's side, sending him careening through the air and crashing into the side of a nearby, parked metro bus. He groaned, then slumped to the ground, unconscious.

Davis ran up to Cody and Kado.

"You guys okay?"

Cody nodded and Kado peeked from behind him, his eyes wide with awe.

"Hey," Davis smiled gently. "The dog kid, right?"

Kado nodded almost imperceptibly. Davis reached over and ruffled his hair while speaking quietly to Cody.

"Hurry and get somewhere safe." He whispered. "These things won't hesitate to kill anyone, even kids."

"Davis!" Kuri hollered. "A little help here?"

They turned to see that Kuri and Peko were having a rather hard time containing their adversary. He was moving far too quickly to be successfully attacked and was now even throwing strikes of his own.

"Hurry!" Davis said to Cody as he turned to go aid her.

Cody nodded and quickly guided Kado away from the street, wondering the entire while about the words that that monster had spoken to him. His father's killer? Why would he say something like that? Was it some sort of a trap? And how did that thing know so much about his past anyway? Perhaps Grandpa would have some answers-

"Look, they're gonna get him now!"

Alerted by Kado's words, Cody quickly broke from his reverie and turned his attention back to the fight at hand. Indeed, it appeared the red creature was finally going to be subdued. He was surrounded, and being forced backward towards a wall, when he suddenly made one last attempt to complete his objective. He somersaulted backward, kicked off of the wall behind him, and with lightning quick speed launched himself between the three and toward the grouping of Matt, Sora, Kari, and TK. He unleashed his claws as he sailed through the air and their tips began to glow a brilliant red.

Just before he could strike out with another deadly attack, a large blast struck the ground between the creature and his targets, causing him to veer off course, and into the side of a car with a loud crash.

Imperialdramon descended down from the rooftops he'd shot from, the arm housing his positron laser cannon still outstretched and several wisps of smoke still trailing from its end.

The creature suddenly didn't seem to possess the same thirst for battle that he'd had earlier. He looked around, taking inventory of his situation, and seemed to come to a decision. With a flurry of wind, he got up and ran to where his larger partner lay, sprawled in the street, and hefted him up to his shoulders.

Then, he turned back toward everyone and began to speak. "Don't think this is over digidestined. I-"

His speech was cut short by Davis, Kuri, Peko, and Imperialdramon simultaneously launching their most powerful attacks at once. He quickly took off, missing complete obliteration by mere milliseconds, as, in a powerful flash-explosion, the partially crushed bus behind him was completely destroyed.

"Well, so much for that guy." Imperialdramon said as the explosion dissipated and he came to a full landing beside the others. "Everybody's okay?"

Everyone began to converge near the giant digimon and his partners.

"Yes, for the most part." Answered Izzy as he walked over. "Gatomon's been in better shape though, I'm sure."

Kari walked over with the digimon in question in her arms. "She's better now. She woke up at least."

Gatomon moaned in confirmation and looked up at Imperialdramon with a grimace and one eye open.

"Thanks, Veemon." She said hoarsely.

He waved her off. "You'd do the same for me. Are you going to be okay?"

"I-ouch- I think so."

"Good." Imperialdramon looked down at his partner. "Davis, what do we do, now?"

"We can't stay here." Matt said. "I think we have to-"

"He asked Davis," Kuri interrupted with a scowl. "Unless you want do to things your way and not have us around to cover you next time."

Matt looked a bit taken aback, but was silent nonetheless.

"We have to find our contacts." Davis said. "The agents Gennai said would meet us when we got back-"

"Gennai?" Izzy asked, his curiosity once again piqued.

"Yes." Kuri said in an irritated, 'that's-not important-right-now' voice. "But we have to find a safe place for everyone until we meet them."

"There's nowhere that's safe from those things, is there?" Ken asked.

Davis shook his head. "As far as I can tell, no. Which is why we'll have to make our own safe place. We need to find Tai and Jun, so that the eight of us can protect you guys, for the time being."

"Where are they?' Sora asked, looking around.

"The last I knew," Kuri said, "they were looking for any more of those things in the area around Matt's place."

"But, that was a while ago." Davis pulled out his digivice and checked the time. "We need to find out where they are now."

Abruptly, his digivice beeped. "Incoming communication." Said its computerized voice.

Surprised by the timing, Davis pressed the screen and placed the device to his ear, while Izzy looked on, entranced by the new technology.

"Tai, we were just…what?" Davis began, before listening raptly for a few seconds. "No…we'll be right there."

Davis placed his digivice back onto his belt quickly. "Imperialdramon, mode change to Palidin so we can take everyone away from here."

The giant mega obeyed quickly, changing from his standing, warrior form, to a four legged, dragon-like state.

"What happened?" Kuri asked, as if she could sense something had really changed in Davis' mood.

"We have to go downtown." He said, beginning to usher everyone aboard Imperialdramon., then adding gravely, "They found Joe."

* * *

**Northern Mexico**

Somewhere over the desert sands of Northern Mexico, a charter jet was in serious trouble.

Terence was rocked out of his seat as one of the blue things outside the plane attacked the fuselage yet again, causing them to drop even further in altitude.

"I can't hold her like this!" The pilot screamed back from the cockpit. "We're going to have to land somewhere!"

"Are you sure?" Curtis asked, steadying himself as he stared out of his window at the uneven ground below.

"It's our only chance! Couple more hits like that and this bird's going down like a rock!" He grunted as another blast hit the plane. "I told you we should have heeded that FAA air traffic grounding order!"

"Yeah, yeah," Terrence dismissed him. "You'll still get your money for ignoring it. Just get this plane landed."

"I'll try, but I don't know if we can get down in time!"

Terrence turned to his brother. "We could help if we could digivolve, but this plane's just too small-"

"Maybe for you," Curtis cut in. "But I think Meramon could manage to fit."

Terence tuned to look out of his window in consternation. The blue things were coming around for another pass. "Okay," he conceded, "hurry!"

With a flash, Curtis and Taps digivolved to their Meramon forms. It was a tight fit for Taps, and he had to kneel a bit.

"Hang on!" Curtis warned everyone, stretching a hand forth towards the plane's main door.

They all heeded his warning, clutching onto anything sturdy in the plane as he blasted the door away with a powerful flame attack. Wind began to sweep violently around the plane interior, drawing anything that wasn't tied down out of the door.

Curtis held on to the doorframe tightly. "Come on Taps! Let's take 'em out."

Carefully, Taps crept over and took up position on the other side of the door. Together they began launching attacks at the creatures outside. As they did, Terence pulled his digivice from his pocket and began to enter a sequence of commands. Once he'd finished he knew he could only hope that there were other knights within range of the distress signal.

* * *

Rosa and Clara streaked out over the clear desert sky, squinting as arid winds buffeted their faces and altered their flight path. Marta and Rosemon flew below them, a bit more steady.

Clara was staring at her digivice intently, a look of concern on her face despite the elements.

"Clara, are you sure about this?" Rosa asked. "I mean, we just left that battle in Monterrey-"

"We beat all of the tough ones, and the others were retreating. I'm sure the military and police could handle the rest."

"Maybe, but how do you know that-?"

"Rosa, you heard that police report as clear as I did." Clara said irately. "There's a plane being attacked somewhere out here by those creatures."

"And what makes you think it's Terence and Curtis?"

"Terence is the only guy I know dumb enough to stay in the air when all other planes have been ordered down. He won't stop at anything to get to me. And I'm pretty sure Curtis wouldn't either when it comes to you."

Rosa looked skeptical. "And so you're sure this is them?"

"Well, I wasn't at first, but I just got a signal on my digivice."

Rosa gasped in surprise. "What, from who?"

"It's faint cause we're too far away, but I bet it's them."

Rosa pulled out her own digivice and frowned. "I'm not getting any signal."

"Then that makes me even more sure."

"Why?"

"Because that means I must have a really strong connection to whoever sent it."

* * *

"What do you mean, 'there're no parachutes?" Terence asked the pilot in disbelief, his head peering into the cockpit.

"Exactly what I said. There are no chutes. I wasn't expecting to go skydiving."

Terence grunted in frustration and turned back toward the rear of the plane. Curtis and Taps were still diligently firing attacks at their assailants, but weren't having much success at actually hitting any of them. The plane rocked again with the force of yet another blow, knocking Terence completely off of his feet.

"Sorry!" Curtis shouted.

"No problem." Terence grumbled, clutching onto a seat to help himself up. "How high are we now?"

"We're much lower to the ground than a few minutes ago," Curtis noted, "but it's still going to be a few more before we can come in for a landing."

"Damn. Well, just do the best you can for now."

Curtis nodded and set back to his duties. "We'll try."

A few seconds of terse silence passed before Curtis suddenly shouted in glee. "I got one! I got one!"

Terence smiled a little. "Great, kid. Don't get cocky."

Curtis gave him an annoyed sideways glance.

"Um, I think you just made them really mad." Taps said, looking out of the door with an alarmed expression.

The ominous tone of his voice prompted Terence to move to the door as well. He saw that outside, all of the creatures attacking the plane, about ten in total, had converged to form a tight group and were now all diving down upon them at once.

Terence forcefully pulled Curtis away from the door. "It's no use! Pilot, evasive maneuvers!"

"This isn't Star Trek kid!" The pilot shouted back. "This thing has two 'evasive maneuvers,' left and right!"

"Well, pick one and go with it!"

The craft began to bank to the left, away from where all the creatures had gathered. For a long moment, there was only the sound of the wind whistling around the plane. Terence held on to his brother tightly, holding his head down so he couldn't see the attacks as they came.

The blue things outside screamed, then Terence's vision suddenly went white, as all of their attacks came together to form one large, white, sphere of energy.

"Incoming!" The pilot shouted, his voice shaking with fear.

Terence shut his eyes tightly, every ounce of him cursing himself for the stubbornness that had gotten them all into this situation.

He never heard the ensuing explosion. He felt it.

Terence felt his body being rocketed violently back as the attack hit the aircraft full force. He felt numerous objects slamming against him, felt the plane ripping apart. Then, he felt nothing; nothing but wind blowing against him.

Terence opened his eyes to find himself in the midst of a freefall. As he took a look around, he saw what was left of the plane to his left, falling with a plume of smoke trailing from its wingless, partial fuselage.

Terence began to frantically look elsewhere. Shortly, he saw the forms of Pings, Curtis, and Taps falling some distance below him. A sense of relief washed over him, which he realized was quite irrational, since none of them could save themselves by evolving to flight-capable forms.

To add insult to injury, the flying creatures were now regrouping to attack again. Terence knew that once they did, it could be the easiest target practice in history.

Perhaps it would be better that way, a merciful quick death, rather than being allowed the torture of falling all the way to the ground well below. Terence shook his head while tears due to the extreme wind clouded his vision. Could it really end like this? Weren't he and Curtis a part of the "chosen eight" who were supposed to save the world? How could this have happened to them? This couldn't happen. They had to find a way. His brother had to live. Terence had to see Clara again.

Suddenly, Terence felt a strong lurch in his chest.

_Clara._

A massive arch of flame washed over the area, hitting and scattering the group of pursuing blue creatures in all directions. Terence immediately recognized the formation of the fiery attack. He turned his head eagerly to see the most welcome sight he'd ever laid eyes upon. Rosa, Clara, Marta, and Rosemon were flying onto the scene, throwing attacks forward with fury. Rosa dove once she saw Curtis, the digimon went for Pings and Taps, and Clara went for Terence.

As Clara's hand wrapped around his and Terence's fall came so a sudden halt, he looked up at her with a huge grin.

"I knew you would come."

She looked down at him with only loving worry in her eyes. "Are you alright?"

"I am now." He said, still smiling.

"Terence, this isn't funny. You should have landed as soon as they ordered all the planes down."

"I-" Terence stopped short as he thought of something. "The plane! The pilot's still on there!"

"Gotcha." Clara cupped her free hand to her mouth. "Marta! Get the plane! The pilot's in there!"

The gigantic Phoenixmon nodded and dove toward the falling, smoking mass of machinery with Taps holding on to her back tightly.

After watching her partner for a moment, Clara looked upwards and frowned. "Looks like they're getting back together. We need to get you guys on the ground."

"I'm all for that." Terence said dryly as they began to descend.

A few seconds later, they landed on the desert sands next to an embracing Curtis and Rosa. Clara and Terence emulated them, adding a quick, fervent, kiss for good measure before turning their attention back to their enemies, who were now turning and heading toward them at a high rate of speed.

Rosemon landed between the two couples and released Pings, and shortly after Marta landed as well with the harried and smoke covered pilot and Taps.

"Are you okay, sir?" Rosa asked the pilot, who'd slumped to his knees and begun kissing the ground.

"I guess that's a yes." Curtis said.

"He's fine." Terence said. "We've got more important things to worry about right now."

He pointed upwards, towards the approaching throng of angered mutants.

"Right," Curtis agreed. He pulled out his digivice and evolved Taps to BlueMeramon.

Terence followed his lead, evolving Pings to Frigimon for the advantage of that form's projectile attacks.

"Alright, let's do it."

With a powerful swoosh of air, Clara, Rosa, and their partners took to the air, while Terence, Curtis, and theirs began to launch attacks from the ground.

The battle lasted only a few minutes, as Clara and Marta sent large, sweeping, Solar Flare attacks across the sky, disorienting the creatures, so the others could pick them off one by one. Soon, they'd all fallen from the sky to the ground with sickening thumps, unconscious.

The four regrouped once finished and surveyed the aftermath of the short skirmish.

"Didn't put up much of a challenge, did they?" Terence noted, seeming almost disappointed by the fact.

"Sure didn't." Curtis said, sounding a bit more relieved. He walked over to one of the creatures that was lying nearby and bent down to have a closer look at it. "They don't seem to be human."

"Well, duh, genius." Terence said. "I could've told you that. Hell, Ray Charles could've told you that."

Curtis ignored him. "But they're not digimon either. They look like some kind of mix."

"More hybrids?" Clara asked. "Like Ineg's?"

"Not quite." Curtis said. "Those things were mixtures of various digimon. This seems to be some kind of human-digimon bonding, like genetic mutation."

"So they're mutants?" Rosa said.

Curtis nodded. "That's how I'd describe them."

A persistent thumping noise began to permeate the thin, desert air. Everyone began to look around as the noise became louder.

"What is that?" Rosa asked.

Soon a couple of dark shapes became visible over a low mountain in the distance.

"Helicopters." Curtis said. "I guess it's a rescue party."

Terence frowned and looked to the blackened spot where most of his plane's wreckage had hit the ground. "They're just a little late." He deadpanned.

The quartet devolved their digimon and waited as the aircrafts gradually came in for a landing near them. As soon as they touched down, several men, dressed entirely in black, leapt down from the helicopters and ran over.

"You all are unhurt?" Asked the lead man; a stocky, military sort with graying hair and mirrored sunglasses.

"Yeah, for the most part." Terence responded, coughing a bit due to the dust being swept around by the helicopters' blades. "Who are you?"

"James Flask," The man said, extending a hand, "military liaison to the North American Digital Alliance Operation."

Terence seized his had firmly. "I'm-"

"Terence Dumars, Curtis Dumars, Clara Sanchez, and Rosa Ruiz, correct?"

"Um, yeah." Terence said, obviously a little confused.

"We tracked down your plane. Not a smart idea to stay in the air like you did. We've been fighting those things all the way down from Ft. Hood."

Terence groaned and rolled his eyes. "I know, I know. I was just trying to get to the girl I love, so sue me."

Clara smiled a little at that as she asked, "How do you know us?"

"It's my job to know you ma'am, as is transporting you all to Japan."

"What?" Rosa asked. "Are you serious?"

The man nodded. "Yes, my mission objectives are to transport you there, where they tell me you should be able to rendezvous with the rest of your team."

"Good." Clara said, nodding. "Let's get going then."

"Wait.' Terence said, raising a hand. "I was already working on transport to Japan-"

"Ah, you mean that benefit concert we just got wind of? Don't worry about it. We've worked out proper clearances for it in order to provide your presence in Japan with some plausibility."

Terence seemed a little conflicted.

"Our way will be much faster Mr. Dumars. We have a jet waiting for you back near the border. Fueled and ready to go."

Terence thought about it for a moment, looked at Curtis, Rosa, and Clara, then sighed. "Okay, take us there. Our friends are waiting."

Flask nodded with a smile and began to help the four on board.

* * *

**Odaiba Regional Hospital**

"Tai!" Davis waved to the leader as he stood near the entrance to Odaiba Regional's extremely busy emergency waiting room.

Tai saw him, with Kuri, and all of the other original digidestined as well, and walked over immediately. "So you guys got here finally."

"We got held up because one of those creatures was sent to your place to attack the others." Kuri said.

Tai gave her a look of alarm.

"Don't worry, we stopped him. What happened here?"

"It was Joe." Jun said as she walked over to the group from the front counter, where she'd been filling out some papers. "We found him at the implosion site, under a lot of debris, unconscious." Various gasps filled the room. "Something attacked him earlier today. We just found out that a police van was blown up and several officers were seriously injured, as well."

"Who attacked them?" Davis asked.

"That's just the thing," Tai said quietly, moving forward so only the Knights and their digimon could overhear him. "The police surveillance tapes showed a man dressed in black robes, who somehow possessed the ability to fire powerful attacks from his hands."

"Ineg." Sparks said from the ground. "Well that's just great."

"So he's already showed, huh?" Davis said.

Tai frowned. "Seems like."

"Um…Tai?" Kari had cautiously walked over and gently touched her brother's arm. "How is Joe?"

Tai looked down toward her gravely, then faced the others. "He's pretty banged up. He's out right now and its pretty touch and go as to when he'll wake up. Doc says that other than that a concussion, he only has some broken ribs. Nothing life-threatening."

"Who did it?" Matt asked quietly.

"Um, we're not sure right now-"

"Bull. I saw the way you guys were talking over there. You know something about this that you aren't telling us."

"Matt, please." Tai said with a sigh, the weariness of his past day's events finally beginning to show. "This isn't the time."

Matt scowled, but relented as Sora put a hand on his shoulder. "Fine, we'll talk later."

Just then, an older, worried looking, couple came through the hospital doors with several kids trailing behind them.

"Kado!" Yolei called out. "Your parents are here."

The young boy, who'd stayed very near Cody for most of the time since the battle earlier, grinned heartily and let out a yelp of joy as he ran over to the couple, his dog trotting faithfully behind. They scooped him into their arms with relieved smiles and tears of joy.

After a few moments, Kado's mother looked up from the joyous reunion, over to where the four Knights stood. "Thank you so much." She said. "We saw what you did on the news. You all are angels."

Davis smiled at her. "No problem ma'am. We're just doing our jobs. It's what we were trained to do."

"Well, job or not, you all are true blessings. The whole city appreciates what you've done for us tonight."

For the first time, Tai noticed the hundreds of eyes staring at him intently in the emergency room. He smiled, a bit embarrassed by all the attention. "Just hurry and get home safe ma'am. That's thanks enough for us."

The woman nodded and grabbed her husband and son's hands. "Oh, he's right. We need to get to the safety of our home quickly before those things come back."

"Thanks again!" Kado father yelled over his shoulder as he was practically dragged out of the doors.

The kids that had come in behind Kado's parents remained, however. They were all staring at Kuri with various looks of awe. She noticed them and beamed brightly. "Hey guys."

"Kuri!" As one, they all rushed over to her. Kentaro, who reached her first, picked her up and gave her a spine-crushing hug.

"Hey!' Davis said with a reproachful glare. "Watch it!"

Kentaro put the slightly flustered girl down gently at his command, with a look of slight confusion. "I was just saying hello. We haven't seen her in forever." He held out a hand to greet Davis, as well.

Davis took it and shook with a grin. "Yeah, well, she's my girlfriend now you know, so um, try to be a little less friendly with those bear-hugs, okay?"

"Girlfriend?" Noriko asked, her eyes wide.

Kuri smiled and nodded.

"Ahem."

The group turned the see Jun looking at them impatiently with her hands on her hips. "I know you guys missed Kuri and Davis and all, but Tai and I were gone as well, you know."

"We missed you guys too of course-" Kin paused and looked at the way Jun was standing with Tai and crossed his arms. "You two are dating too, aren't you?"

Tai chucked. "Can't get anything past you."

Jiro, who had just been beaming throughout the meeting thus far finally spoke up. "I can't believe this! First you all go off somewhere, get amazing superpowers, cool uniforms, new digivices-" He paused to adjust his glasses. "But you're going out with each other now? This is absolutely unbelievable!"

"It sure is." Ken said, stepping forward from the rest of the mostly confused digidestined, along with Yolei and Cody. "But what are you all doing here? I thought I told you to go straight to your homes."

"Yeah, you did." Kin said. "But Kado's parents called all of us, looking for him, and we were all out helping them search when Yolei called and said he'd be at the hospital."

Noriko nodded. "Yeah, Ken. You can't blame us for that."

Ken frowned. "I guess so, but-"

"Ken, come on." Jiro said. "Monsters were attacking the city. Normal rules don't apply when stuff like that happens."

Ken gave in with a smirk. "Yeah, you're right."

"And anyway," Yolei said, "the real question that needs to be answered here isn't about where you guys are right now, but rather," She turned to Tai, Jun, Kuri and, Davis, "where these guys have been the last two weeks."

"Yeah, I've been waiting for an answer to that one all night." Izzy said, crossing his arms and tapping his foot impatiently.

"Me too." Said TK.

"Me three," added Mimi, with a look of impatience that matched her boyfriend's.

"Okay, okay," Davis said, raising his hands in defeat. "If you all really want to know so bad-"

"Hold off on that."

Davis looked up to see a man clad completely in black suddenly standing beside him. Two other, similarly dressed men, flanked him.

"Who the hell are you?" Kuri asked, hand already on her digivice.

"We're your contacts." The first man said. He held out a hand to Tai. "Name's Hatori Kageru, of Japanese Digital Intelligence."

Tai took the man's hand warily. "We've been waiting for you."

"Yes, well, we didn't know Gennai would accelerate the time of your return." He looked at a few of the TVs scattered around the waiting room, all showing replays of the night's news. "Seems as if his timing was impeccable, however."

"Seems like." Davis said, looking at the two men at Hatori's sides.

"Oh, forgive my manners," Hatori said, noticing his look. "These are my top assistants, Scott Barke and-"

"Scott Barke!" Davis, Tai, Jun, and Kuri all exclaimed at once.

"You mean he's J. C. Barke's son?" Jun asked.

"The traitor?" Kuri added.

The tall, dark haired, man in question stepped forward. "Look, this isn't the time or place to talk about this." He glanced around the room. "You all have too many admirers."

Tai frowned. "Then where would you have us go?" He said in a much quieter voice. "There's nowhere safe out there."

Hatori smiled slightly. "Now, you don't believe that we weren't ready to accommodate you all with a secret, hi tech facility to work with, do you? What kind of government intelligence agency would we be?" He gestured to the extended group. "Come on, all of you, and hurry. Several vans are waiting outside for your transport. We've already stationed several agents near your friend's room. He should be okay."

"Um, just where is this secret facility?" Kuri asked, as the large group of seventeen digidestineds and ten digimon began to leave.

Now Scott was the one who was smiling. "We can't say in public, but I think you'll find its location to be quite ingenious."

As the group began to file quickly out of the hospital's exit, Tai subtly turned to Jun. "What do you sense about these guys? Can we trust them?"

Jun nodded almost immediately with a small smile. "I think we've finally found some of the other good guys. Now, we have an army, too."

"And so the war really begins." Kuri said with a sigh, prompting Davis to wrap an arm around her waist. She leaned onto his shoulder and looked at the multitude of friends walking alongside them. Though all of them seemed pretty bewildered by all that was happening, none of them appeared to be thinking of leaving. Even Matt, though he looked angry and probably just wanted to know what he hell was going on, had chosen to remain at their side. Kuri smiled a bit when she caught Kari glancing back at she and Davis in confusion several times, as Sora gave similar looks to Tai and Jun. Later on, the four of them really would have a lot of explaining to do.

_To be continued…_

* * *

Woohoo! Finally! There ya go Guys. Look out for the next chapter, to be posted sometime over the next month (Yeah, I know it's a long time but, sigh…school…).

Up Next, **The Return Part II: Reunions**: Terence, Curtis, Rosa, and Clara reach Japan and work begins in earnest to try to bring down the three headed monster of Hitachi, Ineg, and The Assassin. This one's a less action oriented and more character driven chapter (hey, there's a lot of personal issues to be resolved here) that's not to be missed.

Also, I wrote a lot, so I'd really, really LOVE some reviews for this chap. Thanks guys!


	17. The Return Pt 2: Reunions

Sigh…after so long, it's finally here. Since the posting of the last chapter my laptop crashed _twice_ (Dell Latitudes suck!), my mother suffered a massive stroke (doing better now), and, of course, there was the ever-present schoolwork. Anyway, thanks for sticking through it, guys. Here's your reward. :-)

* * *

**The Return Pt II: Reunions**

Hatori looked around the room at the large assortment of digidestineds surrounding him. Behind them was the convoy of sleek black SUVs that had brought them here, neatly lined up single file with their drivers still diligently standing beside them. He hoped that they had reached their destination in a clandestine enough manner.

"Well, here we are. We like to call this place the Chamber."

They were all gathered in what seemed to be a massive facility. Four metallic walls, at least twenty feet high, surrounded them on all sides. There were large crates and steel drums everywhere, interspersed here and there with small, futuristic-looking forklifts and other such equipment.

"Well, that certainly took long enough." Kuri muttered with her arms crossed skeptically. "You know, seeing how this is nothing but a big-ass loading dock, and all."

Hatori chuckled a bit. "This is only a small part of this facility. Building something this large requires a lot of tools and material. This area is simply where we handle all the shipments regarding this."

Tai stepped forward, away from most of the group, and took an appraising look around. "There're no windows in here, but extra vents in the ceilings. We're still underground, aren't we?"

Hatori nodded. "Very observant. We've been told to expect no less of you academy trained digidestineds."

"We descended into that tunnel quite a while before arriving." Davis recalled, more to himself than anyone else. "We must have gone at least a couple of miles underground before we got here."

"This is an extensive facility." Scott Barke said from his position beside Hatori. "The largest in our network, in fact."

As far as arrangements go, we have enough rooms here for the eight Knights and the rest of the original twelve digidestineds-"

"Wait," Tai interrupted. "_The_ eight? You talked to Gennai about the prophecy?"

Scott looked confused. "Um, I don't know about any prophecies. I just know that your specific team was slated to be comprised of eight members. Four from America."

"America?" Mimi asked. "Who?"

"Our friends." Davis told her with a slight smile. "Let's just say, we work best together."

"Why do you have rooms for the rest of us?" Matt asked. "We're not staying here."

"You are a target." Hatori answered. "If you don't remain in this protected facility, you'll most certainly be killed."

"So we should stay down here, like prisoners?" Matt crossed his arms. "I think I'll take my chances topside."

"Of course, we can't control you. The decision to stay or return home is ultimately up to you. Though, no offense, in your case there really isn't much of a home to go back to."

Matt scowled and stepped toward Hatori. "Well there would be, if they hadn't trashed it!" He pointed to the four Knights.

"We saved your ass, moron!" Kuri shouted. "How about you show some gratitude?"

"For what, destroying the place where I live!"

Sparks laughed. "That gaudy temple to yourself? You might as well had been living in a friggin' mirror. We probably did you a favor!"

Matt took a threatening step toward the elecmon. "Hey, watch your mouth!"

At that, Jun stepped between the two and her hands began cackling with electricity. "Alright! That's enough!" She looked to Matt. "If you're going to leave, then get going. The longer you stay here unwillingly, the more you'll just piss everyone off."

Matt glanced toward Sora, then backed down. He obviously wasn't going to leave if he didn't think she would go with him.

"Look," Tai said, walking up beside Jun, "I'm not sure what your problem really is right now, Matt, but you need to grow up. If this is still about me and Sora, then take it from me, there's _nothing_ there-"

"Contrary to what you'd like to believe, this has nothing to do with you."

"Please," Jun scoffed. "It has everything to do with them. You know, if the fact that Sora still cares for Tai bothers you so much, maybe you two shouldn't be getting married."

For a few seconds, the room fell completely silent, a testament to Jun's ability to delve right into the heart of a matter. Matt seemed stunned as he backed down, his mouth agape. Sora stared directly at Tai the entire time, until her eyes welled up with tears and she ran across the room and through a door marked 'women.' After a moment, and an angry glare in Jun and Tai's direction, Matt went after her.

An awkward moment passed before Jiro finally spoke up to break the silence. "Well I guess I'll be taking their room."

Hatori shook his head. "You all aren't staying here."

"Aww," Noriko pouted. "Why not?"

"Because our intel indicates that you aren't immediate targets." Scott said. "Also, you live in this area. Thus, our protective perimeter can easily expanded to include all of your homes and you can visit, provided you follow proper security procedures."

"We live near here?" Kin looked around the structure. "Just where exactly is this place?"

"Most of this facility resides under the old Odaiba Works factory."

Jiro's eyes widened. "The Green Room? We're under the Green Room? Cool!"

Scott nodded. "Yes. We've been building this place for quite a while right under your noses. As of now, we're finally completing the last stages of construction."

"Wow," Noriko said, looking around the large facility with a new appreciation. "I would never have guessed that something like this was going on under our Green Room. I know it's way underground, but you'd think we would've heard something."

Hatori smiled slightly. "Honestly, your suspicions should have been raised by the fact that the abandoned factory existed in the first place. Such valuable real estate just sitting there, going unused? That didn't strike you as odd?"

"I guess maybe." Davis said, scratching his chin. "But it's been over a year. It's kinda hard for me to remember these things."

"Um Davis," Yolei cut in. "What are you talking about? You've only been gone for two weeks."

Just then, a blustery eyed Sora exited the restroom with Matt trailing helplessly behind her. Neither really rejoined the group, preferring to remain at the fringes for the time being.

Tai nervously rubbed his neck and cleared his throat. "Um, about that…you know, whole 'where have we been' thing. I guess it's time we told you the truth."

"About time," Izzy said with an exasperated sigh. "I've been waiting forever for this."

Tai continued. "You see, we haven't exactly been gone for only two weeks."

"What? But you left on-" Kin began, before being anxiously shushed by Noriko.

"We've actually been in another dimension for about a year."

"A year!" Their surprise was loud and unanimous. Even Matt and Sora uttered the exclamation of disbelief.

"But how?" Mimi asked.

"Well, it all began when Gennai contacted me a year-er, two weeks ago…"

* * *

Later that Night

Tai awoke with a start. He sat up in bed suddenly and took a quick inventory of his surroundings. With a sigh, he realized that he was safely in his new quarters and rubbed a hand over his face in relief. Now he remembered. They'd come here last night. He'd given the others a brief account of their time at the academy, strategically skipping over details such as the prophecy and the Assassin and Ineg's existence. Then they had taken a tour of the facility. Some time during the tour he and the other Knights began to suffer bouts of lightheadedness and fatigue, likely due to all the battling they'd been doing for quite a while without any food, water, or rest, and retired to their quarters.

Tai sat up stretched, popping several sore joints as he did so. Hopefully he'd been able to catch up on some much needed sleep. He looked at a clock on the stand next to his bed and cursed. 6:00 am. Thanks to the Academy and Enn's morning calisthenics, he'd probably be waking up this early for the rest of his life.

The sound of light breathing brought Tai's attention down to the girl lying in bed beside him. For a moment he simply smiled and indulged himself in watching Jun sleeping. She seemed so peaceful and beautiful there… This was the first time they'd slept together -in a sense- since their first night at the academy. Tai leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her temple. Jun mumbled something in her sleep in response, getting a smile from him as she shivered from the abrupt loss of his warmth and pulled the sheets tighter around herself.

Quietly, Tai rose from the bed, tested his footing momentarily, and went for the door upon finding his equilibrium returned. He peered out into the dark hallway beyond and saw that the doors to the other rooms were all closed. There was one lone light, however, coming through a partially opened door at the end of the hall. Tai approached it, vaguely recalling from the haze of the previous night that the particular room it came from was the facility's designated kitchen and dining room. When he got there, he unexpectedly found his sister seated at the table within, alone.

"Hey squirt. Shouldn't you be sleeping?" Tai asked as he entered and seated himself across from her. "You're never up this early."

Kari shrugged, glancing at him briefly before looking away and sulking silently. Tai patiently waited.

"So, a whole year, huh?" She finally said, stirring a cup of hot coffee on the table before her and morosely watching as the white streaks of her creamer swirled down into the beverage's murky depths.

"Yeah." Tai answered quietly. He looked around the small dining room they were in. It was somewhat dark, clean, and clinical, much like the rest of this facility. "Look, I wanted to tell you-"

"But you didn't." Kari looked up towards her brother, her eyes conveying her hurt, "Why?"

Tai sighed. "I- don't know. I guess I was kind of immature about the whole thing, to tell you the truth. It just seemed like no one really cared about me when I left-"

"I cared Tai!"

"Yeah, well, I couldn't tell,"

Kari hung her head shamefully.

Tai continued. "And maybe that was my problem. All I knew was, the one person I truly knew really cared for me was going, and that was kind of all that mattered."

"Jun, right?" Kari said. She pushed her hot chocolate aside, giving up any thought of drinking it. "I don't understand that."

Tai cocked his head slightly. "Hmm?"

"It's just, even with a whole year together, you guys are so close, I mean, closer even that Matt and Sora. It was obvious from the way you acted with each other during last night's tour. And Kuri and Davis seem the same way. I don't understand how that's possible."

Tai shrugged. "It was one hell of a year."

"I'm starting to see that." Kari allowed a slight scowl to cross her face.

"Kari, come on. Don't be angry. I thought girls liked the idea of true love and all that mushy stuff." Tai reached over and gave her a playful tap on the forehead.

It only seemed to further irritate Kari. "Generally, we do, I guess. And maybe that's the problem. With you guys, it's like I missed it all."

"Kari-"

"You're my brother, Tai! I should have been there for you-_with_ you- when all this happened. I always wanted you to find someone Tai. I even really wanted Sora to change her mind about Matt, until I saw it was a lost cause. Then you suddenly leave and come back practically married. It's surreal."

"Jun and I have known each other for years, Kari. We'd have been together a long time ago if we weren't both so scared of being hurt again. You can't tell me you never noticed that."

Kari looked pensive for a moment. "Well, maybe only once or twice myself. I remember Kuri talking about it a few times." She shook her head slowly. "I guess she hung out with you guys more than I ever did."

Tai nodded. "See? It's not so sudden or surprising then."

"Well, maybe not. But how do you explain Kuri and Davis? Last I knew, they had barely talked to each other. Now those two are so close. I mean, when they were fighting those monsters earlier, it was like they could read each other's minds."

"They can."

Kari looked at him in surprise.

"Yeah, that connection they have that I told you all about last night; Let's just say it's really, really, strong." Tai smiled slightly.

Kari stared down into her drink. "Wow," She muttered after a moment. "I guess they both really found what they were looking for then, huh? To think, I actually used feel sorry for them-" She paused and shook her head before looking up to her brother sincerely. "Do you think Davis will ever forgive me, Tai?"

Tai noticed that Kari's eyes were actually tearing up a bit. He reached over and put a hand on top of hers.

"He already has."

"Then why won't he look at me? Why is he ignoring me? I mean, we hardly talked at all last night."

"Sis, he hardly talked to anyone. And neither have I, when you think about it. Almost as soon as we got here, we had to fight those mutants, then we were brought here and went through the orientation, and after that we were weakened. We just haven't had time for conversation yet."

Kari sighed. "I guess. It's just…you guys are so different now… you seem so much better off. And it all happened without me getting to share or see any of it…"

"I know. It seems to you like the only way we could all get our lives together was by leaving you."

Kari was startled by the blunt statement. The brother she remembered was never so perceptive. Tai reached over and put his other hand on top of hers before she could reply.

"But that's completely irrational, sis. What really happened was that, without all the outside disturbances, we were able to find ourselves."

Kari seemed hardly satiated by her brother's words and continued to frown. "And I suppose that was with the help of your new friends? The other four…Knights you referred to?"

Tai nodded with a grin. "You bet."

"It seems like you really like them, by the way you were talking earlier."

"Yeah. Honestly Kari, even though we've only known each other for a year, it feels like so much longer. They're the best friends I've ever had."

Kari sighed. "I suppose you should think that."

"I don't mean any offense to the rest of the guys or anything. They always were decent friends and pretty much there for me when push came to shove, but these guys-" Tai paused to think of how he'd describe them. "We're all just a better fit, if that makes any sense to you."

Kari nodded. "Yeah, I understand. It's like you're friends by choice, instead of circumstance."

Tai shrugged. "Maybe so. You'll just have to see when you meet them-"

At that exact moment, a loud, piercing alarm began to ring out and small red lights along the ceiling started to pulsate.

Tai immediately leapt to his feet and dashed into the hall, just in time to see Davis, Kuri, and Jun doing the same. The others, not conditioned to react as they were, gradually began to file out of their rooms moments later.

"What's going on?" Jun asked. "Some kind of intruder alert?"

"Not sure." Tai answered.

"Well," Kuri said blearily, "at least it isn't a flare, for once."

"We should get to the command center and find out." Tai looked over the assembly of digidestined and made sure that they were all accounted for, including a very sullen looking Matt. "Let's go."

"Alright." Davis agreed. "But just in case it is an intruder, Jun and Kuri, take the flanks. I'll bring up the rear."

With precision, they all took up their positions and literally herded the others down the hallway towards the central hub of the Chamber. Once they reached the room, several agents ran to meet them, Hatori included.

"What's going on?" Tai asked.

Hatori seemed a little flustered, but not overly concerned. "Nothing disastrous. We just have a visitor that didn't get proper clearances, it seems."

"Clearances?" Mimi asked, rubbing the last remnants of sleep from her eyes.

"Yeah, they work in our network, but not our specific sector."

Davis' hand flew to his digivice. "Who are they?"

Hatori listened intently to his earpiece for a moment. "Americans, I believe."

Tai, Kuri, Jun, and Davis all exchanged significant looks. As they did, a door on the opposite side of the room opened and a multitude of digimon filed in from their quarters. All of the OD's partners were present now, brought from the digital world the night before at Hatori's insistence. Like their partners, Peko, Sparks, Veemon, and Agumon were at the large group's forefront.

Sparks looked particularly irritated. "Could someone please tell me whose brilliant idea it was to have a fire drill at seven in the morning? I'd like to have a little 'chat' with them."

"It's not a fire drill, moron." Peko said with a roll of her eyes as she darted across the room and alit on Kuri's shoulder.

"Yeah? Then what is it genius?"

Tai stepped in front of the video screen Hatori was viewing and smiled. "Just a few old friends."

* * *

Terence exited the elevator first, breaking into a broad grin as soon as he did. Clara, Rosa, and Curtis followed closely behind and mirrored his expression.

"About time you guys showed up." Davis playfully chided as he walked over the greet them. "I was starting to think you weren't gonna get here anytime soon."

Warm greetings were exchanged as the two groups met up.

"How was the ride over?" Kuri asked seriously after giving Rosa a welcoming hug. "You guys run into any trouble on the way?"

Terence shrugged. "That depends on your definition of trouble."

Jun, more than familiar with Terence's methods in skirting an issue, put her hands on her hips. "Meaning?"

"Meaning his private jet is now just a smoldering pile of ash somewhere in the Mexican desert." Marta said as she leapt down from Clara's arms.

"Your plane crashed?" Kuri asked in surprise.

Terence nodded. "We were attacked by some of those flying mutant things."

"Shame too," Rosa said, "cause the military plane we ended up coming over in didn't even have an in flight movie."

"Yeah." Curtis spoke up. "Nothing but miles of ocean and satellite news reports on you guys."

"Heh, yeah," Davis said, rubbing the back of his neck. "It seems like we're on every TV in the country."

Curtis scoffed. "Country? Try world. What you guys did last night can now be classified as an international phenomenon."

His words prompted Clara to give them all a once over. "Are you all are okay after that?" She asked. "None of you got seriously hurt?"

"We're fine." Jun said, smiling at her friend's usual concern. "A little tired, of course, but we weren't the ones involved in any plane crashes lately-"

"Ahem…"

As one, they all turned toward the sound of the voice. Hatori stood there with the other digidestineds fanned out at his sides.

"Oh, sorry guys." Tai apologized. "This is-"

"Rosa?" Ken interrupted. "Is that you?"

"She's a Knight too?" Yolei asked, a mixture of bewilderment and surprise in her voice. She turned to Davis. "Why didn't you mention that?"

"Um," He shrugged sheepishly. "Surprise."

Yolei gave him a glare that could kill.

"Well, it makes sense." Ken said. "Rosa always was very strong willed and capable. She fits the profile of the others. Seems like she's certainly grown up too- ouch!"

Ken suddenly began to rub his side as Yolei gave him a glare, as well.

Rosa blushed slightly. "Um, thanks." She stepped forward. "Also this is my cousin, Clara, and her partner Marta."

Clara nodded sheepishly, obviously a bit humbled in the presence of all the Original Digidestined. Marta, conversely, seemed hardly fazed and gave a quick wave to the group before returning to a private conversation she had struck up with Sparks.

Rosa continued. "And these guys with us are-"

"Oh, my, god!" Mimi exclaimed, abruptly hopping up and down and fanning herself with a hand. "That's Terence Dumars!"

"Wha-?" Sora looked closer before gasping and putting a hand to her chest in surprise. "She's right! It is. I-I can't believe it." She turned to her fiancé. "Matt! That's Terrence Dumars!"

Matt seemed to be going through a mixture of surprise and annoyance. It wasn't often that he was humbled by someone else's presence. "I-um, I see."

"It really is him..." Yolei realized, forgetting all at once about Rosa. "This is unbelievable. My sister Momoe and I have listened to all your music since your first album." She moved closer to him to get a better look, and was further overcome by giddiness. "You're really him! You're really Terence Dumars!"

Kari, for her part, began to nervously twirl a strand of hair around her fingers and just smiled awkwardly.

"Guilty as charged." Terence said with a polite bow. "I am Terrence Dumars. And if I remember correctly, you're Kari, Sora, Yolei, and Mimi?" He looked each of the girls sincerely in the eyes as he spoke their names.

"Wow," Mimi gushed. "You know us?"

"Of course I do. Who doesn't?"

Kari stepped forward slowly. "It's j-just hard to believe that someone like you actually knows our names."

Terrence laughed at her shy and nervous demeanor. "Well not only are you all world-famous, but your brother is my best friend, you know. So, really, it's only natural that I know your names, beautiful as they are."

The girls all blushed and exchanged glances.

Prompted by the annoyed sounding clearing of her throat, Terence suddenly stepped behind Clara and thrust her out in front of him like a shield. "Also, for future reference, I'm completely, a hundred percent, taken and in love with Clara, just so you know."

Tai snickered, more from TK, Matt, Izzy, and Ken's irate looks than Terence's amusing predicament.

Terence continued his attempt to deflect attention. "Also, This little guy next to me is my partner Pings. And over there, trying not to be noticed, is my brother Curtis and his partner, Taps."

"Hi." Was all Curtis said with a small wave, as the girls reluctantly tore their attention from the room's resident superstar sex symbol to look upon him.

"Curtis is the nerd of our operation." Kuri said matter-of-factly.

"I am not." Curtis argued. "I just happened to pick up some concepts faster-"

"-like ten times faster than anyone else at the academy?" Kuri interrupted. "Yeah, N-E-R-D, all capitals. That's you."

Though he knew she was kidding, Curtis crossed his arms and glared at Kuri.

Rosa walked over to him and planted a kiss on his cheek. "Lucky for you, I think being smart is really hot."

She smiled as Ken and Wormmon seemed surprised by the sudden action and Yolei let out a sigh of relief.

"I know the feeling." Mimi said, tearing her glance away from Terence and sidling up to her own boyfriend.

"So Curtis," Izzy began, somewhat sated by the return of his girlfriend's attention, "you're really knowledgeable in digital concepts, I presume?"

Curtis shrugged. "You could say that."

"Are you kidding?" Davis scoffed. "This kid could create a self contained faux digital starlet, complete with heliosphere, in under thirty seconds. The best any of the rest of us could do was, at best, was what, two minutes?"

Tai nodded. "Yeah."

After getting over their shock at hearing Davis speak in such a manner, the digidestined turned to Izzy for some conformation of whatever he'd just said.

"Wow," Izzy remarked quietly. "You all really did get advanced training. I'd heard theories about creating those, but didn't know it was actually possible."

Terence smiled as he walked over and draped an arm around Davis' shoulders. "And in a surprising upset, round one of Challenge of the Super-Nerds is won by Davis Motomiya. We now go to his girlfriend, Kuri Katsura, for reaction." He placed a fist, representing an imaginary microphone, in front of her.

Kuri rolled her eyes but played along. "Well, I always knew that, despite the active social life and athletic ability, deep down inside, my sweetheart was really a geek."

Davis crossed his arms and gave the two a look that mirrored Curtis', albeit with a small smirk. "I hate you guys."

The Knights all shared a chuckle at this as the others watched them with growing fascination, save for Matt, who seemed wholly disgusted with the whole affair.

Hatori cleared his throat once again. "I hate to break up this light hearted moment, rare as it is at a time such as this, but, with introductions out of the way, we've more serious things to discuss right now."

"He's right." Tai said. "We still haven't been briefed yet."

"Neither have we." Curtis said eagerly. "Our contact wasn't able to make the trip with us so there wasn't time."

Hatori gestured toward the door. "Then might I suggest the eight of you and I adjourn to our command central as the others return to their quarters? There is a lot for us to go over."

"And what about us?" The normally stoic Gotsumon asked from Rosa's side. "Can't we come?"

"Of course you can." Tai said, before Hatori could respond. "We're a package deal. Let's go."

* * *

**The Digital Realm**

Willis watched despondently as Keyan placed the last of her garments in a small duffel bag and zipped it shut.

"Do you really have to do this, Keyan?" He pleaded. "I mean, at a time like this?"

"Of course I do, Willis. I will not begrudge Krista's wish to accompany Xian's body to its resting place."

"But she could go without you."

"No, she could not." Keyan insisted. "It is not safe for her to be out there alone. You heard the reports that came in earlier. The war has begun."

"And that's why I think you should stay-"

Keyan shook her head adamantly. "As the guardian avatar, it is not in my nature to run or hide. You know that."

"But you haven't mastered your abilities yet. You still have to learn-"

"I have learned all that I can in the month since my battle against Ineg. Only Azulongmon himself could teach me more at this point-"

"Gennai could teach you more."

Keyan sighed as she rose from the bed and slung her bag around her shoulders. "Willis, we have talked about this."

"Come on Key, you have to give him another chance."

"Willis, that man hid my parents' murderer from me for years. I do not _have_ to do anything for him."

"Fine," Willis conceded. "But what if Ineg comes back here? Without you, we're defenseless."

"You are not. I've seen the defenses you've been working on through your computer. They are quite impressive."

Willis grunted. "Sure, they can hold him off for a while, but they can't defeat him."

Keyan stopped short, drew a deep breath, and dropped her bag. "Willis...I- If you do not want me to go…If you truly need me here-"

"No, I'm sorry." Willis' stance softened immediately. "I understand that you need to go. It's just that…I'll miss you."

"Of course. And I, you. But Ineg?" Keyan's eyes darted to the window as if the being in question might have shown up at any second.

Willis shook his head. "I highly doubt he'll be able to enter this realm for a while with the safeguards I've set up, but still, my old mentor is inside him somewhere. It's only a matter of time."

Keyan noticed the pain that still welled in Willis eyes when he spoke of Nai. She walked across the small expanse between them, wrapped her arms around his waist, and being significantly shorter, craned her head up to look upon him.

"Then I shall have to return to you quickly."

Willis gave her a slight smile and leaned down so that their foreheads gently touched. "Please do, Keyan. I don't know what I would do without you."

"I promise I will. At most, it will only be a couple of days."

"In the real world. Here, that will amount to almost two months."

Keyan frowned. "I must admit, I had not considered that." She looked away, as if rethinking her decision.

"Don't worry about it." Willis said dismissively. "It's time I re-aligned the time streams anyway. I've been putting it off for forever."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I mean, it is a bit of a pain and an all day job, but it's not like I have anything better to do."

Keyan smiled, and in a moment of spontaneity, pulled Willis down so they could share a tender kiss.

Just as their lips were about to meet, however, there was a knock at the door. Willis groaned and reluctantly pulled away from Keyan.

"It's open." He called out.

The door cracked slightly and Krista poked her head into the room. "I apologize but…"

"Oh, it's okay." Willis said. "I understand it's time for you to go."

"Thank-you." Krista opened the door fully to reveal that she was dressed completely in black. "It's just, we need to leave in the next ten minutes if we hope to get there on the proper day."

Krista took note of Willis and Keyan's intimate pose. "Keyan, if you want to stay, it's okay."

"No, I will not let you do this alone." Keyan turned away from Willis and picked up her bag again. "Let us depart."

* * *

Out in the middle of the mansion clearing, the three stood in front of a large, swirling, white portal.

"Well, there it is." Willis said with a gesture. "The other end is somewhere near Shanghai. Operatives from the area will be there to meet you with transportation and any other needs you'll have. It seems Mr. Xian was a very well-respected figure in their law enforcement circles. They were all more than happy to help."

"He was a great man in many respects." Krista said sadly, looking upon the large, wheeled cryogenic coffin that rested in front of them.

Keyan quietly moved toward Willis and wrapped her arms around him once again. "Thank you." She whispered.

He nodded and ran a hand gently through her silver hair. "Gennai's watching us from his office window, you know."

Keyan shrugged. "So? That matters not to me. As long as he stays there, I have no problem."

"But he'll know about us-"

"Everyone knows about you two, Willis." Krista said. "Including Gennai, I'm sure."

Willis smiled sheepishly. "I guess it really hasn't been much of a secre-"

Keyan interrupted his words by pulling him down and enveloping his lips with her own. They stayed that way for a while.

"Now Gennai has no doubt regarding our relationship." Keyan said after they finally broke apart.

Willis, a bit dazed from the intensity of their kiss, nodded. "Yes maam."

Krista grabbed one end of the ornate casket and oriented it that it could be pulled through the portal. "We should go." She said.

"Yes, we should." Keyan agreed. She shifted her bag's weight and walked around to the other end of the casket. "Let's go."

Krista, at the front of the casket, went through the portal first without even looking back. Keyan, however, stared at Willis the entire time she pushed the casket into the vortex of white light.

"I love you, Willis." She whispered, her eyes misting, as she was about to enter.

"I love you too." He replied, just before she went through completely and the portal disappeared in a flash of light.

Willis sighed and hung his head for a moment before turning around and beginning the trek back to the mansion. Though his love was gone, he still had much work to do.

* * *

**The Chamber**

Terence whistled as he looked around the Chamber's impressive conference room. There were at least a dozen flat screen, plasma televisions lined along its walls and all the many furnishings within appeared to be made of silver and mahogany. "Wow, this is a nice place. Who's footing the bill for all this?"

"A conglomeration of international governments and private agencies." Hatori explained.

"Private agencies?" Terence repeated. "You mean the corporate enemies of this Hitachi guy you told us about."

"For the most part, yes." Hatori admitted. "But beggars can't be choosers. We'll take any help we can get."

"So, does this big group of governments and agencies have a name?" Curtis asked as he inspected a particularly interesting bit of technology lying on the table before him.

"CADE."

Curtis mused for a moment. "Co-operative Alliance of Digital…"

"Entities." Hatori finished.

"Entities?"

"Elements that make up our own digital environment. Software companies, engineers, international networks. Each country has their own unique expertise to bring in these areas, particularly the US and Japan."

"I see." Curtis said, scratching his chin and looking at everyone seated around the table. "That makes a lot of sense."

"What you see around you is the product of years of planning, research, and cooperation. Hitachi's intentions have been clear for quite some time now to those in certain circles." Hatori's voice lowered a bit. "I'm not sure you all realize just how dangerous this man is. Not so long ago we received intelligence linking him with the theft of a substantial amount of nuclear materials from eastern Russia."

Kuri's eyed widened. "What are you saying? You think he's building nukes or something?"

"No. Knowing the efficiency with which Hitachi operates, I'm saying he's _built_ nuclear bombs. The real mystery is when he's going to use them."

The room fell deathly silent.

"So that's why this place is so far underground." Curtis said after the moment had passed. "You want to be able to survive the inevitable attack."

"That's part of the reason, yes." Hatori rose from the table and began to pace, hands folded behind his back. "You are all knowledgeable of the Assassin, are you not?"

"Yeah," Tai said. "We had a run in with him last night." He ignored the surprised glances he got from the others around the table. "But he escaped. Why?"

"As we move further along, Hitachi seems to be building up a massive army of soldiers of fortune. Mercenaries are dropping off of the grid in great numbers, including the best of them all, The Assassin."  
"So you normally keep track of these people?" Davis asked.

"In a way. We get isolated reports of sightings from CADE outposts all around the world. It's never enough to really work off of and make arrests, but it helps us to keep a handle on things."

"And so, now that you've lost track of a lot of these mercenaries, you assume them all to be working for Hitachi?"

"Assumption is an ineffective term for the degree to which we believe them to be working together. All our evidence points to it."

Rosa scratched her head. "If all the evidence points to this, then why don't you guys just go out there and bust some heads?"

"Because that isn't the way things work in the world we operate."

"Then just how do things work?"

"We have levels that we must go through before we can act on information. Any move that we make that could possibly jeopardize any of our other goals must be approved by our various factions."

"Seems rather limiting." Jun said.

"But understandable. Once we are able to apprehend these men, we must also have volumes of evidence by which they can be tried and convicted in judicial systems of the lands in which their crimes were committed. We can't just go out there, "busting heads" and taking names later. That would force Hitachi's forces to feel less comfortable and use further secrecy, thus shutting us off from any chance gathering more intel. When we make a move, we've learned, it has to be an effective and thorough one."

Hatori's words reminded Jun of what Gennai had told them their first day at the academy, about the unsuccessful raid on Jayson Barke's estate. She thought of his son. "But we have Barke's kid on our side, right?"

"Yes, but honestly, the kid can only do so much. He's only sixteen."

Curtis raised a hand. "I'm only fifteen."

"Ditto." Rosa added. "And we're holding our own just fine."

Hatori put a hand to his forehead and sighed. "Right. In any case, Scott can only report to us on the activities of his father, not anyone else. Most of Hitachi's organization already suspects Scott of being a traitor to his family. He is only privy to the few insights that Mr. Barke lets slip in casual conversation."

Tai pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes in a pose of frustration that matched Hatori's. "Okay, so what you're saying is that pretty much everyone suspected to be a part of this big plot to destroy the world is virtually untouchable…"

"Due to our pre-existing bureaucracy, yes." Hatori finished. "It's a flawed system, but only under these rules could we unite so many under one goal."

"Then just what the hell are we here for?" Kuri asked with a scowl. "We weren't exactly trained for a year to come back here and file paperwork."

"Of course you weren't. You have a vital role in CADE operations. With your unrivaled strength and fighting prowess-"

"Oh god," Terence said, looking despondent and bored as he rested his head in his hand. "We're just the clean up guys, aren't we?"

Clara gave him a confused look. "What?"

"You know, the guys in the movies that come in and clean up everyone messes." Peko explained. "Like if some idiot CADE agent gets himself in a bad position or those creatures go on the rampage again, we're the ones that have go out and save everyone."

Davis frowned and looked at Hatori. "That's what we're reduced to, ass kickings on demand?"

"Basically." Sparks said.

Hatori seem flustered. "Your roles are not limited quite that much."

"Oh?" Curtis said. "So you're saying we can go out and do a little sleuthing on or own?"

"Sure, were it up to me."

"But it isn't." Clara said.

"Right, which means that, in all actuality, if you did go to the surface to do any self-indulgent investigations, CADE would withdraw all support and connections to you instantly. Your families and friends would be left without our protection. You wouldn't have our extensive network to draw upon for resources."

"Well you know what?' Kuri said. "If those are the terms, then I say you can take your 'extensive network' and shove it up your-"

"Hold that thought, Kuri." Tai interrupted, raising a finger. He turned to Hatori. "So, is that really the way this will have to work between us?"

Hatori nodded. "I'm afraid so, Tai."

"You know that this sounds an awful lot like blackmail, right?"

"Well, you all could always go rogue-" Hatori began before Tai put a hand up to interrupt him.

"But, Gennai did set up this partnership between our groups," He said."And I suppose I still trust him…somewhat. We'll work within your rules here, for the time being."

He pointedly glanced around the table and everyone quickly got the message. _Don't argue._

"Good, good." Hatori sounded very relieved. "Okay, well, I'll continue with the rest of this briefing…"

Hatori spent the next half hour telling them about the facility in which they would now live and the vehicles and weapons they'd be given full access to after spending sufficient time in simulators for the equipment. He also gave them a full account of how their contemporaries from the Academy were faring elsewhere in the world (No deaths, but a few minor injuries). In closing, Hatori added the final stipulation that they could not share any of this information with the other digidestined, as all of it was highly classified and would only cause them to put themselves into further danger, if anything.

After he'd finally finished, the Knights quickly dismissed themselves amid a lingering air of tension.

"You weren't serious in there were you?" Kuri asked as soon as they'd exited the room and were walking down the halls back toward their quarters.

"Of course not." Tai replied. "But, for the time being, I figure its best that we all get along. In any case, Hatori's just the messenger. Getting mad at him wouldn't help us."

"Speak for yourself." Rosa said, making a show of cracking her knuckles.

"Well, I don't mind taking our time." Davis admitted. "It'll give me some time to figure out just what the hell I'm 'meant' to do here."

"But you're 'The One,' man." Terence said. "We just need to get you a black trench coat and some dark sunglasses. Everything else will be gravy."

Davis eyed him. "Funny."

Kuri sidled up to her boyfriend and wrapped an arm around his waist. "Hey, just remember that I'm half the equation, okay? We're in this together."

"Me too" Peko said.

"Me three." Veemon added, not to be outdone.

Davis smiled gratefully. "Thanks guys."

Just then, Mimi and Izzy entered the hallway in front of them from a side door, flanked by a couple of CADE agents.

"Hey guys." Mimi greeted with a broad smile. "Your briefing over?"

"Yeah." Tai said. "What are you two up to?"

"We're heading up to the hospital to sit with Joe for a while. They're only allowing us to go two at a time and Izzy and I were the first volunteers."

"Oh, well if he's awake, tell him we said hi and we'll be by to visit him as soon as possible." Jun said, before glancing at one of the agents who was already beginning to check his watch impatiently. "I guess you'd better get going."

"Yeah." Izzy said, looking at the man as well. "We'll tell him for you." The two groups crossed and they began to walk off.

Suddenly, Mimi halted, causing one of the agents to stumble as he almost ran over her.

"Wait." She called over her shoulder, looking directly at Tai.

He gave her a questioning look. "Huh?"

"Tai, I'm sorry I misjudged you. Like Matt, I thought you had just run off too."

"Erm, it's okay."

"No it's not. You're better than that and I should have known better. I underestimated you. I promise I won't do it again." She paused and looked toward the ceiling in thought. "Well, I probably will, but I'll try not to anyway." She brought her gaze back down and grinned. "Anyway, that's all I had to say. See ya later."

With that, she turned, clasped Izzy's hand, and they continued on their way.

"Wow," Curtis said after their quartet had rounded a corner. "She's very…open."

"Crest of Sincerity." Tai said with a sigh. "That's just Mimi."

The Knights turned as one and began to walk again.

"So, the Assassin, huh?" Clara said as they did. "You saw him?"

"Yeah." Tai answered quietly, suddenly glowering. "And he certainly is a cocky bastard."

"But, you took care of him, right?" Rosa asked.

Tai shook his head ruefully. "No, I couldn't."

"_We_ couldn't." Jun interjected. "Don't blame yourself, Tai. He was threatening innocent lives and we had to find Joe."

"I know, but still…"

Rosa slammed a fist into her palm. "Then we'll take him out next time." She growled.

Clara put a hand on her cousin's shoulder. "Of course we will. Calm down, Rosa."

Rosa flinched away from the touch. "But he killed Keyan's parents and Cody's dad-"

Tai and Davis shushed her simultaneously.

"What!" Rosa asked in a whisper.

"We haven't told Cody yet." Jun explained.

Clara looked at Jun with a furrowed brow. "Why not? Doesn't he have a right to know?"

Jun shrugged. "I would say so. This wasn't my idea." She pointedly glanced between Tai and Davis.

Tai sighed impatiently. "Of course he deserves to know, but not right now. If we just tell Cody that the man that really killed his father is walking around somewhere out there, scott free, he's likely to go searching for him. Right now, an action such as that will only get him killed."

Rosa scowled. "Maybe. But, if you ask me, anyone that takes lives like this Assassin does has given up their own right to live. We should kill him as soon as possible." She was visibly seething, her eyes narrowed and breath short. Curtis put an arm around her shoulder, which seemed to calm her a little.

Jun lagged a bit until she was walking right beside Clara.

"Puppetmon?" She whispered.

Clara nodded. "She won't talk to me about it, but it's really obvious."

Jun frowned. "Think maybe she'd talk to me?"

"Maybe. You are the one that we all go to with our problems."

Jun sighed quietly. It was a lot of responsibility being "group counselor." In addition to Rosa, she knew that Curtis was probably having his own issues with their failure to defeat Puppetmon. It was likely that they both blamed themselves for Xian's death.

Jun then glanced at Tai. He was the one that concerned her the most. He had yet to actually talk to her about the fact that, for a brief moment during their battle with the Dark Masters, he'd actually died. Their union as J'ai had likely tempered most of the pain, but Jun knew that sooner or later it was something that Tai would have to come to terms with. Spurred by the thought, she subtly moved closer to Tai as he carried on a conversation with Terence. He reciprocated with a gentle touch to her hand. Jun allowed herself to relax a little. At least when the event did come back to haunt him, he knew she would be there for him.

* * *

**Odaiba Sewers**

Deep below the streets of Odaiba, two people trudged through ankle deep sewer water, neither particularly concerned about the fact that the filth filled liquid was sloshing all around them.

"That was nothing but a spectacular failure." Kai muttered.

"It was not a complete failure." Jade offered. "We learned much about our new enemies."

"All that we learned is that we are no match for them, not the way our forces are currently constructed anyway."

"True. But does that really matter?'

"What?"

"The point of the mutants was for them to simply provide a distraction for us. A means of keeping Gennai's digidestineds and those CADE agents busy and away from the project."

Kai harrumphed. "The pipe dream, you mean."

"You do not support Mr. Hitachi's project?"

"Of course I support it, but it's very ambitious."

"Forgive me, but are you not also an ambitious man?"

"Yes, but my ambition has a true goal. The complete destruction of the Digital World. In order to accomplish this I've gone to great lengths, killed many men, and even fabricated my own death a few times. This pet project of his may be nothing more than a grand fantasy gone amuck. If it did not also include the Digital World's destruction in its extensive itinerary of goals, I would think no more of Hitachi than your average dictatorial megalomaniac. For as much as I admire the man's tenacity and vision, it does appear that he has misplaced much of his resources and energies in this case."

Jade considered Kai words in silence as the wall opened and they went through their routine decontamination process. It wasn't until they were walking down the pristine white halls of the Catacombs that she spoke again.

"So, you do not believe it is possible at all, what he is trying to do?"

"Oh, I believe it's possible. Very remote, but possible." Kai stopped and turned to Jade with a very serious stare. "But as you know, I am a man that prefers to deal in certainties."

"Mr. Assassin!"

Kai and Jade looked up to see the Lab doctor walking toward them.

"Yes?"

"I thought you would like to know that all the mutants have returned."

Kai frowned. "I can't say that that news entirely pleases me."

The doctor faltered. "Um- well, the blue demons are in reparatory surgery. The stone sentries are waiting to be admitted as well. The mercury serpents are recovering in the infirmary-"

Kai sighed and rubbed his forehead as he took in the depressing news. "And what of the prototypes?"

"They are perfectly fine. There were some minor injuries, but overall their durable design proved to be quite impressive."

"At least you all managed to get something right." Kai began to walk again and the doctor hurried to keep up. "I trust that you have prepared the information I requested."

"Information?"

"The information regarding who the mutants were in their previous lives."

"Oh. I'm sorry. In all the commotion of last night-"

"Spare me the excuses doctor. Have them ready by tomorrow, or else."

The doctor nodded and swallowed loudly. "Yes sir."

At that moment, a black swirling hole appeared in the air in front of the trio. Though Jade and Kai's hands immediately went to their weapons, they did not draw them and remained calm. The doctor, on the other hand, began to back away and clumsily stumbled and fell to the ground. After a few seconds Ineg finally stepped through the portal and impassively looked around his surroundings.

"Not bad." He remarked.

"You." Kai said disdainfully. "What are you doing back here so soon?"

The doctor quickly got up from the ground and nervously brushed himself off. "Y-you know this man?" Everyone ignored him.

"Don't be so rude Assassin, or should I say, KiAdjae."

"That is not my name." Kai growled with a look of fury. He pulled a glock from his waist at lightning speed and aimed it at Ineg's head.

Ineg seemed none too intimidated. "Please, put that toy away. Remember, I'm the part of Gennai that always agreed with your views, old friend."

Kai didn't budge. "Old friend? Peculiar, because as I recall, Gennai was the one that allowed the Order to strip me of all my powers and essentially left me for dead. Seems to me he wasn't too conflicted about it either."

"Well, I am a repressed aspect of his personality, of course." Ineg said. "Really, if calling you by your old moniker causes you such distress, I'll simply refrain from doing it."

Kai slowly dropped the firearm to his side, but still bore a look of mistrust. "Just what do you want?"

"I may need your assistance in something."

"Oh really?" Kai suddenly allowed an indulgent smirk to cross his face.

"Well, not you, per se, but the people with whom you work."

The smirk disappeared. "Like what?"

"I am not finished collecting the parts which comprise the whole, you see-"

"The other personality facets Gennai has likely split himself into?"

"Of course." Ineg said. "I forget that you have extensive knowledge in this particular area."

Kai began to walk again, prompting Jade and the doctor to do the same. "And what is it that you want from us, exactly?"

"I must find a way to return to Gennai's realm, to complete what I started."

"You're asking for our technological proficiency in the area?"

"No. I recently…'acquired' the skills to go back on my own. What I lack is the raw technological power."

"I-" Kai began, before the sound of loud methodical footsteps caught his attention. The group paused.

After a moment, a stately looking businessman in a black power suit rounded the corner, trailed by three others.

"Hitachi, Barke, Chavez." Kai greeted, a surprised and anxious glint in his eyes.

"Assassin. Ms. Jade." Hitachi answered as his entourage came to a halt. The older man glanced at Ineg. "And this would be?"

"This is the dark being I told you about. The one that was instrumental in our invasion of Gennai's realm."

"Ah, I see." Hitachi looked Ineg up and down briefly, as if sizing him up. "As evidenced by last night, you weren't quite successful, were you?"

"According to you." Ineg said nonchalantly. "I accomplished my own goals, however."

"Your own goals, hmm?" Hitachi said, his voice calculating and authoritative. "I did not provide you with an army to simply accomplish your own goals. What we did was make an exchange of goods and services. Do you know what that is, Mr. Ineg?"

Ineg scowled. "You presume much, old man, to think you can talk to me this way."

Hitachi shook his head. "No, Mr. Ineg. I believe it is you that has made the foolish presumptions here. I don't care who you are. No one screws me in a deal."

A look of concentration crossed Ineg's face and a substantial amount of dark energy began to build around his fingertips. "I thought that you were a much more intelligent man that this, Hitachi. Perhaps I was misinformed."

Everyone began to back away from him, except for Hitachi, who remained perfectly calm. "Is this really necessary, Ineg? Your powers cannot possibly hold a candle to my own abilities."

"You are a foolish old man to confuse wealth for fighting prowess." Ineg said. Hitachi simply stood there with an all-too-confident smile. Infuriated, Ineg continued. "I shall illustrate the difference."

Like a bolt, he raised his hand and fired a beam of dark energy directly into Hitachi's chest. To the old man's credit, he didn't budge, taking the attack straight on without so much as a grimace. He even smiled a little. Then, after a moment, his body began to glow a strange hue of blue. Ineg's beam suddenly began to pixilate, each particle swirling around Hitachi's body to form what looked like an electrically charged tornado.

Ineg stopped the attack, took a step backwards, and allowed his mouth to fall open.

"Don't just stand there and gape." Hitachi said calmly. "Here, I'll help you."

Without any movement, Hitachi sent all of the energy swirling around him back into Ineg's chest. There was a crackling boom and an extremely bright flash of light. When the dust settled, Ineg was at the other end of the hall on his knees, slowly struggling to his feet. He braced himself against the wall with one hand, while clutching his chest with the other, and gave Hitachi a hard stare.

Hitachi laughed. "Ah, I like this one," He said to Mr. Barke. "See the look in his eyes? That's not a thirst for blind vengeance. He wants to know how I did that, and how he can repeat the feat in the future. Precisely what my reaction would be."

"Enough games, old man." Ineg grunted, regaining his strength and balance and raising his hands again. "Tell me how you did that now, or…" He glanced over the group tailing behind Hitachi. "I'll kill everyone you're with."

Hitachi frowned. "Not the best negotiator though." He casually put a finger to his chin in a moment of consternation, as if Ineg wasn't even there. "Look, Mr. Ineg, I have a lucrative proposition for you."

"Oh really? And what would that be?"

"Not only will I tell you how I did that, but I'll give you something else you want, the power to override Gennai's defenses and recombine your missing aspects."

If Ineg was surprised at Hitachi's extensive knowledge of his predicament, he didn't show it. "And what do want me to do for you in return?"

"Not much really. I just need you to pick up a few things for your companions here in the Digital World." He glanced at Kai and Jade.

"Like what?"

"Some items that you yourself hid a long time ago, that only you know the true location of. Items that will certainly tip the scales in our favor and prevent failures like last night from occurring again."

Ineg nodded as he realized what Hitachi was referring to. "Very well. As long as you hold up your end of this bargain."

"Of course I will. It would be bad business not to." Hitachi turned to Kai. "Assassin, I trust that you have no objections to this?" The inquiry sounded more like a dare than a question.

Kai shook his head. "With all due respect, Mr. Hitachi, this all isn't really necessary-"

"Oh, I believe it is." Hitachi's voice turned serious. "I just finished a tour of the project with my fellow…investors, here. We have come much too close to our moment of triumph to have a few kids with a bit of power thwart all of our carefully laid plans. I will not allow this."

Hitachi took his coat from his assistant and began to put it on, a signal that there would be no further argument in the matter. "When this is all said and done, those kids will suffer. They'll wish that Gennai had never recruited them. They will cry out in pain, in sorrow. They will bleed. And ultimately, they will die."

With that, he and the others continued on to the airlock that led to Hitachi's private exit. Kai waited until they had reached the other room before speaking to Ineg.

"Nano tech." He said.

"What?"

"His suit is made up of millions of digital nanites. By being bound to his neural net they can take any attack of digital origin and bend it to his will."

Ineg grunted. "You could have told me that a few minutes ago."

"Yes, I could have. But you should have assumed. Hitachi's enterprises practically built the digital world, you know." Kai began to walk again, this time in a new direction.

"W-where are we going now?" The doctor asked.

"The transport room. Ineg needs to depart for the Digital World immediately."

The doctor nodded and rushed on ahead, to make the necessary preparations.

"Immediately, huh?" Ineg said. "Seems to me you're a lot more eager for me to make this trip than you made it seem to Hitachi."

"Of course I am. To look eager in front of Hitachi would have been a sign of weakness. But I've just seen you shot across a room. Impressions aren't really an issue between us anymore."

Kai pretended not to see Ineg's grimace following the statement. They rounded the corner into the transporter room, where a large portal on the wall already awaited them.

"Please hurry." The doctor said from behind a large instrument panel. "We usually can't keep these things open for more than a few seconds before the guardian detects and closes them."

"You're in for quite a fight you know." Kai said as Ineg prepared to go through. "Oikawa will not let you succeed in this mission easily."

Ineg shrugged. "Fine, then I'll kill him."

With that, he leapt into the portal and was gone in a flash.

* * *

**Later: The Chamber**

Kuri stood outside the Chamber's driving simulator, frowning as she watched Tai and Terence's progress on the exterior screens. She crossed her arms, tapped her foot, and gave a dramatic roll of her eyes. At that moment, Rosa rounded the corner and walked into the room.

"Hey, K." She paused, noting her friend's annoyed expression. "What's up?"

"Would you look at these two smart-asses? They're not taking any of this seriously at all."

Rosa looked up at the screens and immediately knew what Kuri was talking about. On one screen a van stopped, turned, and began to bear down on an old man with a walker attempting to cross the street. On the other, a truck was driving toward the edge of an elevated surface, perhaps a roof, at full speed. It blasted out over the edge, hovered in midair, then dropped quickly and crashed into the ground below, where it exploded in flames. A message displayed on the screens, indicating that the simulation was over.

Several bouts of laughter could be heard from within the room. After a moment, Tai and Terence exited, all smiles. They both sobered as soon as they saw Kuri waiting for them.

"Uh oh." Terence said. "Somebody's not happy."

"Kuri-" Tai began.

"I don't want to hear it, Tai. Just get out of the way so I can take the simulation, and actually complete the mission for once."

"Oh come on Kuri. Those 'missions' are a piece of cake."

"Not to mention boring." Terence added.

Just then, Jun and Davis walked around the corner.

"What's wrong Kuri?" Jun asked immediately.

Kuri jabbed a thumb in Tai and Terence's direction. "These two, taking up valuable sim time by goofing around. They just failed a mission in less than two minutes."

"Really?" Davis exclaimed. "Sweet! The best I could get was four. What'd you guys do, hit some old people? Drive through a storefront?"

"Teamwork." Terence said with a grin. "Took out a few old people, _and_ added a little roof jumping."

Davis nodded slowly. "Niiiiice."

Kuri began to rub her temples. "Sometimes, I just can't believe you guys."

Tai placed a hand on her shoulder. "Come on Kuri, you have to admit that this whole thing is pretty ridiculous. It's just busy work. The more we do this completely unnecessary training, the more they can keep us down here."

"I don't get it." Rosa said. "They can't really make us stay down here, can they? We could just go up to the surface right now."

"No." Tai sad. "We have to bide our time. We must have a goal when we break out of here. If we don't, we run the risk of losing CADE's trust and support for no reason at all."

"Then how do you suggest we do that?"

"Do what?"

"Get a goal." Kuri said. "I mean is not as if we can figure out what Hitachi's guys are doing all the time. Especially not if we waste all our time just putting down the latest 'mutant disturbances.' We have to be able to investigate, do some detective work."

A voice sounded from around the corner. "Leave that to me."

Curtis walked over to the forefront of the group, Clara trailing behind him.

"Where've you guys been?"

"Up in the command center." Curtis said. "We were looking over the workstations we were given. Guys, we have complete control over the information that we can view. Every criminal profile, report of activity, the whole works."

"Yeah, we know that bro." Terence said. "That's not the problem. The problem is, we can't make a move unless it fits our 'role.' We go out there trying to play detectives, we'll lose CADE's support-"

"Not exactly." Curtis smiled a little. "This problem is no different than the puzzles that Professor Nai used to give us." Everyone hung their heads a little at the mention of the late Professor.

Curtis continued. "If we can connect enough of the dots, these isolated incident reports, we may just find enough to make a big move against them, a final move, which could end this war before it really gets into full swing."

"And before Hitachi can use any weapons." Clara added.

"I dunno Curtis." Tai said while shaking his head. "That sounds awfully optimistic-"

"FINE!" A shout interrupted him from down the hall. "THEN LEAVE FOR ALL I CARE! IT SUITS YOU!"

"Is that Sora?" Jun asked.

Davis nodded. "Yeah, I think –"

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND ME SORA! YOU NEVER WILL! I'M OUTTA HERE!"

"Well, that's certainly Matt." Tai said.

After a moment a flustered looking Sora ran past the group, her eyes blurred with tears. For a few seconds, they all watched as she went down the hall and rounded a corner, then turned to look upon Tai.

"What?" He asked with a shrug. "If you guys think I'm getting involved in their domestic problems-"

Terence guffawed. "Tai, you're a big reason for their domestic problems."

"Oh, come on. That mess is not my fault-"

"I know Tai," Jun said. "But you could really help them, or help her at least."

Tai looked at Jun petulantly. "But I don't _want_ to."

Jun smiled a little. "Yes you do. Look, I'll make a deal with you. I'll go stop Matt from leaving, if you just go and talk to Sora, okay."

Tai sighed. "Fine. As if we didn't have enough drama going on around here."

After a short kiss he and Jun set off in opposite directions.

"Ugh, I don't envy them." Davis said, draping an arm around Kuri as he watched them depart.

Kuri considered him skeptically. "Yeah, like we won't eventually have to have our one on ones with TK and Kari."

Davis recoiled. "What? But why? They're actually happy right?" When Kuri's stance remained unchanged, he put a hand to his forehead. "God, what I wouldn't give for a mutant attack right now."

* * *

Kin, Jiro, and Noriko sat in the middle of the Chamber's upper meeting room, conversing in quiet tones with Ken, Yolei, TK, and Kari.

"So, is there any way you guys can investigate anything?" Kin asked. "Any leads at all?"

Ken shook his head. "I just don't see how. The computer systems we're allowed access to are severely limited. We can't see any private CADE files or criminal profiles. Right now, we're just about as much in the dark as you guys."

"What about Kuri and the others? The Knights? Don't they know what's going on around here?"

"Oh yes, they definitely do." Yolei said with a grimace. "And they're not telling us jack."

"Maybe they're doing it for our own good guys," TK offered. "Maybe they can't tell us anything."

"It's possible." Ken said, "But I'm not sure. We'd be a lot better off if we could just do a bit of investigating on our own. There's gotta be some angle to this whole mess that hasn't been explored yet. Something at ground level that we could work our way up from."

"But how do we find this something?" Kari said dejectedly. "I mean, my brother hasn't told me _anything_. A couple times today, it seemed like he almost did, or was about to, but then he just clammed up."

"What if they're under orders?" Jiro suggested. "You know, like, sworn to secrecy or something."

Ken nodded. "Like I said, that's certainly something that's very possible. All of this is. But the fact is, whatever clues we find, we'll have to find them on our own."

Yolei smiled at her boyfriend. "Let me guess, with 'old fashioned detective work' right?"

"Bingo. We just have to find one thing, one key, that will set everything else in motion."

Noriko heard all that Ken was saying but wasn't really paying attention. Instead, she was looking at a lone figure sitting in the corner at the far end of the room. Kin noticed his friend's behavior and followed her gaze. Cody sat there, leaning on a Kendo stick braced against the floor, his countenance drab and introspective. He seemed lost in another world.

"Why don't you go talk to him?" Kin said quietly. "It's gotta be better than just sitting here, staring at the guy."

Noriko started, "Huh?" before adding defiantly, "Hey! I wasn't looking at him like that."

Kin gave her a skeptical look.

She shrugged. "I dunno. It just seems like something heavy is on his mind."

"That's just how Cody gets sometimes." Yolei said. "No one's ever accused him of being the most outgoing person around."

"I'm not so sure about that." Noriko said thoughtfully. "I think you guys underestimate him."

Yolei cocked her head. "How so?"

"Not that I've known him as long or as well as you guys, but it just seems to me he's very perceptive. When Oikawa put that dark spore in me, Cody reached out to me more than anyone. Somehow he knew that I wasn't so far gone that I couldn't hear him. He kept trying to save me even after everyone else had given up." Noriko smiled. "Then he did the same thing with Oikawa. He's a good guy."

Kin made a gagging noise, prompting Noriko to hit him over the back of the head.

Ken put a finger to his chin and suddenly had a scheming look in his eyes. "You know, you might be onto something. Maybe you _should_ go talk to him."

"Hey," Noriko raised her hands in defense. "I didn't say I was volunteering or anything."

"What's wrong?" Jiro chided. "Scared?"

Noriko frowned and looked over at Cody thoughtfully. "I just don't want to…disturb him. It might upset him." She bit her lip and nervously ran a hand through her short, ebony locks.

"Please, Noriko, quit being shy and just go." Kin rolled his eyes, pulled her chair out, and swiveled her to face Cody. "Go."

With a parting glare, she reluctantly got up and began to walk toward the introspective digidestined.

Jiro gave Kin a look of surprise.

"What?" He asked.

"Nothing. I j-just thought that well…you and Noriko…"

Kin chuckled. "Are you kidding? Me and Noriko? I've known her since we were little kids, Jiro. She's like a little sister to me."

"Oh." Jiro scratched his head. "Guess I completely missed that one. Um, but you and Kuri-?"

"Yeah, I liked her." Kin admitted. "But don't ever tell her that."

"Or Davis." Yolei added with a smile.

"Yeah." Kin glanced toward the door anxiously. "Especially not Davis."

* * *

Cody kept playing the extremely brief conversation in his head over and over.

_Seek out your father's killer. Your father's killer…_

It didn't make sense. For all intents and purposes, his father hadn't been killed, at least not in the truest sense of the word. He had been guarding the councilman, and when the time came, he had jumped in front of the bullet meant for his charge. His father's life was given more than it had been taken. There had been no real "killer," unless, of course, the creature had been referring to the councilman's would-be assassin. But how could that man be connected to anything that was going on now?

A thought occurred to Cody. Mr. Atuma was an accomplished private investigator. Perhaps if he brought this mystery to him- Cody looked up and startled himself out of his reverie. Kneeling in front of him was a girl with cropped black hair and a very concerned look in her cobalt eyes.

"Um, hey," Noriko said timidly. "You okay?"

Cody gave her a confused look. "Um, yeah. I guess. Why?"

"You just seemed, I dunno, lonely over here."

She ungainly shifted her feet and when their gazes met, averted her eyes from him to the wall.

"Oh. I'm alright. I'm just thinking about some…things."

"Okay," Noriko let out an anxious guffaw before clearing her throat. "Well, I'll leave you alone then-"

"No, it's fine." Cody really wasn't sure why he said that. It really wasn't fine. He needed time alone, to think, but for some reason Noriko was different. He always felt that he owed something to her, somehow. "I was just, trying to figure out something."

"Oh?" She leaned with her back against the wall next to him and slid down to his level. "Trying to figure out what clue might help Ken?"

Cody was about to shake his head, but paused and frowned in consternation. "I don't know. Maybe so. I think I have one."

"Really?" Noriko raised a brow. "What is it?"

"One of those creatures that attacked us yesterday told me something about my father."

"Your father? Seriously?"

Cody nodded solemnly and continued. "He told me to seek out my father's killer."

For a moment both were silent. Noriko spoke first "Sounds like some kind of trap to me."

"I'm not so sure. I considered that, but there was just something about that creature. About the way he talked. He just seemed sincere." Cody glanced at Noriko. "Look, I know it sounds ridiculous-"

"No, I believe you." She placed a hand on his arm to convey her sincerity. "It could be like he was telling you that against his orders or something. I mean, we know those things are dark. And we know that many dark beings are forced to do things against their will."

Cody noticed as a glaze passed over Noriko eyes, no doubt due to the ghosts of her past returning to the forefront of her mind.

"It still bothers you, doesn't it?" He said quietly.

"All the time-" Noriko paused and looked suddenly startled. "I mean-"

"It's okay. It's understandable. That's not something that someone gets over easy."

Noriko sighed. "It really isn't. It'd be one thing if all the other dark spore kids hadn't moved away, but now that I'm the only one left…"

"What about Ken?"

"Ken? Humph. He 'doesn't like to talk about his past', remember."

Cody nodded. That did seem to be Ken's mantra now. "So how have you been dealing with it then?"

Noriko frowned. "I haven't really. Kin just likes to pacify me, tell me that everything's alright, that I'm a better person now." She shook her head. "But I can still feel it, you know. Yeah, the spore's not controlling like it was back then, before Oikawa absorbed most of it, but I can still feel it there. I know that I can still slip up and turn back into the person- no, _thing_, that I used to be."

"But you won't, Noriko. You're a lot stronger than you were back then."

The girl sadly smiled and looked down at the floor. "How do you always do this?"

"I'm sorry?"

"We've spoken all of what, three times since over the last five years? And each time, you have always managed to deflect the focus of our conversation back towards me."

Cody began to get up, using his kendo stick as leverage. "Am I doing something wrong?"

"I don't know. It's just, you're like a bad credit card or something."

"What?"

"Before you let me pay my debts to you, you keep piling up the interest."

For the first time in quite a while, Cody found himself smiling. "Interesting analogy."

Noriko crossed her arms and took on a pouting stance. "But it's true. Why don't I get to help you with your problems, for once?"

"Believe it or not, you already have." Cody reached down and offered the girl a hand up. She took it, though her lips were pursed and eyes narrowed.

"Yeah, right."

"I'm serious." Cody sheathed his weapon and strapped it to his back. "Just watch."

* * *

"Man, they're actually having a conversation over there." Yolei observed.

Ken sighed, irritated that she'd once again interrupted their brainstorming session with unrelated commentary.

"Well, good for them."

"Don't take that kind of tone with me Ken. I'm just saying, I didn't really expect her to have any progress with Cody."

"What?" Jiro asked. "He doesn't like girls or something? He-uh plays for the other team?"

"Of course not." Yolei replied, before looking at Cody with more scrutiny. "But now that you mention it…"

"What Yolei means is that Cody is just more of the silent type." Ken said. "Now if we could just get back to-"

"Has anyone considered the possibility that maybe Noriko just wants to talk to him as a friend?" Kari interrupted with crossed arms and a scowl.

"Oh boy." TK muttered as Ken allowed his head to drop in defeat. "Here we go."

Kari continued. "I mean, what should one innocent conversation have to do with Cody's, um, orientation?"

Kin smirked. "So you think he's playing both sides then?"

At that moment Cody and Noriko walked over. The table suddenly got extremely quiet.

Cody took in the scene and frowned. "I'd ask what you all were talking about, but I'm sure I don't want to know."

"You don't." Yolei confirmed. "So, are you feeling better now? Well enough to join the rest of us?"

Cody took a seat at the table beside Noriko. "Yes mom, thanks."

Yolei scowled and juvenilely stuck her tongue out at him.

Cody ignored her. "Noriko helped me realize that I have some information that I should share with you all."

Ken leaned forward. "Does this have anything to do with whatever that orange mutant told you last night?"

Cody looked at him in surprise.

"Saw it out of the corner of my eye." Ken explained.

"God Ken, you're really creepy sometimes." TK said.

"Well, yes," Cody admitted. "It does have something to do with that. In fact, it's might be the biggest lead we're going to find…"

* * *

Tai walked into the storage dock to find Sora almost exactly as he expected to, seated on a small crate in the far corner, crying her heart out. With a grimace, Tai walked over to her slowly and quietly, only alerting her to his presence as he sat down on the weathered wooden box beside her. Sora looked up at him with surprised, tear-swollen eyes for a moment, before bursting into sobs again and throwing her arms around him.

Tai waited patiently, his heart softening as he began to realize just how much pain Sora must have been going through. Finally, after a few minutes had passed, Sora spoke.

"What happened to us, Tai?" She asked, doing her best to wipe her tears with her hands.

"Well, let's see. We were best friends, you liked me, but I didn't know, then I liked you, but you liked Matt, Jun liked Matt, Matt liked you, then Jun liked me, and I liked Jun…" Tai took a breath. "Do I really have to spell the rest out?"

"No." Sora sniffed and stared down at her lap. "I didn't mean you and me, though. I meant me and Matt."

"Oh." Tai shrugged. "Well I'm not sure what to tell you there."

"I know. It's just, from watching you and Jun together, just over the past day and a half, I can see that we have a lot of problems."

"Sora, trust me. You can't compare yourselves to me and Jun. I mean, in Kuri's words, 'we're sickening together,' though I'm not so sure she and Davis aren't just as bad." Tai shook his head and chuckled. "Anyway, comparisons never really help. It's just one of those things that I've learned you don't do with relationships."

Sora shrugged. "I don't see why not. You guys all seem like you're perfect together. And you and Davis are so different now. Almost makes me wish that Matt could've gone to that academy."

Tai shook his head. "Sora, you just don't get it."

"What?"

"You have the Crest of Love, but sometimes you understand it less than anyone. It wasn't the Academy that made me the way that I am now. It wasn't the Academy that made me a better man, in your eyes anyway. It was me. The person that I am now, versus the person I was a year ago is the result of the changes that I felt I needed to make-"

"Right. I'm just saying that if you had never gone to that Academy and become a Knight, you wouldn't have felt the need to make these changes-"

"Sora, I made these changes for Jun."

"What? But…" Sora gaped, not really knowing what to say.

"That's why I said sometimes you don't understand love. She's my soul mate Sora. Once we got together, it became a driving force in my life to always be a man worthy of her. Yes, I want to be a good Knight, to lead them well so we can save the world, but, if you recall, I did that before, just the way I was. Why would I feel the need to change so much about myself just to do something I know I'm already capable of? The truth is it's Jun that's most responsible for who I am now."

Sora wrapped her arms around herself, turned away from Tai, and closed her eyes. "You never did that for me." She whispered. "If you had, things might have gone differently between us."

"Sora, don't take this the wrong way, but I'm glad they didn't. I didn't truly love you."

Sora glanced back at Tai and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right. That's not what you told me."

"I'm serious. Maybe I thought I did, but I now realize that what I felt for you then was nothing like the way I feel about Jun now."

Sora winced a little and let out an almost indiscernible whimper. "Okay, that hurt a lot more than I imagined it would."

Tai walked over to her and placed a sympathetic arm around her shoulders. "I'm sorry Sora, but isn't that the same thing you told me about Matt for so long- that you loved him so much more than me?"

"Yes, but…" She sighed in frustration before shrugging him off and walking away again. "That was before he started acting the way he is, and you came back like this."

Tai sat down again on another adjacent crate. "I'm not sure I follow."

"You're everything I always wanted you to be, and Matt's nothing at all like the man I fell in love with. It just complicates our problem even more."

Tai shifted uncomfortably. "And what would that problem be?"

She completely turned away from him and dropped her voice several octaves. "I think you know. You always knew. It's why you never quit…"

"There's a part of you that still loves me, isn't there?" Tai said this with a flat, emotionless tone. He regretted even having to ask the question.

Sora's voice became shaky once again. "Y-yes. B-but it was never a problem before. I always loved Matt more. So much more. I really did."

Tai was surprised at just how little impact Sora's words had on him- words that would have absolutely torn his heart apart not so long ago.

"Why did he change, Tai? Why does he always have to be so jealous of you? Why can't he understand that I love him most?"

"Well, first of all, you need to take the 'most' out of that sentence, Sora." Tai's voice sounded stern as he slipped more into his leadership persona.

Sora scoffed. "What, I'm just supposed to not care about you at all anymore, Tai?"

"No. But whatever you feel for me should be inconsequential. Your love for Matt should be so great that it's all that matters. Until you figure out how to give him all of your heart, he'll never be able to give you his."

"But-"

"You know what I'm saying is the truth, Sora. Don't fight it. It's in you, remember? Out of all of us, you're the one whose love is the most powerful. So use it."

Sora looked over her shoulder at Tai in contemplation, then slowly nodded as her countenance began to change. She smiled slightly before speaking again. "You know, this is weird."

"How's that?"

"I guess it's Jun effect on you, but, for you to go from the blunt, sometimes insensitive Tai that I once knew, to the person you are now- " Sora turned and faced Tai once again. "It's just an amazing transformation, especially since it all happened over only a couple of weeks, from my perspective anyway." She slowly strode back to him, not stopping until they were only inches apart, and looked directly into his eyes. She searched them for a moment, seemingly in an attempt to gauge him.

"It seems like you've learned so much about love and relationships." She said. "Jun's a very lucky woman."

"Not as lucky as I am to have her."

"Yes. Yes you are fortunate, I suppose…" With a sigh, Sora took a seat beside Tai once again and silently stared at the distant wall of the dock. A few minutes of silence passed before she spoke again. "Look, Tai, I just want to apologize for the way I acted toward you before you left. Matt and I had no right to treat you as immaturely as we did-"

Tai waved her off with a grunt. "Apology accepted, Sora. Please, just no more angst about this. I forgive you, okay?" He held out a hand to her. "Friends?"

Sora smiled and impulsively leaned over and wrapped her arms around Tai, hugging him tightly and holding him for a second.

When she finally let go Tai took a deep breath. "Wow, what was that for?"

She grinned. "Nothing. It's just good to have my buddy back."

"Yeah." Tai said, smiling as he rubbed his aching side, "I guess it has been a while, hasn't it?"

Sora nodded. "Years." Her smile quickly faded and she sighed as she looked back toward the door Tai came in. "Matt's probably gone by now, though."

Tai grunted, leapt down from the crate, and then helped her down as well. "Don't worry. I get the feeling he won't be leaving any time soon."

* * *

Jun discreetly watched Matt enter the Chamber's outer repository from her position in the room's upper catwalks. Cloaked in the shadows, she stealthily followed his progress from one end of the large room to the other, where a couple of lower level agents stood in front of an exit airlock.

"Hold on there!" The younger of the two called out as Matt approached. "You can't leave this facility."

"The hell I can't." Matt replied. "Hatori said we're free to go anytime we wish. I'm choosing to exercise that option. Now open the door."

The men glanced at one another. The older one turned to Matt. "You realize those things are still hunting you out there, right? Don't be fooled by them laying low right now. Someone with your kind of high profile won't last an hour out there."

"Fine. I'll disguise myself."

"Sure." The other agent laughed. "And just where's your digimon partner?"

"Well, bringing Gabumon would kind of defeat the purpose of disguising myself, now wouldn't it, genius?"

"Look kid, this is your funeral. You want to go out there, then fine. Nice knowing ya." The older one walked to the airlock doors and began punching in a sequence on the keypad there.

At that moment, Jun decided to make her move. She leapt down from the rafters, landing neatly between the two agents. Alarmed, the men instinctively pulled their firearms, both of which Jun managed to swiftly knock away with a precisely timed roundhouse kick.

"Relax." She said, raising her hands when the two both made to reach for secondary weapons. "It's just me."

It took them only a second to make the transition from surprised to irate. "And just what the hell do you think you're doing?"

Jun nodded toward the stunned Matt. "Making sure he doesn't leave, if you don't mind."

"I don't care what you're doing, girl, this facility was not made for you kids to go sneaking around, launching surprise attacks from the ceilings-"

"Yeah, okay. Could you guys just give us a moment alone?"

"The nerve of you kids." The older agent grumbled. "This is our _post_ sweetheart. We're on _sentry_ duty here."

Jun quietly gnashed her teeth at the man's condescending tone and managed some semblance of evenness in her response.

"I'm sure you could perform your _sentry_ duty just as effectively, if not more so, from _outside _those doors, if only for a few minutes."

"Don't you presume to tell us-"

The younger agent stopped his partner with a hand to the chest. "Frank, let's just give them a few minutes, okay?"

Frank grumbled and stooped to pick up he and his partners weapons. "Fine." He eyed Jun angrily. "You've got _five minutes_ girl."

"You're too kind." Jun deadpanned. "Thanks."

The men opened the airlock and walked through. Matt made to follow them but Jun stepped in front of him as the doors closed.

"What do you want?" Matt said, annoyed. "Feeling like old times?"

Jun scowled. "Matt, there are seventeen different ways I could render you unconscious right now. Please don't make me try one out."

"Fine." He gave in by taking a step back. "Still, what do you want?"

"You can't leave this place Matt."

"I don't see why not."

"Sora needs you."

Matt chuckled. "Yeah, right. Sora has all she needs right here already. You better make sure to keep an eye on Tai."

Jun shook her head. "When will you ever get past this childish fascination with Tai?"

"What?"

"Sora loves you, not Tai."

"Yeah, sure. That's why, whenever he throws a tantrum, she goes running to him. Doing whatever he needs to soothe his ego."

"Since we returned, from what you've seen of us, do you really think that Tai still has feelings for Sora?"

Matt stood there dumbly, his fists clinched. "Maybe not anymore, but that's beside the point."

"Oh, really?"

"Sora has proven time and time again that she still loves Tai. How can any man marry a woman that can't even love him exclusively?"

"Sora loves you, Matt. Sure, she still cares a lot for Tai. He was her best friend since they were practically in diapers. That will never change for her. But it's you that she's in love with."

"If that's true Jun, then why doesn't she act like it? Since you guys returned she's barely spoken to me-"

"That's because since we returned, you've been acting like an ass."

Matt rolled his eyes.

Jun pursed her lips and looked at him, her hands on her hips. She squinted for a moment, as if studying him intensively, and then nodded to herself. "Okay Matt, I think I see the problem here. It's not with Tai or Sora, or even your unfounded insecurities regarding them. This has to do with you losing yourself, doesn't it?"

Matt exaggeratedly scratched his head. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Jun smiled. "I'm glad you asked. Look, ever since you've become successful with your band, you've enjoyed a huge amount of popularity and wealth, haven't you?"

"Yeah. So?"

"With those perks you've also lost connections with a lot of the people you once called friends."

"Well, yeah. I was busy."

"Just tell me, what good is a crest of friendship if you don't have friends?"

"What is your point?"

"So you got famous, wrapped yourself up in a new life, a new identity right? You really thought that you hadn't changed?"

Matt didn't reply.

"You know, I really enjoyed the part in your brother's _Chronicles_ where he talked about your personal ordeal during the fight with the Dark Masters, how you let yourself slip into an almost literal cave of self-doubt, questioning your worth to everyone else, to yourself. You separated from the group, truly lost yourself, and had to fight hard within your soul to avoid a suicidal fate."

"Then you found Sora in the same condition, in the same kind of cave, doubting herself as well, and because you knew exactly what she was going through, you were able to save her. In you, she found a friend that could share her doubts and worries- things Tai was always too overconfident to understand. In you, she found someone she could love. And in her, you found someone who could love and depend on you, who would always remind you of your worth and ability as a friend. It was a perfect match…then. Problem is, the person you are has changed a lot since then, whether you know it or not."

Matt crossed his arms, which Jun noted as a classic sign of insecurity, but he still made no comment.

"Now that we have come back, with a new threat to both worlds, everyone around you has found themselves returning to the people they used to be all those years ago, the end result of a process that probably started when Tai first went missing. They're starting to find their selflessness, their unity in working together towards a goal. But you, you can't just go back that easily, can you? Too much has changed for you. It scares you, that you can't be the person you used to be."

Jun shook her head for emphasis. "No, this isn't about Sora or Tai. This is about a realization that the events of the past few weeks have brought to the forefront of your mind. Last night just punctuated it."

"Yeah? And just what's that?" Try as he might to sound unfazed, Jun could hear the uncertainty in Matt's voice.

"You're back in that cave, Matt. You didn't know it for a long while, and perhaps neither did Sora, but now, now that you're in a situation that forces everyone's strongest traits to naturally come to the forefront, it's as evident now as its ever was. You're doubting yourself again. You're looking at your actions over the years and wondering just how much of a friend you've really been and really are. I know you don't like the way you treated Tai, the way you treated me, but at this point, you believe there's nothing you can do to change it. Now you're wondering about your worth again, wondering if you're even capable of what was once thought to be your strongest ability. So you've taken on this jerk persona to cover it all up, haven't you? It's your form of denial, pinning all of your problems on Tai, and at the same time pushing Sora away."

Jun moved a bit, so that Matt would be forced to look her in the eye. "If you look inside yourself, you'll realize that what I'm saying is true. And you'll know just as well as I do that it's the real reason you're trying to leave this place."

"You're wrong." Matt's assertion sounded completely unconvincing.

"Say whatever you wish, Matt, but I'll just tell you this. The only way you'll break out of that cave this time will be to let Sora return the favor that you did for her all those years ago."

When Matt didn't say anything, Jun took it as her cue to continue.

"Let her love you. Don't push her away. In her you can, and you will, find yourself again."

Matt was silent again, but this time he seemed to be actually considering Jun's words. She gave him some time to soak it all in, knowing he would speak soon enough. When he did, it wasn't what she was expecting.

"What happened to you Jun?" He asked.

"What?"

"You're nothing at all like what I remember. How did you get to be so…" Matt paused, obviously searching for the right word, "different."

Jun shrugged. "I found my courage. My courage to be who I really am, my courage to say what I really think, my courage to fight for what I believe in, and my courage to love."

"In other words, you found Tai."

Jun smiled. "By George, I think he's getting it."

Matt didn't smile, but rather looked away, slipping into thought.

"Well, I'll leave you to think over it." Jun turned around and began walking away.

Matt glanced up sharply. "Wait! You're leaving?" He jerked his head toward the airlock. "What if I decide to go?"

"You're your own person, Matt. Do what you wish."

With that, Jun strolled across the room and through the doors at the far end. She waited until she'd rounded a corner and gone into the hallway beyond to pull her shield from her pocket. As expected, it was glowing brightly. Jun smiled and hung it back around her neck.

"I knew you would give me away." She said, looking at the small object with pride, and at the same time noting that she had yet to hear the loud mechanic sounds of the airlock opening behind her. "I think I'm really starting to get too good at this."

* * *

**Digital World: The Temple**

Ineg traversed the gaping, torch lit halls of the Digital Temple with slow, deliberate steps. He carefully studied the ancient language carved into the Temple's ornate limestone walls, tracing its symbols with a finger wherever the grooves had become too shallow and indiscernible to see.

"Yes," He said quietly to himself. "According to this, the door to the antechamber must be somewhere around here…"

He rooted around the area, pressing firmly in various spots until finally, the entire wall began to vibrate, dropping quantities of sand from the ceiling everywhere, and a sizable section of it gradually lowered to reveal a large room beyond. Ineg stepped into the massive chamber and looked around, impressed. Giant columns ran down each side of the room, which was brightly lit by hundreds of torches. At the far end of the room was an altar, on top of which sat a small sphere of light, a metallic sphere, and a seemingly ordinary sword. Two gigantic golden statues stood at the sides of the altar, one of MagnaAngemon, and the other of Angewomon, the Temple's symbolic guardians.

Ineg smiled indulgently. "Ah, not too dificul-"

He stopped short as a breeze blew into and around the chamber, causing his robe to flutter and all of the room's torches to flicker slightly.

Ineg laughed. "Oikawa. I've been waiting. Though, I wonder exactly how you plan to stop me. A stiff wind isn't exactly what I would call strong resistance."

He casually sauntered into the chamber and began to head directly for the altar. The air in the room swept about erratically as he did, causing him to smile. "Frankly, I expected better from you, Guardian. You mean to tell me that you honestly had no better contingency plan than this? How pathetic."

The wind suddenly stopped and for a moment everything in the chamber returned to stillness.

"That's about what I expected."

Ineg stopped short and looked up in surprise. One of the angelic statues had begun to move. The golden form of MagnaAngemon was creaking and crackling as limbs, never meant to have motion, started to explore their newfound freedom. He opened his eyes, initially flooding the room with a flash of hot light before they settled to a hard glow. He stepped forward with two loud thumps, drew a large silver sword from his scabbard, and flared his four, jewel encrusted wings.

Ineg looked up at the imposing twenty-five foot opponent now standing in his way and allowed himself another grin. "So you do have a few tricks up your sleeve, I see."

"I do not wish to kill you." The statue boomed, his voice a mixture of echoing metallic tones and Oikawa's grounded, earthen bass.

"Of course you don't, spirit. I'm sure Gennai wouldn't appreciate you eradicating his only chance at long term survival."

"But I will do what I must."

"And so will I." Ineg enveloped his hands with the light of two charging energy attacks and rushed forward with a scream of fury. "Now die!"

Oikawa raised his sword and charged at him with an equally fierce cry.

The sounds of their epic clash could be heard for miles around.

_To be continued…_

* * *

Next up: **Vengeance and Dark hearts: Pt I**

Whatever happened between Gennai and KiAdjae? Why did The Assassin kill Cody's father and Keyan's parents? What are Hitachi's ultimate plans? And just how will the Knights break from their current restraints to answer these questions and confront evil head on? Find out in the next exciting arc of Digital Knights.

HA! Finished it! There ya go guys.

Next few chapters are pretty good. At least they are fun as hell to write, anyway. I'll update as soon as I can. Don't forget to review.


	18. Vengeance and Dark Hearts Pt 1

Finally back again! After final editing the recaps at the beginning of this chapter were removed. Without further ado…

* * *

**Digital Knights:**

**Vengeance and Dark Hearts: Pt I**

**Digital World: Digital Temple.**

Ineg's breaths continued to come in heaving, tattered, gasps. He looked around, noting the scattered golden debris as he kneeled on the cobblestone temple floor, and indulged himself in a triumphant smile.

"You are beaten, Oikawa." He said between breaths, his eyes flashing white with one last surge of power. "I'll take my prize now."

With notable effort, he rose to his feet and began to slowly cross the room, savoring his victory with each, deliberate step. "But don't worry, Spirit, when I retake Gennai, it will be quick and painless. It will be KiAdjae's wrath that you and the rest of the Digital World will have to fear. Good luck with that."

Ineg casually approached the altar at the front of the room and reached out to pluck the objects there from their resting places. After pocketing the spheres and fashioning the sword into a makeshift scabbard with the drawstrings of his robes, he turned and began to leave.

"STOP!"

Ineg paused at sound and looked around for its owner. He smiled when he spied the harmless form of MagnaAngemon's severed head lying on its side in the far corner of the room.

"And what will you do if I don't? Gnaw my ankles?"

"As the guardian of this world and the prophecies, I can and will destroy this place if I must to stop you."

Ineg's eyes grew wide, and for the first time, they conveyed some measure of fear. "You wouldn't."

"Try me."

With no further hesitation, Ineg broke into a sprint, rushing toward the cavern's entrance with a newfound alacrity. As soon as he did, the room began to undulate violently, forcing him off his feet and sending him crashing into a nearby column.

"I can possess anything within these hallowed walls, including the walls themselves," boomed Oikawa. "You will not escape."

Ineg regained his bearings. "You won't destroy the temple! The prophecies-"

"Are all known to me. As of now, this is what it is, only a building."

Ineg turned to run again, but was only able to take two steps before the walls surrounding the chamber's exit began to crumble and collapsed in upon themselves. As the dust cleared from the avalanche of sand and rock, Ineg found himself facing only a pile of rubble where the exit once stood.

"That won't stop me, spirit!" He shouted blindly into the air. "I can defeat these walls just as easily as I did those statues!" On cue, energy began to gather around his fingertips.

"Have it your way."

The room began to quake again, this time much more than previously, forcing Ineg to abandon his thoughts of simply blasting his way out. Only a few moments passed before the temple as a whole began to implode and large chunks of stone began to rain down around him. Ineg looked around desperately for an escape, realizing that he would soon be buried under tons upon tons of rock and sand. "Spirit, you can't do this!" He shouted over the cacophony as he dodged the falling debris. "The temple-"

"Has always had this failsafe. I have done nothing but activate it." Oikawa's voice had leveled off to some measure of calm. He now sounded sad- almost pitying. "This place will serve as your grave, evil one."

"But Gennai-" Ineg began, before disappearing under the crushing weight of another avalanche of masonry.

"Will understand…."

Oikawa's voice drifted away, as did everything else, as Ineg heard and felt no more than the constricting grip of the tons of earth that would hold him now, and forever more.

* * *

**Real World: Tokyo, Japan**

Two men ran desperately through the deserted streets of downtown Tokyo. It was the early morning- very early, in fact, and the sky still showed no hints of an imminent rising sun. One of the men looked to his partner, his chest heaving, as he continued on, not daring to stop.

"Is he, 'gasp' still back there?"

The other man looked back over his shoulder without faltering in his stride. "I…don't know. He's fast. For all we know, he could be in front of us now."

His partner pulled up and suddenly came to a halt. "You're right." He wheezed. "He's probably toying with us."

The first man looked appalled. "Gavin, come on. We can't stop now. I mean, _Christ_, it was the _red_ one, man. Have you heard the things about him?"

Gavin nodded. "Yes, including that we can't possibly outrun him. I'm transmitting the information." He pulled a small electronic device out of his pocket and began tooling with its buttons. "Cover me, Hachi."

"Cover you." Hachi sneered. He pulled a firearm from inside his jacket lapel and picked up his leg to pluck another one from an ankle holster. "We're dead. You know that, right?"

Gavin didn't look up from his device. "Then I will make sure that our deaths were not in vain."

There was a sharp _crack_, causing Hachi to quickly turn and aim his weapons in the direction of the noise. Gavin flinched and looked up from his work.

"What was that?"

"Not sure." Hachi was trembling. "Hurry and make the transmission."

As Gavin returned to his task, Hachi slowly stepped forward, peering into the adjacent alleyway that the sound had originated from. He gasped. A couple of lights suddenly shone from within, akin to twin white beacons in the darkness beyond.

Hachi drew a deep breath. _The creature's eyes-_

There was an ear splitting roar, a flash of red, and before he could respond, Hachi found himself on the ground, pinned under the talons of the massive salivating beast. He struggled to move, but found his efforts excessively futile.

The creature hardly paid attention to Hachi. Instead, he turned his large, scaled head to look upon the fallen agent's partner.

"Hand over the PDA," he rumbled, "Or your friend here will die in a most painful manner."

"Don't do it, Gavin! Run!"

"Silence!" growled the creature as he swiftly raked a claw across Hachi's throat.

Hachi screamed in pain, but oddly found that no sound came forth, save for a wheezing of air, followed by a sickening gurgle. In horror, he realized that the monster had surgically severed his vocal chords. His eyes went wide and he grasped at his neck, attempting to restrict any blood flow.

"Now." The creature continued. "Hand it over."

"No." Gavin backed away and pulled out his gun. "You'll have to kill me as well."

"I plan to." The creature stepped forward and his claws began to glow a bright red. "Your actions are simply making the choice between a quick, clean death, or a slow, tortuous one."

At the moment it seemed he would pounce, a voice interrupted from above.

"How many times are we going to have to do this, mutant?"

Everyone looked into the air to see WarGreymon, flanked by the Digital Knight, Tai Kamiya, descending down toward the scene.

The creature backed away with a growl as they came in for a landing.

"Every time we meet up with you, it's the same thing." Tai said with a dark, angry, glare. "You attack someone, we show up, kick your ass. You retreat. Lather, rinse, repeat. It's getting old."

Red laughed, or least it was the sick, cackling, equivalent of a laugh. "You know, for every CADE agent you save, Kamiya, I kill at least three more."

Tai's face became even more set, his jaw clenched. "It ends here, mutant. Tonight will be different. You won't escape."

Red continued to grin smugly. "You're right. Tonight will be different. In fact, here's something new for you."

Something large leapt down from the rooftops of the buildings surrounding them, striking the ground behind Red with a loud boom in a crouching pose, and slowly rising back to its full height with a guttural growl. It was the orange mutant. Several more creatures, the flying blue ones, alit lightly on the ground behind him. They were then joined by a large contingent of the more brutish gray mutants, who began to emerge from the many dark alleys along the street.

"I brought allies."

With that, Red swung his arm at Tai, sending several destructive bands of crimson energy at him. Just before they could reach him, however, something landed between the two and the bands exploded as they collided with a hastily constructed barrier. As the bright spectacle faded away, the Knight Clara Sanchez was revealed to be standing there, the light of the barrier emanating from a badge on her chest. A Silphymon, along with Knights that Gavin recognized as Kuri Katsura, Rosa Ruiz, and their digimon partners, were flanking her.

Tai gave Red a calculating stare. "So did I."

At this, the mutants rushed forward, amid a chorus of growls and roars, all brandishing deadly claws and teeth.

Tai sprang into action. "Okay, Kuri, Peko, take the orange one! Clara and Rosa, the blue and gray ones! WarGreymon and I will take Red! Go!"

Everyone went to engage their respective opponents as the two groups clashed in a loud mixture of shouts, grunts, and explosions.

Gavin, who'd dived to the ground at his first chance, took this opportunity to crawl over to his fallen partner.

"Hachi, are you alright?"

Hachi slowly looked over at him, lazily shook his head, and allowed his eyes to roll back into his head. Gavin quickly slapped him across the face several times, hard.

"No, no, no, Hachi. Don't do that. Stay with me."

Hachi looked over at his partner groggily, then put a hand to his throat, which was bleeding profusely.

"Right." Gavin nodded and quickly ripped a section of fabric from his coat. He carefully applied it to the area, before pulling a phone from his pocket and placing a call.

"Hello? Hello? Yes, this is agent Drake. We need a Medivac here immediately. My location? It's um-"

He paused and took a look around, squinting to see through the battle raging around him. He was cut off by the sound of a loud crash, as a nearby bus stop exploded in a shower of glass. After a moment, a body rose from the twisted wreckage and Gavin could make out the countenance of an enraged Kuri Katsura.

With a woosh of air and a loud thump, the massive orange mutant leapt over and landed in front of her. The mutant threw a punch, which Kuri easily blocked.

"You're holding back on me," She observed. Her voice didn't sound as if it was taunting, but rather genuinely surprised.

The creature roared and threw another punch. This time Kuri caught the strike in her arms and used her lower leverage to throw him across the street and into the side of a parked car.

As the orange mutant slowly regained his footing, Kuri turned to a Valkrymon that was approaching her from the air, having just dispatched a gray mutant that had attacked it from behind.

"Peko, handle him!"

The large digimon nodded and immediately went to engage the orange mutant, viciously tackling him over the roof of the car and through a nearby glass storefront before he could recover his bearings.

"Sir, your location please?"

Gavin looked down to his phone in surprise, having forgotten about it completely.

"Mid-town!" He shouted into the receiver, his eyes darting around anxiously. "Just look for the explosions!"

At that moment, Kuri flew over and landed next to him. She cast a concerned glance at the man lying on the ground.

"How is he?"

Gavin looked down at his partner, whose eyes were barely open at this point.

"He's got a weak pulse and his neck's been cut pretty deep. No severed arteries, but he still needs a medivac ASAP. I just called for one-"

A loud screeching noise interrupted him and the two looked up the see a couple of the blue mutants diving towards them. Kuri reacted quickly and pulled a glowing purple crossbow from her back. She fired an arrow, brilliantly comprised of light and electricity, and hit one of the mutants head on, sending it careening through the air towards Clara, who greeted it with a two hand overhand bash that sent the blue mutant crashing into the street below with a loud crack.

The mutant's companion came much closer to Gavin and Kuri before the latter was able to reload her crossbow and strike it as well, this time blasting the creature through the air towards Rosa, who managed to catch it by the legs and re-direct its path through the glass facade of a high-rise office building.

Kuri turned back to Gavin as she reached into the quiver on her back for another arrow. "How long does a medivac usually take?"

Gavin shrugged. "I'm not sure. We normally don't use them."

"What?"

"Before you guys showed up, we didn't really have many opportunities to recover the wounded. Any agents caught in our situation usually wound up dead."

Kuri frowned. "Well, that's what your partner will be if that thing doesn't show up soon."

Just as she finished her sentence, the sounds of rhythmic thumping drifted down to them from the rooftops. Both quickly looked up into the night sky

"The medivac isn't a helicopter, is it?" Kuri asked.

"Gavin shook his head.

"Damn." She muttered. "We keep telling them to stay away."

"What?"

"The news copters. They only put themselves in danger and make things that much harder on us."

"Oh."

Kuri looked away from the sky and turned her attention back to the battle around them, searching for any incoming threats. Shortly, she spotted two approaching gray mutants. With a casual quickness that belied her deadly acuity, Kuri simultaneously loaded and fired a couple of arrows at the pair, blasting them back with twin explosions of light and heat.

"So, how did you get into this situation?" She asked Gavin as she reloaded.

Gavin shook his head to stop himself from marveling at how smoothly the girl operated, and promptly helped her by taking down an approaching blue mutant with a few rounds from his firearm.

"We, ah, my partner Hachi and I," He began as he released, checked, and reloaded his clip, "have been under deep cover for a while, infiltrating some outer portions of Hitachi's operations, particularly shipping."

"So what did you do?" Kuri paused as she spun on her heels and took out yet another blue mutant. "Haul boxes?"

"Actually, yes. At first we simply received instructions to pick up equipment from one drop-off point, and deliver it to another. After a while we moved up in the ranks and got promoted to one of the shipping hubs. Once there, it didn't take long for us to enact a plan to steal the foreman's shipment itinerary."

"And let me guess." Kuri interrupted. "You got caught?"

Gavin blasted another blue mutant in midair and nodded. "There was some kind of trip to the silent security system that we were unaware of."

He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small black object. Its sleek form glinted in the light of a nearby streetlamp.

"Is that it?" Kuri asked as she cautiously took the PDA from him with her free hand. "You actually got the itinerary?"

"Yeah, that's it." Gavin said with a nod. "It's got a few names in it. I doubt it's worth much, though. Certainly wasn't worth us blowing our cover, at any rate. CADE's gonna have our heads… "

"I don't know, there has to be some use for it." Kuri handed the device back to Gavin, who refused it with a wave.

"Keep it." He said, giving her a meaningful look. "You and your people have a better chance of using it to accomplish something than I do."

Kuri nodded and placed the PDA in a utility pack on her belt. As she did, a low persistent hum permeated the crisp air. The two looked up as a bus-sized, black hovercraft descended down toward the street. Kuri, at first tense at the sight of the imposing craft, relaxed once she saw that a pair of large, red, crosses were emblazoned on its sides.

"Looks like your ride's here."

As soon as the medivac touched down on the street, its bay doors opened and several men ran out, pushing a stretcher between them. Kuri stepped back as the men rushed over and quickly began ministrations on Hachi. Gavin moved aside as well while the professionals went to work

"Thank you." He said, turning to Kuri. He reached out and shook her hand.

"No problem." She scanned up and down the street. "Looks like all the mutants left."

No sooner had the words left her mouth than Clara and Marta came in for a landing beside the two, followed closely by Rosemon.

"Well, they took off, as usual." Marta grumbled.

"We did what we were supposed to do." A voice said from above. Everyone looked up as Tai and WarGreymon descended and landed in the midst of the group.

"How did things go with the red one?" Kuri asked.

Tai answered the question with a fuming silence and WarGreymon was forced to speak for him. "He was the first to leave, of course. Barely even threw any attacks before he left."

Rosa landed beside the group then, slightly out of breath. "I'm getting tired of this cat and mouse crap." She huffed, flinching in annoyance as Clara went to look her over.

"Where were you?" Clara asked with a curiously raised brow.

Rosa pointed upwards. "Up there, chasing one of those things out of that office building. I couldn't just leave him hiding up there, could I?"

"I guess not." Satisfied that her cousin was okay, Clara pulled out her digivice and glanced at it. "Looks like our patrol is up."

Tai nodded. "We need to return for our nightly debriefing." He turned and looked over the gathered agents and paramedics. "Will you all need an escort?"

"Nah," one of them answered after they'd carefully placed Hachi on a stretcher and transported him onto their craft. "We're all set to go. This baby is armed to the teeth and can hit Mach II. I think we'll be safe." He patted the hull of the ship for good measure and smiled.

"All right then." Tai said with a nod. "You'd better get going."

"And so had we." Clara added, a hint of anxiousness creeping into her voice as she checked the time again on her digivice.

Kuri rolled her eyes. "Oh, relax girl. Terence isn't going anywhere." She gave Clara a slight smirk, then turned towards Gavin. "Good working with you."

"Likewise." He nodded and looked over the group, and with a last wave, turned and headed for the medivac, which seemed ready to take off. As he headed up the steps of the craft, Gavin added quietly to himself, "Good luck kids. You may not know it, but you've got a lot more against you than just a few mutants."

* * *

**Odaiba: The Chamber**

A hodgepodge mix of Knights, digidestined, and digimon were gathered around a rather large television in The Chamber's recreational den, seated on various couches and chairs. All were dressed in traditional sleeping attire and a few seemed to be making some real effort just to keep themselves awake.

"I think he might be able t' get him this time." Armadillomon commented, absorbed in the TV as he absently munched on popcorn from a bowl in Cody's lap.

"Are you kidding?" Peko asked him with a hint of incredulity. "Have you never seen this show before?" When Armadillomon shook his head in reply, she said, "Well, just watch."

There was a sudden explosion on screen and several of the digimon in the room groaned in disappointment while the others laughed.

Terence rolled his eyes with a chuckle. "Come on guys, the coyote is not going to catch him, no matter how much you might be rooting for him. I mean, it's the theme of the whole show. Imagine if he did. What the hell would they do for the next episode?"

"Eh." Sparks shrugged. "All we're saying is that maybe if he quit using all that crappy ACME stuff, he'd get somewhere."

Terence allowed his head to drop with a sigh. "You all really know how to kill good comedy. The ACME products are essential to the show."

"Well," Veemon began thoughtfully, "Maybe if his weapons weren't so complicated. Like if he had an ACME shotgun or something useful. I mean look," He pointed at the screen. "What did he really think he was gonna do with all that dynamite and a catapult?"

Gatomon giggled at Veemon, causing several digimon in the room to look at her in surprise.

With a frown, Terence picked up the TV remote from the table beside him, muttering something that sounded like, "Damn digimon, ruining perfectly good cartoons…"

He switched the channel and abruptly broke into a wide grin. "Oh my-. Please tell me this is what I think it is."

On the screen was an animated depiction of a group of kids alongside several large, colorful, creatures. They were all running around, ironically to a song of the same name, and appeared to be battling against a mummy and some type of large spider. Upon seeing this, Terence was overtaken by a fit of laughter and had to hold his sides as he nearly fell from his chair. Curtis mirrored him, and even Jun had to cover her mouth to stifle her snickers. Sora, Izzy, and Mimi looked pretty amused as well.

Cody, TK, Kari, and Davis, on the other hand, seemed a bit irate, and were giving the others deathly stares.

Terence noticed them and sobered himself enough to talk. "I'm sorry, it's just-" He looked at the screen again and burst into another fit of giggles. "I mean, did you guys really sign off on this?"

Davis crossed his arms. "Hey, we didn't know they were gonna make our heads that big…or our dialogue that corny…or the music that weird…" He paused and scratched his head while looking at the TV with a grimace of regret. "Anyway, the point is, uh, we got paid."

"I certainly hope you did." Curtis said, pointing. "Cause the money sure didn't go into the production values on this show. I mean, look at that. Is that supposed to represent Exveemon flying? It's just a single frame of animation slowly sliding across the screen."

"You think that's bad, you should see the season featuring those guys." Yolei said, jabbing a thumb in the direction of Izzy, Mimi, and Sora. "I think they almost cried when they saw the first episode. And the theme song…"

As Curtis shook his head, grumbling something about "cheap anime," Jun turned to her brother. "You're never going to hear the end of this from Terence." She said between chuckles.

Davis put a hand to his forehead. "Ugh, don't I know-"

He paused then, as did everyone else, as Matt had suddenly appeared at the room's doorway. Lately, Matt had been behaving particularly standoffish, and was currently content to only look into the room, his hands in his pockets and a sullen expression on his face. His gaze flowed quickly over the group, though it lingered on Sora, then Jun, momentarily. He then turned away from the door and continued on his way.

Mimi placed an arm around the deflated Sora's shoulders. "He'll come around." She said in what sounded like a practiced tone. "You just have to be patient."

Davis leaned toward Jun and shielded his mouth with a hand. "Sis," he whispered, "What's up with him?"

Jun looked toward the door in a moment of thought before answering. "Hmm, if I didn't know better, I'd say he was pulling a Kuri."

Davis recoiled. "What?"

"Hey!" Izzy interrupted them from the back of the room. "A news report! Turn it up!"

At once, everyone's attention turned back to the television as Terence increased its volume. A field reporter was on the screen, speaking into the camera, as a video montage played in a small inset screen beside her.

"This was the scene a short while ago, as fighting broke out in downtown Tokyo between two factions, the mutants that have been terrorizing countries worldwide, and our defenders, the mysterious group known to us as the Digital Knights."

"They didn't contact us!" Exclaimed Curtis as he pulled out his digivice to be sure. "Why?"

"Because they were able to handle it just fine." Davis replied.

Jun looked at her brother critically. "You knew they were fighting, didn't you?"

"Yeah," Terence added. "Your connection with Kuri should have told you that much."

"Of course it did," Davis shrugged. "And through it, Kuri also told me that everyone was just fine. No reason to panic."

Terence grunted. "Tai and this damn, 'mixed teams' strategy. It's going to drive us all crazy."

"Maybe." Curtis said. "But I have to hand it to him, it's a really good idea that we all learn to work together in smaller groups. It's not like we'll always be partnered the same way every time we're in a fight. I mean, we _will_ get separated at times."

"I agree." Jun said. "But still, it makes me uncomfortable not to be out there with Tai. I just can't shake the feeling that he needs me."

"Of course I do." Said a familiar voice from the doorway.

Jun turned quickly and beamed when she saw the face of her boyfriend there. She leapt from her chair and rushed across the room to embrace him tightly. "Tai, you should have called for backup."

"We were okay." Tai assured as he kissed her on the forehead.

The rest of his group filed into the room behind him, all wearing looks of disappointment initially, but tempered somewhat by reunions with their loved ones.

"Let me guess," Curtis said as he took in Rosa's fuming countenance after a short hug. "They got away again."

She nodded. "It's like we don't even matter to them anymore. Like they're just toying with us."

Curtis reached down and held both of her hands. "I'm sure you saved lives today, though. Sometimes that's all that matters."

Rosa looked at Curtis seriously for a few seconds before finally allowing an ever so slight smile to cross her face. "How do you always know the right thing to say? It's so annoying."

"Well, I am a nerd, you know."

"Don't I- Hey I got you a present." She looked at all the people around the room. "I'll have to show it to you later, though."

At this, Terence looked up suddenly. "Hey, hold up there. You two are too young for any late night 'presents.'"

"You sure are." Clara echoed, her hands on her hips.

Rosa rolled her eyes. "Oh, would you guys get your heads out of the gutter? I was talking about something else."

Terence and Clara shared looks of relief, while Curtis seemed a little crestfallen.

"You two hypocrites should leave the kids alone." Kuri said. "I think you beat us all to the 'presents' stage, even Tai and Jun." With a sigh, she collapsed onto the couch beside Davis and leaned over onto his chest.

"Tired?" He asked as he lovingly ran a hand through her hair.

"Very." She muttered, snuggling deeper into him. "It's been a long day."

Behind them, Izzy stood up, stretched, and yawned. "Sure has. I think I'm ready for bed."

"Yeah, me too." TK agreed. "I'm ready to turn in."

Pretty much everyone in the room chimed in with similar sentiments, human and digimon alike, causing Tai to shake his head.

"I keep telling you all that you don't have to do this." He said.

"We know, Tai." Sora said quietly as she rose from her seat, as well. "But we want to. As long as you guys are out there on patrol, none of us can really sleep."

"But that doesn't mean you have to wait up like-"

Jun put a finger to Tai's lips to stop him. "Honey, just accept it, okay. It's good for us. All of us."

Tai nodded and gazed at the various faces around the room. "Well then, thanks guys."

"Don't mention it." Mimi said. She stayed behind as everyone else filed out and walked over to put her hands on he and Jun's shoulders. "Just make sure you make it to tomorrow's cook-in."

"Um, cook-in?"

"A sorta party we're having with the Green Room guys tomorrow-" She glanced at a clock on the wall, "er today. Don't worry, I'll be preparing all of the food, so you know it'll be edible."

Tai still bore something of a look of confusion.

"It's a little get-together initiative we just figured out tonight." Jun explained further. "And a welcome home to Joe, who'll be getting out of the hospital."

"But-"

"No protests, Tai. It won't interfere with our patrols and it'll really help everyone here get to know or reconnect with each other."

Tai eyed Jun critically, before allowing himself an innocuous smile. "Uh-huh. Well, if you guys already have all this figured out, who am I to say no?"

Mimi giggled. "Thanks Tai!" She stood on her toes and gave him a quick hug, before darting out of the room, likely to start preparations already.

"You're not happy with this." Jun said as the girl cleared from earshot.

"I know what you're trying to do Jun. I thought we had settled this."

"You settled it. I still don't agree it's the right thing to do."

"Okay, fine. Let's say we do tell them everything that we know. Then what? What could they possibly do with that information besides let them eat away at them inside? I mean, we actually have the abilities to do something about it and there are still times that I wish we didn't know about any of it. How do you think they would feel?"

"You're underestimating them Tai."

"Maybe so, but if they're safer for it, then it's fine with me."

"Fine. Still, there's no reason for us to be constantly toeing the line here. We can't be CADE's lackeys forever, can we? I mean, eventually we're going to have to start figuring out things for ourselves."

Kuri sat up, away from Davis, and cleared her throat. The other Knights, who had been watching Tai and Jun's argument with growing uneasiness, all relaxed a little at the interruption.

"Well, eventually starts today." She said, pulling out the PDA that Gavin had handed over to her.

"What's that?" Davis asked.

"One of Hitachi shipment itineraries that was handed over to us by an undercover CADE agent earlier tonight." Tai explained. "I don't know how much use it will be, since they're aware that it was stolen, but it has names and dates, which could be very useful to us."

"So, we're handing it over to Hatori?" Terence asked.

"Nope." Rosa shook her head. "This one's all ours. We give it to Hatori and he'll just sit on it, like everything else, saying some crap about 'biding our time,' or something like that."

"We're actually going to make some kind of a move?" Curtis was unable to keep the surprise and budding anxiety from his voice.

"Yes.' Tai answered. "But what kind of move exactly is something we'll have to figure out. It'll have to be soon, though." He glanced at Jun and she graced him with a small grin.

"Now, _that's_ the Tai I know." She said.

"Me too." Davis agreed with a nod. "So, when do we act on this?"

"As soon as we figure out how." Tai said. "We're going to need an angle on this thing, so we'll have to use the CADE system to research some of these names and addresses, and then check them out during patrols so as not to raise suspicions."

"Finally." Curtis sighed. "A plan of action."

"Yes." Clara said with a yawn. "And we're all happy to have one. But for now, let's all just get to bed okay? I can tell none of you guys have been getting enough rest lately and it's really starting to worry me."

All of the group, including the present digimon, groaned in unison.

"Man," Marta grumbled. "The day you stop worrying so much…"

"Will be the day I quit throwing up those shields to save you guys all the time." Clara gave her partner a glare. "So you may as well just get moving, little miss."

"Yeah, yeah." Marta gestured to the rest of the digimon to follow as she headed out of the room. She mumbled to Agumon as they rounded a corner into the hall that led to their quarters, "No use arguing with her when she gets like that…"

"Isn't that the truth." Gotsumon added, his rocky footsteps echoing loudly over the rest of them as he brought up the rear of the group.

As their footfalls faded away, Terence reached down and picked up the remote once again. "Wow baby, you certainly got rid of them quickly-"

He stopped when Clara suddenly snatched the remote form his hand and turned off the television. "I was talking about _us_ too. We're all wearing ourselves too thin."

"She's right," Jun agreed while stretching. "We can all hardly afford to be thrown off our game because our reaction times are affected by fatigue."

"God," Terence sighed in exasperation, "it's like moms in stereo or something around here. Hell, looks like even the defenders of the free world need parental supervision now."

He bore a disappointed expression as he gave in and headed towards the door, causing Clara to giggle a little.

"He always gets a little cranky around nap time." She said.

"I got your 'nap time' right here." Terence mumbled as he exited.

"Excuse me?" Clara quickly bounded out of the door after him, hand already raised to cuff him over the head.

Davis frowned as he watched them go. "Terence brings up a good point-" He said, before being interrupted by a shout of pain echoing from down the hall that caused him to wince in sympathy. "Which he just paid for. Anyway, it does kind of seem like we're being made to do a lot of stuff that we don't really want to."

"Really?" said Jun "Like what?"

"Well, there's CADE using us, of course, and now we have to go to this party-"

"Oh, come on Davis. You of all people can't complain about this party."

"And just why not?"

"Because you need it more than anyone. Well, you and Kuri anyway."

Kuri, who'd resettled upon Davis's chest and was already starting to fall into slumber, opened an eye and lazily gazed over at Jun. "Damn it," She mumbled. "How did I get brought into this?"

"You two still have to patch things up with TK and Kari, you know."

"What? We're all getting along just fine, sis. I mean, we were all just sitting here in this room-"

"Not saying a word to one another. Just like you haven't been over the past couple of weeks."

"But it's not like we _hate_ each other."

"It's not exactly like we _like _each other either," Kuri added drowsily. "Not that I mind."

"See, that's what I'm talking about. You four used to be best friends."

"And now we're not." Kuri shrugged. "I don't see the problem."

"Kuri, come on. You know there were good things that you really liked about Kari back when you two were practically inseparable, and that was before she recently rediscovered herself. Now the potential for you getting along well is even greater. Just because you and Davis have found one another doesn't mean you should just throw all that away."

"Alright, alright." Kuri gave in. "Damn it. We'll talk to them tomorrow, okay Jun?"

"Hey," Davis said. "Speak for yourself. I don't- Ow! " He suddenly stopped, grimaced, and rubbed his forehead. "Kuri, that is a serious misuse of our connection."

Kuri smiled deviously. "Sorry Davis, but there's no way I'm doing this by myself."

At everyone's bewildered stares Davis said, "She just kinda, um, mentally pinched me."

"Oh." Curtis and Tai nodded sympathetically.

"Well, I would too." Rosa said. "It's not so bad, what you have to do. I mean, TK and Kari are good people."

"Oh, please." Curtis scoffed. "Like your relationship with Ken and Yolei isn't one step from frigid."

Rosa quickly spun on her heel to face her boyfriend, who, remembering what had just happened to his brother and Davis, flinched reflexively. "Just what exactly is that supposed to mean?" She asked.

"Nothing," He nervously answered. "Just that we all have our own issues to work out here."

"He's right." Tai said, bearing an expression of resignation that showed he was slowly coming around to Jun's way of thinking. "This team is more than just us Knights. We all have to be a tight knit unit. God forbid it, but there's a chance that they'll all be out there with us, someday. We can't let old differences keep coming between us."

"So you're saying we're going to clue them in on everything?" Davis asked. "Even Cody?"

Tai rubbed his chin pensively before he finally answered. "Yes. It may not be tomorrow, or the next day, but I think that eventually, we'll wind up having to tell them everything that's going on, and it'll be either because we want to, or because we're forced to. Either way, it's all going to come out. I think it's better that when it does, it's on our terms."

"I agree." Jun said, heading toward the door. As one, the group rose from their positions and exited with her.

"So do I." Curtis added as they moved into the hall. "At the very least, involving the others brings ten more champion level digimon to our side."

"Yeah, I guess so," said Davis. "But still-"

"Oh, just suck it up Davis." said Rosa with a slight roll of her eyes. "It's not like TK and Kari are gonna bite or anything. I don't see why you're acting so scared to talk to them."

"I'm not." he responded with a furtive glance to his side. "Honestly, they're not the ones I'm afraid of."

Kuri noticed the look for what it was and stopped short. "Damn straight." She said with a self-satisfied smirk. "And that's just the way it should be."

* * *

**Later**:

Rosa padded along quietly down the Chamber corridor. She looked around frequently as she traversed the darkened pathway, careful not to make any unnecessary noise that might draw someone's attention. After a few moments she arrived at her destination, a metal door marked "C. Dumars." She rapped upon it very quietly, making sure to knock in the pattern that she and Curtis had previously worked out. She waited for an answer, shivering as she adjusted her pajama shorts in the significantly cold hallway and keeping a vigilant watch for anyone else who still may have been up. When almost a minute had passed with no answer, Rosa knocked in the pattern again, this time dangerously louder.

It didn't take long for the door to creak open and a bleary eyed Curtis to greet her with a look of confusion.

"Wha-?" He said, rubbing his eyes. "What's up Rosa?"

"You were sleep?"

"Well, it _is_ five in the morning." He stepped aside to let her in and closed the door behind her.

"Dork." Rosa playfully tapped him on the nose before walking across his immaculate room and sitting upon the bed. "I told you I would be coming by."

"Did you?" He sat down beside her.

"Remember? I have present for you."

"Oh yeah." Curtis's face brightened and any signs of drowsiness immediately faded away. "What is it?"

"Down boy." With a barely contained grin she pulled a small vial from the waistband of her shorts and proudly held it in the air.

Curtis looked at the object in confusion at first, but began to smile as recognition dawned on him. "You got the sample!"

"Shh! You're going to wake somebody." Admonished Rosa. "Yes, I got it. Just a little blood and skin though."

"Who cares?" Curtis carefully took the vial from her hands and peered at its contents. "It's still enough for me to send to Willis and get a good analysis on."

"Really?"

"Yeah Rosa. This is perfect. With this, Willis should be able to trace the creatures' genetic markers and perhaps find clues as to who exactly created those things. If Hitachi's genetics lab that did it is in the public domain, we'll have a big lead towards taking him down."

"Wow. All that from that one little sample, huh?"

Curtis nodded. "Yep. How did you get it? I feel like I've been trying forever and Taps and I never even got close."

"Well, it started when I threw one of the mutants through the side of an office building-"

Curtis chuckled. "Of course."

"And when I went inside to fight him, I managed to grab a big piece of glass from a broken window and cut him with it."

"Man, that must've been hard. Their skin is pretty tough."

"Tell me about it. But I knew you wanted a sample, so it really didn't matter. I'm just glad I had started carrying that vial around, just in case."

Curtis gave Rosa a soft, affectionate, smile. "Thank you," he said, reaching over and touching her hand.

"Anytime." She answered, matching his look with one of her own. "And don't worry. No one found out what I was doing."

"Good, because Tai would probably be mad that we're breaking our pact with CADE. Honestly, this toeing the line strategy is really hindering us, if you ask me." Curtis pulled out the drawer of his nightstand and gingerly placed the vial inside, next to his badge and D-terminal. "It's good to see that he's coming around now, but it's still taking way too long for my tastes."

"Yeah, it is. The Dark Masters are out there somewhere, just waiting and getting stronger." An almost palpable chill descended over the room as Rosa said this. "We can't let them continue-"

"Don't worry, we won't. This sample should lead us to Hitachi, and from him to Puppetmon-"

Rosa bristled at the name and flinched away from Curtis, before quickly becoming aware of herself and attempting to calm down. "Look, I should go. It's really late and-"

"You don't have to go."

"What?"

"You can stay and sleep here Rosa, with me."

"But Terence and Clara-"

"Don't know about your nightmares. I do. I know you relive that battle every night. I've heard you calling out his name. I know you still feel the pain of what happened just as much as I do, even more, in fact. I'm sure we'd both sleep better if we were together."

Rosa shook her head adamantly. "It's okay Curtis. I'll be fine."

Curtis crossed his arms and looked away. "Okay, fine. Do the usual then."

Rosa, who was getting up to leave, paused and turned back towards him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. Just that, if you want to be your usual, proud, independent, "I don't need anybody" self, then go ahead. But if you want to stay here with me, and allow me to hold you in my arms, and perhaps let us have nice dreams, for once, and some measure of peace together, the offer stands."

Rosa stood there silently for a few moments, then sat down on the bed again and stared into the depths of her boyfriend's eyes. "Of course I need you, Curtis." She leaned forward and pressed her lips against his, forcing him backwards onto the bed. He wrapped his arms around her waist as their kiss went further and deeper, only stopping when she finally broke the union to draw breath.

"Whoa."

Rosa propped herself on an elbow and stared down at him. "Don't get used to this." She said, lightly poking him in the chest for emphasis.

"To what?"

"Winning arguments with me." She took her hand from his chest and moved to his hair, playfully trailing her fingers between the grooves of his cornrows.

He laughed. "Trust me, I definitely won't."

"Good." She leaned down and they shared another kiss, after which she curled up beside him and laid her head on his chest for a while, allowing the sound of his breathing to lull her.

Curtis, who had one arm wrapped around her shoulders, gently stroked any stray hairs away from her face with the other hand. "Goodnight, sweetheart." He whispered.

"Good night." Rosa sighed contentedly as drowsiness began to descend upon her. This was why she loved Curtis so much. The way her encouraged moments like these from her; moments that would initially seem to be the antithesis of her character. It allowed Rosa the comfort to be herself more in his presence than she ever had around anyone else.

* * *

Davis fidgeted with Kuri's shield as her sat on her bed, waiting for her to finish her shower. He'd always admired her symbol, a maternal silhouette of a mother holding an infant. It made him think of what they could be, later on down the line, after this current situation was resolved. He knew they'd both be successful at their dreams, primarily due to their newfound popularity as Knights. He would now be an invaluable asset as a figurehead of any major restaurant chain, and Kuri's parents had received so much mail and phone calls regarding their daughter being offered everything from modeling to feature film contracts, it was bordering on insane.

If they could just defeat Hitachi, the rest of their lives would be taken care of. They would be able to have a family, have a life together-

The bathroom door suddenly opened and Kuri stepped out, wearing nothing but a towel.

"We'll have to graduate from high school first." She said offhandedly as she walked across the room to a dresser and began rummaging through the top drawer.

Davis, unsurprised that their connection had conveyed his thoughts to her, found his attention instead concentrating on the way she looked in her small towel, it ends undulating as she moved and periodically giving him tantalizing peeks at her upper thigh, while her wet hair descended over her shoulders perfectly.

Kuri paused and glanced at him out of the corner of her eye with a smile. "Davis, stop that before you make me blush."

He smiled sheepishly. "I can't help it. You know how hot you are."

"Yeah, but if you keep thinking like that, then I'll start, then one thing will lead to another, and thanks to the intensity of our link, we'll wind up regaining consciousness in a few hours, barely able to remember where, or who, we are."

Davis chuckled. "Yeah, and that's not what we're supposed to be doing now anyway."

"Exactly." Kuri found the articles of clothing she was looking for and returned to the bathroom. She left the door cracked open slightly so they could talk.

"So anyway," She continued. "I think you were right the other day."

"Right? About what?"

"What you overheard between Ken and Cody, when you said they were talking about some conversation Cody had with the orange mutant."

"That? But how can you know? I didn't even hear them say what the conversation was about. They clammed us as soon as they realized I was listening."

"Well, whatever it was, I think they were telling the truth."

"Really? Why?"

"Because I'm fairly certain that he was seriously holding back when I was fighting him tonight. Something's going on there."

"I dunno. He gave me a nice punch to the ribs the other day." Davis absently rubbed his side.

"Think about it though. Is it possible that he could've done a lot worse to you if he wanted to?"

"Well," Davis recalled the battle, noting that his ribs could have easily been broken, rather than just bruised, had his opponent punched with his full strength. "Maybe so."

"And that first night when we got back, he had ample opportunity to kill Cody and Kado, but he didn't-" Kuri paused suddenly. "In fact, now that I think about it, that's probably when he talked to Cody."

"Yeah, you're right." Davis realized. "He didn't really seem to be attacking when I shot him. But what could he have possibly said to Cody?"

"What- what if it was something about the assassin?"

Davis could feel Kuri's foreboding as she posed the question. "Well they were working together…" He mused. "If the mutate really is holding back when he's fighting us, then that might mean that he doesn't want to work for the Assassin. Maybe he's being forced to."

Kuri reappeared in the doorway, wearing a skimpy purple pajama set and toweling her hair. "And maybe he gave Cody some kind of clue about fighting him."

"But then, why Cody? Why not one of us? He must have chosen Cody specifically for a reason."

"And that would be?" Kuri stopped drying her hair and looked up. "Wait, you don't think he told him-?"

Davis nodded. "Yes I do, now. It would explain everything. It's no wonder Cody's working with Ken, well, besides the fact that they probably think they can't tell us this without Tai then taking over and completely keeping them in the dark about it. It's basically become a murder case. Who better to help Cody find his father's real killer than someone's who's training to become a detective?"

Kuri walked over and sat down beside Davis, a contemplative look on her face. "If that's true, then they're going to get themselves killed."

"Not if we can help it."

"You have a plan?"

Davis nodded. "We have to join them."

Kuri looked more than a little apprehensive. "Davis-"

"We have to Kuri. It's the only way we can make sure they're safe, and maybe find out a few things of our own."

"Like what?"

"Well, for one, even _we _don't know exactly how the Assassin killed Cody's father, and we certainly don't know where he is right now. Helping them could be more useful to us than anything else we're doing right now."

"And the stuff we get from that PDA?"

"I'll leave that to Tai. We'll move on that whenever he wants to. In the meantime, we'll have our own mission to work on-" Davis paused suddenly and gave Kuri a sly smile. "Now you're making me blush."

Kuri laughed. "I can't help it. You're so sexy when you're being smart."

"Uh-huh, sure."

"Sorry." Kuri bit her lip and gave him an apologetic, yet seductive look.

Now Davis laughed. "You're beautiful, you know that?" He said, taking her hand in his.

"That's what my boyfriend tells me." She leaned forward, stopping just inches away from Davis's face.

"Sounds like a smart guy."

The two came together amid the usual bursts of color that resulted from their heightened passions.

* * *

Tai kept up his vigil, staring at the wealth of information on the monitor before him with weary, bloodshot, eyes. His gaze darted to the PDA lying on the table beside him, then back to the screen as he entered in some new information.

A blade of light suddenly sliced across the room, causing a glare on the computer screen and flaring in Tai peripheral. He turned and raised a hand to shield his eyes as the darkened lab's door opened and Terence stepped inside.

"Had a feeling I'd find you here." Terence shut the door behind him quietly and crossed the room to Tai. "You're checking out the data on that thing, aren't you?" He nodded to the PDA as he pulled a chair over and sat in it backwards, his elbows resting on the backrest.

"Yeah-." Tai answered. His voice croaked due to some while without use. He cleared his throat. "Yeah. I was cross-referencing these names and locations; trying to come up with anywhere we could start an investigation."

"Any luck?"

"No, mostly. But I just stumbled onto something."

"What?"

"Well, most of the locations I could check out using CADE's database seemed to have been places like rented apartments, storage lockers, you know, things that could be abandoned. And according to up to the minute data, the leases to most of the places were 'forcibly terminated' several hours ago."

"Around the time our agents stole the schedule."

"Right."

"So, is there any point in having this info? If the locations have cleared out, and the people that worked there most likely have disappeared, what do we have to go on?"

"This." Tai pointed to the screen. "Danzer Hall. Says he's a local business entrepreneur from New Zealand."

"His name showed up on the list?"

Tai nodded. "Yeah, and look at the business he owns."

Terence squinted as he peered closely at it. "Tsunami? What's that?"

"It's a local night club. Not too far from here in fact. What's interesting is the part at the bottom about a story sent out on the wire just minutes ago."

"Hmm. Production of Tsunami brand alcoholic drinks has been temporarily halted due to questions regarding quality control procedures." Terence read. "Until this situation is rectified all shipments of this brand will cease."

"You bet your ass they will." Tai grinned triumphantly. "Because the place, and that drink, are probably nothing but a cover. In fact, I'll bet Tsunami is something like the main hub of Hitachi's shipment operations, or was, anyway. I mean, from what I recall, those Tsunami trucks have always been everywhere around Japan. It didn't really seem suspicious until now, when I think about it, and realize that although Tsunamis are a popular drink, they were never quite _that_ popular."

"So they were using this drink distribution as a means to ship all of Hitachi's equipment around the city, right under our noses?"

"I'd bet my life on it."

"Then what do you think we should do now?"

"Well, the club itself hasn't actually been sold or shut down, just the shipment operations. I think we should pay this Danzer guy a little visit. Maybe even bring him into CADE for questioning if things go right."

Terence regarded his friend with a suspicious expression. "I recognize that look. You're enjoying this way too much."

"Of course I'm enjoying this. We're finally going to make a definitive move against Hitachi. It's about time. I can't wait for the rush I'll get when we break into that place and nab Hall-"

Terence threw up a hand to stall Tai. "Wait, wait, wait. That's your plan? Just barge in and hope Danzer's there?"

Tai nodded with a small shrug. "Pretty much."

Terence shook his head. "No. We're gonna need a plan with a lot more subtlety than that."

"Like what?"

"Well, now that most of my stuff's been shipped in, we'll have everything we need to finally make a stunning public appearance." Seeing his look of confusion, Terence reached over and clapped a hand on Tai's shoulder. "My friend, we're going clubbing."

Tai looked at him incredulously. "You want to go to Tsunami? What, as VIPs? Do you know how much attention we'd draw if we just walked in there?"

Terence smiled. "Sure do. In fact, I'm counting on it." At Tai's skeptical look, he added. "Trust me. This is my element."

* * *

**Outskirts of Shanghai, China**

The distant hills were bathed in the reddish glow of sunrise in eastern China as Keyan stood on the veranda of an impressive estate and leaned on a rail, sipping a small cup of tea and looking toward the lightening sky. She didn't move as a door behind her opened and a familiar dark haired and sharp-featured figure walked over to stand beside her.

"Xian always said that the sight of sunrise from his veranda was a something to behold." Krista said with a sad wistfulness. "He told me it was something I'd have to see someday."

Keyan nodded absently. "It is beautiful."

"Thinking of Willis?"

The young guardian shook her head. "Not this time."

"Oh." Krista brought a cup of tea to her mouth and took a sip. "You know, Xian never told me that his family was quite this wealthy." She reached into her top and pulled out an ornate necklace. "This expensive pendant he gave me was the only clue I had as to how rich his family was."

"Really?"

Krista nodded. "It wasn't a subject he liked to discuss often, family."

"I cannot imagine why. These are wonderful people. They have been so hospitable to us."

"Xian was a very dedicated and driven man. I think that maybe he didn't like to reflect on the comfort level that having such a life gave him. That's probably why he wound up joining the force." Krista took another sip as Keyan waited for her to continue. "He needed to feel that it was always absolutely vital that he succeed. Imagine if you always knew in the back of your mind that no matter how badly you failed, you always had all this-" She waved her arm in a gesture encompassing the entire estate. "To come back to. Hard to stay motivated, wouldn't you think?"

Keyan gave a thoughtful nod and took another sip from her own cup. She looked toward the sunrise before speaking again "Perhaps. It has been easy for me to remain motivated for quite a while now. I suppose I have one man to thank for that." Her hand began to tremble and tea sloshed onto the veranda floor. "And thank him I will."

Krista took note of the girl's furious countenance. "You know," She began cautiously, "Xian used to tell me something that I always find helpful during particularly trying times. Ironically, he always insisted that it was something for me to remember in case anything ever happened to him." She gave a rueful laugh. When Keyan didn't respond, she continued.

"He would say,

Under the awakening guise of sunlight,

All is easily revealed,

But under the cloak of the shadows,

Lies your heart of steel."

Keyan finally showed some sign of reaction and turned to face the combat instructor. "What does that mean?"

"I believe it means that during times of adversity, one must be as patient and level headed as they are during the good times. Keyan, you must remain calm. Your opportunity will come."

"No." Keyan said, a reluctant resignation creeping into her voice. "The Assassin has not been seen in years, and soon I must return to the realm."

Krista placed her cup on the veranda rail, raised a finger, and narrowed her eyes as she peered out over the landscape. "Hold that thought." She neatly leapt over the rail and landed in a kneel after a fall of about ten feet or so. "I don't believe it."

"What is it?" Keyan asked, using her newly heightened abilities to neatly levitate down to where the woman stood.

"I'm not sure." Krista began to walk forward, towards the thick woods that lined the borders of the estate. "Did he mean…? There's no way."

They walked across the expansive yard, all the way to the edge of the brush, where Krista began to root around.

"Are you alright Krista?"

"There was a flash of light as the sun filtered through those trees there."

"Likely due to the morning dew."

"No, it was something else." Krista suddenly leapt back.

"What is it?"

"Something cold. I'm not sure." She reached back down slowly and grasped at the small object. It turned out to be a small metal T, much like the kinds seen on the top of TNT boxes in old cartoons. "Under the awakening guise of sunlight…" Krista looked at the T thoughtfully before reaching down, turning it and pushing it into the ground. As soon as she did, a loud mechanical whir began to emanate from further into the woods.

"Come on!" She beckoned, taking Keyan by the arm. The two plunged into the foliage, continuing onward until Krista had led them to a clearing where a solitary metal shed stood, its top adorned by earth and grass.

"It must have just risen from underground." Keyan observed. "What do you think it is?"

"The heart of steel." Krista slowly walked toward the windowless construct and began to search around its sides. "There's a door over here!" She shouted after a few moments.

Keyan rushed over to join her. "Do you think we should enter?"

"I trust Xian. Let's go."

With no further words the two bent down and lifted the riveted, gunmetal door and entered the shed. After the door fell behind them, it was completely dark inside, forcing Keyan to charge an electric energy attack around her hand to provide them with light. She looked around with a frown, noting that the inside of the shed was very much like the outside, four blank walls and nothing else. "It appears there is nothing here."

At that moment, the entire building lurched, throwing both women backwards. "What has happened?" Keyan asked.

"I think we're moving down." Krista observed. "It's an elevator."

They rode in nervous silence for a couple of minutes before the floor finally came to a jarring halt, sending them both stumbling forward from the platform into what seemed to be a much larger room. Using Keyan's meager light, Krista was able to feel her way along a wall until she found a switch. She flipped it and gasped as the room was abruptly bathed in the fluorescent glow of several overhead lamps.

"What is all this?" Keyan asked, dropping her electric charge as she looked over the tons of weapons and equipment now surrounding them.

"I'm not sure." Krista walked up and down the neat rows of guns, vehicles, and computers, inspecting each item carefully. At the end of one row was a clipboard with several pages on it. She picked it up. "An inventory worksheet. All of this seems to be CADE equipment."

"CADE? That real world alliance against Hitachi?"

"Yes. Xian was a member, as was I."

"Was?"

"We left in order to help Gennai when he contacted us about the Knights project."

"I was under the impression that CADE and the Knights worked together."

"They do, now. But when the project began, CADE was very much against Gennai's vision. They didn't believe that such power and responsibility should be in the hands of 'mere children.'"

"I take it they did not know of my existence, then."

Krista shook her head. "For a long while, I believe Gennai was the only one that knew of your powers."

"He is quite adept at keeping secrets." Keyan grumbled.

"Yes. Anyway, once CADE got a glimpse of the abilities the Knights could master, their tone changed pretty quick. I wouldn't doubt that they still harbor some resentment though."

"Interesting. Perhaps that is why the all news reports only show the Knights acting in a defensive manner. That may be all that they are allowed to do."

"That's possible. I think-" Krista paused suddenly after reaching the last page on the clip board. "This can't be right."

"Of course it is not. They were not trained to only defend-"

"No, this inventory sheet. It says that there is some kind of aircraft down here, but I don't see how one could fit in this small room. And even if one could, I certainly don't see how Xian could have gotten it down here."

"Perplexing." Keyan turned around and was surprised when she suddenly found herself staring up at a large bay door, approximately the size of a vertically laid basketball court. "Or perhaps it is on the other side of this door."

"What?" Krista turned and quickly rushed to the side of the room where Keyan stood. She took in a sharp breath of surprise. "Yes, I believe it is."

"How it is opened?"

"I think I know." Krista walked over to a small panel in the wall next to the door and pulled her pendant from her shirt again. She moved closer to the panel and pressed the small object into a groove about its same size. A scanner within the wall hummed momentarily, then abruptly stopped and the massive doors began to lift with a loud whirring of servos and machinery.

Krista smirked. "Figured."

Keyan watched as she placed the necklace back under her shirt. "To trust you with so much…" She said, a hint of amazement in her voice. "He must have loved you very much."

"Yes, I suppose he did." Krista furtively wiped her hand across her face. She nodded forward and pointed once the doors had fully opened. "Look."

Past the doors was cavernous hangar, inside which was parked a large black jet. On the other side of the hangar was a tunnel, perfectly sized for the plane, which surely led to some type of alternate exit somewhere. The craft itself, at first glance, seemed to only be one large, flat, triangle, with a graded hump representing its cockpit and fuselage. It gleaming surface seemed almost water-like and reflected everything in the hangar like a well-polished mirror.

"That is a plane?" Keyan asked as the women entered the room and began to walk towards the aircraft.

"Yes, I recognize this." Said Krista, with a small nod. "It's an experimental stealth, single-wing design fighter jet that some of us agents were trained to fly, on simulators of course. From what I knew, it was commissioned by CADE to be designed by a joint effort between the Japanese and American governments, and then built at low cost by the Chinese. The plan was scrapped after only one prototype was built, however. Even with cheaper labor, it still simply cost too much."

Keyan reached up and ran a hand over the cool, smooth, exterior of the craft. "Then what? The Chinese put it up for sale?"

Krista shrugged. "It's entirely possible. It's not like the military would've had much use for a plane made specifically for digital combat. Looks like Xian decided to put his inheritance to some good use by 'acquiring' it."

"I agree." Keyan looked around the rest of the impressive underground facility. "He certainly did put his fortune to good use, but why?"

"Like me, he never entirely trusted CADE's capabilities. I guess he eventually wanted us to take things into our own hands."

"Then that is what we should do. It would be the best way to honor his memory."

"You may be right." Krista bowed her head in thought. "If we wanted to, between this plane's stealth capabilities and your powers, we could have it loaded up and be headed for Japan by tomorrow."

"We could, and if Japan is where…" Keyan trailed off, not daring to put her next thought into words.

"He'll be there." Krista answered knowingly, her jaw firmly set. "I'd stake my life on it. Both of them will be there. And with the help of Xian's legacy, we will both be able to exact our vengeance."

* * *

**The Next Day: The Chamber**

The cook-in was in full swing in the Chamber's dining hall. Mimi and Izzy were busy in the kitchen area, the former using her culinary skills to whip up all manner of foods as the latter placed them on a large buffet table. Rookie digimon were underfoot everywhere, running between their partners, who were in scattered groups of conversation. Joe, as the guest of honor, was seated at a small table in the middle of the room. Though he still wore a cast on his left arm, overall he seemed to be in good spirits, especially as he was currently being regaled by Tai and Terence telling him about a particularly eventful patrol they'd had a couple of nights ago.

Clara and Jun stood apart from the group, having a private conversation of their own.

"He seems a lot more comfortable around Terence than anyone else here did, at first." Clara observed.

"I doubt Joe's one to be caught up on current pop culture. He probably has no idea who he's talking to."

Clara laughed. "I guess that's refreshing, in a way. Now that I know what it's like to be famous, I can appreciate people that have no idea who you are."

"Well, Joe is usually one of those people. He's more of a homebody. Not much of a risk taker either."

"How do you know so much about him?" Clara snapped a finger. "Oh, that's right. You went out with his brother, didn't you?"

"Ugh," Jun hung her head and shook it shamefully. "Don't remind me."

"That bad?"

"Jim made Joe look like Evil Knievel by comparison."

"Ouch."

The two girls watched the boys continue their conversation in amiable science for a few moments before Clara spoke again.

"So, what do you think of their plan?" She asked, her tone noticeably lower than before.

Jun raised her cup to her lips, as if to shield her mouth. "What, the four of us going to a popular dance club to apprehend a well known criminal, while telling absolutely no one about it? I think it's completely nuts."

"So we're going along with it?"

"Of course."

Clara downed the last of her drink and chuckled. "You know the other guys will be mad we didn't let them in on it."

Jun shrugged. "What are you going to do? The place is 21 and over. It's not like we need to draw more attention to ourselves than we already will."

"Tell me about it. Well, at least I get to hit a club again. It's been awhile."

"Is that something you used to do often?"

Clara nodded. "All the time. Was a great way to meet cute guys, and of course, I got to show off these great curves of mine." She struck a pose that accentuated her svelte, yet busty, figure.

Jun shook her head. "Kuri was so right."

"What?"

"You are most definitely the 'girliest' girl of our group."

Clara cocked her head to the side and put a finger to her lips. "Hmm…"

"What is it?"

"Coming from her, I can't figure out if that's a compliment or an insult."

Jun laughed. "That's exactly what I said-"

The door to room opened and Matt cautiously walked in, wearing his usual sullen expression. Though the noise in the room dropped by several octaves, many of the conversations kept going, and there wasn't the usual silence that heralded the digidestined of Friendship's arrival. He trudged across the room to a far corner, where Sora cautiously approached him with an expression of concern.

"Oh great. Here comes the drama." Clara said dryly. She looked down to her empty cup with a frown. "I think I'm gonna go get something a little stronger than this from the back. Want anything?"

"Nah." Said Jun, eying Matt and Sora warily. "It's time someone finally put a stop to this."

Clara let out an impressed whistle and patted her friend on the back sympathetically. "Well, good luck with that, girl. If you need any help-" She paused and watched as Matt grunted and flinched away from Sora's touch. "On second thought, no, just leave me out of that mess."

Jun smiled as Clara walked away. The Protective Knight certainly had an admirable ability to stay out of troublesome situations. Still, Jun would need somebody to help her. Somebody that could play off of her perfectly. Tai.

* * *

Across the room Davis and Kuri were having a rather animated discussion.

"Well, go tell her." Davis hissed.

"Don't rush me," said Kuri. "Why don't you go talk to TK?"

"I-I'm waiting for the right moment. You can't just rush these kind of um, delicate situations. What's keeping you from talking to Kari?"

Kuri shrugged indifferently. "I just don't want to do this crap. It's stupid."

"No it's not. This is our in to figuring out what Ken and Cody are up to. How about we do it together?"

She sighed. "Okay." _This is going to suck so much._

"Kuri!" Davis had heard her thoughts loud and clear.

"Sorry. Let's go."

As they approached where TK and Kari were seated, with Ken and Yolei beside them, Kuri raised her hand and gave a weak wave.

"Um, hey guys."

"Uh. hi." TK greeted, his brow furrowed. "You guys need something?"

Davis scratched the back of his neck and wore a pained expression on his face. "No, ah, we just wanted to, um, y'know, talk."

"Really?" Kari asked. The hope in her voice was tangible, enough to make Kuri feel twinges of guilt about ignoring her friend for so long.

"Yeah." She said. "It's been awhile."

"It sure as hell has!" Yolei said, hiccupping a bit as she leaned on Ken. "I mean, what, you guys think you're too good for us?"

Davis raised an eyebrow in her direction. "She okay?

"She 'helped' Mimi make the rum cakes." Explained Ken with a grimace as he struggled to hold her upright. "If you can call consuming most of the main ingredient helping."

"Don't change the subject, Ken! You're always doing that." Yolei glared at her boyfriend for a moment, then turned back to the others. "Now…what the hell was I talkin' about?"

"We think we're too good for you." Kuri provided with a grin, obviously enjoying this.

Davis turned to reprimand her, but was interrupted.

"That's right! -hiccup- Just 'cause you go 'round, kickin everybody's asses, doesn't give you the right to just forget your friends. We-we-" Yolei paused and looked around in confusion. "Why is the damn room spinning like this?" With that, she collapsed onto Ken completely, looked up at him, and started to giggle. "I c-can see up your nose. It's sexy…"

Kuri snickered and Kari and TK started to laugh. Even Davis had to purse his lips and look in another direction for a moment before he could speak again.

"Look," He said once he'd finally recovered, "somewhere in that mess of drunken words, Yolei has a point. We haven't been great friends to you guys lately."

Kari raised a hand to stop him. "No, no Davis. We haven't been great friends to you. You were right about what you said a few weeks ago, Kuri. I treated you two horribly, and honestly, I don't even deserve your friendship right now."

Neither Davis nor Kuri objected to her words and waited for her to continue.

"But that doesn't mean I won't be selfish and ask for it. I miss you guys so much. I mean Kuri, you were truly my best friend. I'm sorry that I didn't see everything in you that Davis does. I was just kinda dense, you know. And Davis, I know I led you on for a long time, and for that I can never apologize enough. But I've realized something over the past few weeks. You grew into one of the best friends I've ever had, too. I guess, with everything else that was going on, I was just too blind to see how close we really were."

"I guess I never really gave you the chance to, either." Davis said, "What with trying to get you to go out with me, and being shot down, every two minutes. God, I feel so dumb about that."

"Don't. Davis, you're an extremely attractive guy, and caring, and very intelligent-"

"Okay, that's enough of that." Kuri said, stepping forward.

TK echoed her sentiments with a nod.

"I'm just saying, you have a lot going for you Davis. You shouldn't care so much about the opinion of one girl that still had a lot of growing up to do, and still does." Kari looked between Davis and Kuri and smiled. "And anyway, you found someone that was absolutely perfect for you, in every sense of the word. I'm just ashamed that I didn't see it earlier." She chucked. "I could've charged a finder's fee for hooking you guys up."

Davis gently pulled Kuri in front of him and wrapped his arms around her.

"Maybe everything that happened with us had to go the way it did." He surmised. "I mean, now that I look back on the results, I don't think I would change a thing."

"Well, I would." Said Kari. "Although I'm in love with TK, and I wouldn't change that for anything, I love you guys too. I had no right for my happiness to come at your expense. For that, I'm really sorry."

"Me too," TK said, "Though I'm not exactly sure what _I_ did wrong…"

He received an elbow for his comment and winced. Kuri and Davis chuckled, finding the situation all too familiar.

"You two are beautiful together." Said Kari, looking at the couple with a sincere gaze of admiration. "As popular as you are already, when this is all over, I can tell you're going to become media superstars."

"Wow, uh, thanks." Said Kuri. Davis felt her unexpected blush and grinned.

"Would y'all quit with th' 'Full House' crap?" Yolei groaned, her head lolling from side to side as she tried to sit up again. "I feel like I'm gonna puke."

Everyone instinctively moved away from her, save for Ken, who seemed to be in utter purgatory as he kept her from falling again.

Yolei rolled her eyes at them. "Itsa figure a speech, asses."

They all shared a collective sigh of relief. "So are we all friends again? Real friends?" Davis asked.

TK and Kari nodded, and Kuri gave her consent with a smile. "Good. Because there's something we wanted to discuss with you guys, specifically about Cody…"

* * *

Cody sat cross-legged on an armchair in a corner of the room. He watched everyone interacting with a blank expression, not really noticing what was going on around him, or even caring. Suddenly, the room went completely dark as something covered his eyes and obstructed his vision.

"Guess who."

"Noriko."

"Aw, you're no fun." The hands were removed from his eyes and Cody found himself looking into a pair of dark, expressive, ones.

"Sorry, I was thinking about something."

Noriko chuckled. "As usual. That's why I'm here."

"Huh?"

"Don't you know? I'm the fun friend that takes your mind off of things."

Cody gave her a wry smile. "You sure think a lot of yourself."

"Of course I do." She sat down across from him, a wide grin still plastered on her face. "So, what's up?"

"You seem really happy."

Noriko sighed. "Don't I? I don't know, I just feel better now than I have in a long time."

"Really?" For some reason, Cody found himself particularly interested in the statement. "Why?"

"I dunno. Maybe it's because of this guy I met…"

"Oh." Cody acted as if he'd suddenly seen something interesting on the floor.

"Yeah, I mean I knew him for a long time, but I've only recently got to _really_ know him, you know? Now he's like one of my best friends."

"Um, that's great."

"Only drawback is he kinda stays to himself and 'thinks' a lot, so he might seem a little…off. It also doesn't help that he carries a stick everywhere-"

Cody broke into a broad smile. "Very funny."

"Thought you'd like that. Hey, I saw your buddy the other day."

"What? Who?"

"Kado. Went by his place with my parents to check up on his family. Man you are really that kid's hero, now."

Cody smiled sheepishly. "I did what anyone would have done."

"Yeah well, the way he's telling it now, you pretty much fought off that orange mutant single handedly."

Cody shook his head, still smiling. "Kids."

"Yeah." Noriko's expression quickly sobered from one of mirth to complete seriousness. "And speaking of the mutant, how are you holding up?"

Cody leaned back on his hands and stared up at the ceiling. "Okay, I suppose. Ken and I are planning on visiting the prison tomorrow, but we've run into a problem figuring out how to get out of here undetected."

"Why undetected? Can't you come and go as you please, like the rest of us?"

"Well yes, but-"

A voice interrupted him. "He doesn't want us to know about it."

Cody and Noriko quickly turned in alarm toward the owner of the voice and were shocked to find Davis standing over them. Behind him were Kuri, Kari, TK, Ken, and a seriously unbalanced Yolei.

"Wh-what's going on?" Cody asked, as he looked between all of them.

"We just got some real help for tomorrow." Ken said. "Come on. We need to find somewhere private to talk."

Davis and Kuri helped the somewhat confused Cody and Noriko to their feet and together the group headed for the hall's exit.

* * *

Not too far from where Cody and Noriko had been, towards the middle of the room, Curtis and Rosa were in the midst of an in depth conversation with Scott Barke, of all people. The three, all of similar age and disposition, were having quite an interesting private discussion.

"I don't know how you can do it." Curtis said to Scott, shaking his head. "I'd be scared out of my mind."

Scott waved him off. "Ah, it's not so bad. I only take risks when I have to, which isn't often. Take recently, for instance, on a trip home I managed to break into my Dad's private files and get several copies of construction blueprints from his Japanese projects. When he'd discovered that somebody had been going through his personal files, he immediately came to me. I simply said I didn't know what happened, and he left it at that. He'll give me the benefit of the doubt every time rather than believe I'd betray him." Scott took a swig from his cup. "Betrayal being a relative term, of course."

"Still I don't understand how you can cope with your father working with Hitachi." Said Rosa. "It would tear me up inside."

"To tell you the truth, it kind of has." Scott looked down into his cup and allowed himself a small grimace "But I know that that man isn't my father. He was never like he is now before he met Hitachi."

"Are you saying Hitachi brainwashed him or something?"

"Well, somebody did. And all evidence points to the rich, maniacal genius in this equation."

"I can't disagree with you there." Curtis said. "You know your father better than us. The thing is, we just don't have any idea what all this Hitachi is capable of. I mean, we're well acquainted with the reputations of his lackeys; the Dark Masters, the Assassin, the mutates, even your father and Ms. Chavez. But when it comes to Hitachi himself, all we know is he's very rich, very powerful, believed by the world to be dead, and stockpiling nuclear materials. We have no idea what he's planning to do whatsoever."

Scott had been nodding along as Curtis talked. "I guess that's why people like me are here, along with all the other undercover agents. We're supposed to find out."

Rosa crossed her arms. "And we Knights are supposed to just wait."

"Yeah, but that is pretty weird. I don't understand why CADE wants to hold you guys back so much."

"Neither do we."

"I also don't understand why you let them."

Curtis and Rosa shared a glance. "But wouldn't they take away all the protection they've offered us and our families?"

Scott shrugged. "They might, but I doubt it. You guys are the most powerful weapons we have on our side. There's no way you shouldn't be able to take matters into your own hands."

Curtis raised a brow. "Well then, if that's the case, do you think you could help us with something?"

"Yeah, what?"

"Well, I need access to the lab and the cross dimensional communicator-"

"Tomorrow evening." Scott said, putting up a hand to stop Curtis from saying anything more. "Almost every agent here will be assigned to another mission for about an hour long period. You only have to deal with routine security details, which should be easy to avoid. I'll send you the time specifics once I'm sure."

"What's going on tomorrow?" asked Rosa.

"I'm not at liberty to say, just like I'm not at liberty to hear what you two will be up to in the lab without reporting it."

"Gotcha." Curtis said with a half smile and a nod, though Rosa still looked unsatisfied. "Thanks."

"Sure." A buzzing sound filled the air and Scott reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. "It's Hatori. Look guys, I have to go. I'll see you around."

"Sure, we understand. See ya."

As Scott walked away, Curtis said, "He's a pretty cool guy."

"Yeah, he is, but," Rosa looked after the departing construction heir with narrowed eyes, "something big is going down tomorrow and I want to know what it is."

Curtis shrugged. "Probably just some kind of briefing or training mission. Remember, this is CADE we're talking about, the secret organization that doesn't do anything without first checking a billion times. No way it's anything that important."

"Maybe, but I don't know. I just don't have a good feeling about it, whatever it is."

"Good lord Rosa, don't start sounding like your cousin."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm just saying, she worries a lot about stuff, you know, like _all_ the time."

Rosa glared at him, her hands on her hips.

Curtis began to pull at his collar. "I-I mean, don't you say so all the time? Right? You know, that she worries too much…"

She didn't budge.

"Er, not that that's a bad thing. I mean-" Curtis sighed and threw up his hands. "Okay, fine. I quit. I'm an idiot."

"Thank-you." Rosa said sweetly, giving him a broad grin and taking his hand. "Now let's go have some cake."

* * *

Matt and Sora found themselves backed into a corner, forced into that position by an advancing Tai and Jun.

"Um- hey guys." Sora said with a weak wave. "What's going on?"

"Make up, now." Jun said.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Make up." Tai reiterated. He was looking at Matt.

Matt glared back at him. "I don't think our relationship is any of your business, Tai."

"And? Does it look like I care what you think? You're pissing us off."

Matt took a couple of surprised steps back.

"Wait, guys come on." Sora said, nervously laughing. "I mean, you can't be serious. Right? Tai? Jun?"

"We're sick of watching you two act like little kids around one another." Tai sneered.

Sora's expression suddenly changed from one of confusion to anger. "Hey, I took your stupid advice. I've been loving this idiot unconditionally for the few weeks, despite everything he's done, and it hasn't done me one damn bit of good!"

The entire room went silent as everyone within, digimon and human, began to quietly gravitate toward the scene.

"Then it's his fault." Tai said as both he and Jun's gazes turned robotically to Matt. "What should we do?"

"Nothing, so why don't you just butt out, okay?"

"What's wrong, feeling inadequate Matt?" Jun said. "Like you don't deserve her? Thinking she deserves better than an inconsiderate ass like yourself? Our little conversation affected you that much?"

Matt looked at Jun with a shocked expression.

"Yeah, I thought so. You know, I have a friend that went through the same thing. She turned out all right. So will you, if we just give you the right motivation."

"Uh-what motivation?" Sora asked.

"Kiss Tai."

"What!"

"Yeah, kiss Tai. That should do it. Then you two would be even. Everything works out."

"I'm not going to do that." Sora said, looking at Jun warily. "Are you crazy?"

Jun shrugged. "Fine. Whatever. Tai, kiss Sora."

"Okay." Tai stepped toward his longtime friend and began to lick his lips sensually.

The tension in the room went up several notches as Sora started to back away with a fearful expression. "What's wrong with you guys?"

"Just do it, Sora. Matt won't care, since he doesn't think he deserves you, anyway. Kiss Tai."

"Yeah," a voice cut in, "and then kiss Jun, but slowly-"

"Shut up Terence." Jun said, pointing a finger at him without looking away from the scene before her. "Just trust me on this, Sora. It'll put the two of you on even ground and you can kind of start over, or something."

"I um, ah-" Sora cringed as Tai came ever closer. Closer…

"All right, that's enough! STOP!" Matt, having had enough, leapt between the two. "I swear to god Tai, I don't know how I'll do it, but I'll find some way to kick your ass if you lay one hand on Sora."

"My my, Matt." Tai said, unfazed. "It seems like you're making some kind of claim on Sora, now. What makes you think you deserve her more now than you did a couple of seconds ago?"

"I-" Matt looked back to Sora, than at Tai again. "I don't know. True, I have been an idiot lately. But you know what? It doesn't matter! I-" He glanced at Sora, obvious searching for the right words. She looked back at him, her gaze gradually losing its bewilderment as it was replaced by something else. "I can make that up to her. Right now, she's in love with me and nobody else. And-and it's amazing. Just the fact that she still loves me, no matter what, after everything, I mean, just that is enough to make me want to be a better person in itself. And- and you know what? That's really all that counts, isn't it? I mean, that's why I love her."

Tai backed away from Matt with a smile and put an arm around Jun's shoulders. "Finally, the airhead gets it."

Matt gave him a perplexed look and made to speak, but was interrupted when Sora grabbed his shoulder and turned him to face her. "Do you mean that? Everything you said?"

Matt looked at her for a long moment before finally answering. "Yeah, I do."

With no further hesitation, Sora pulled him down to her, and into what had to be the most meaningful and passionate kiss of their entire relationship. Everyone in the room applauded. When they came apart, she grabbed him tightly around his waist and looked up into his eyes with a gaze of utter relief and contentment. "We're going to be okay, aren't we?"

Matt nodded. "As long as you have that ring, you have me."

"See? It worked like a charm," Jun said to Tai. "You owe me five bucks."

Matt smiled and shook his head. "I should have known you guys had planned this all out. It was so out of character for you. Well, at least for Jun."

Tai gave him an indignant look.

Sora leaned back to get a better look at his face. "Even still, if you would have let me and Tai kiss, I'd have never talked to you again."

"Well of course you wouldn't have honey," Jun said sweetly, "because it's likely I would have broken your jaw."

Sora eyes widened and everyone looked at Jun in surprise, save for Terence, who couldn't stop himself from laughing.

"Thought she was the mature one, didn't y'all?" He said. "But you'll find out differently real quick if you mess with Tai."

"Honestly though, I'm very happy for you two." Jun said to the newly reunited pair, ignoring Terence, but in no way taking back her threat. "Now go spend some time together. You have a lot to catch up on."

"Erm, thanks Jun. Tai." Matt nodded to each as he grabbed Sora's hand and began to lead her away. Though she was smiling somewhat, her eyes kept darting to Jun nervously. "Yeah, um, thanks guys."

"Well, I guess they have a lot of missed conversations to catch up on, huh?" Joe said, watching the couple exit the room with a grin.

"If that's what you want to call it." Terence said. "Then yeah, I'd say they're about to go 'converse' like rabbits."

"Terence!" Clara smiled and hit him lightly on the shoulder

He shrugged and took a sip from the cup he was holding, before adding, "Yep. Like horny, deprived rabbits just coming out of hibernation-"

"TERENCE!" The entire room said in unison.

"What?" He feigned innocence, then gasped. "Oh, you guys are dirty. Get your minds out of the gutter."

Everyone shared a laugh at his antics and returned to their festivities, enjoying what was left of their time before the Knights would have to go out on the first of the night's patrols. All of them were blissfully unaware of what the plans that many of them had made had in store for the next day, and what the dire consequences of those plans would have in store for the world.

* * *

**Later: The Digital Realm**

Willis finished the last of his keystrokes for the night and closed his laptop. Another day of adding and refining security features to the realm was finally behind him. With a grunt, he kicked the wall and allowed his chair to languidly roll over to a nearby window. Willis looked out upon the forest and lake, and sighed. It was so different here now, with everyone gone. Gone were the ever-present voices and sounds of activity, the people constantly coming and going from the mansion. Gone was the excitement for learning, the innocence of wanting to do good, to save the world. Now, all that was left were echoes, echoes of a world that was stripped away in a whirlwind of death and destruction.

There was a soft knock at the door.

"Come in Gennai."

The old man gently pushed the door open and shuffled into the room. He sat down on a chair across from Willis with some effort. "Good evening. How are you Willis?"

"I'm alright, considering. I noticed a communication coming in earlier. Is everything okay?"

"Yes. It was just a message from Oikawa. Nothing you need to worry about."

"Oh."

Gennai took in the young genius's somber expression. "You're missing Keyan?"

Willis shook his head in affirmation. "Of course. But I miss them all, Gennai. There was always so much going on with all those people and digimon here. And everyone was so full of life and curiosity." Willis chuckled, "Like, remember the time Jonathan tried to sneak into your office, but got caught by that "sticky bomb" trap you put over the door?"

Gennai smiled and nodded. "Yes, how could I forget? I was cleaning syrup from my carpet for a week."

"And, of course, he complained about you giving him morning calisthenics with Enn for a month."

At the mention of the Sensei, both Gennai and Willis's smiles faded away.

"Will it ever be like that again, Gennai? Will the good times come back? Or will we be forever fighting from here on?"

Gennai leaned forward in his chair. "It's a hard question to answer, Willis. You sound just as I did when I was young."

"Really, in your guardian days?

"Yes. Back then, everything was much as it was here at the Academy, until one person ruined it all."

"Are you referring The Assassin?"

Gennai nodded. "I have never properly told you the story of our past, have I?"

Willis shook his head. "I have often wondered…"

"Well, I suppose it is high time I related the tale to someone." Gennai reclined in his chair, showing that he was getting comfortable for what promised to be an extensively long tale. "It all started in Primary Village…"

_To be continued…_

* * *

Next up: **Vengeance and Dark hearts: Pt II**

The action packed Chapter that explains it all, from how The Assassin killed Cody's father and Keyan's parents, to his history with Gennai. Also, is Ineg truly gone? Find out in the next chapter of Digital Knights.

Also, my summer writing season just finally started, so be ready for, (gasp!), more frequent updates! Yay:-)

Don't forget to review.


	19. Vengeance and Dark Hearts Pt 2

Sorry about the long wait guys. I really thought updates would come more often, as usual, but this summer has been a lot different than ones in the past. A lot busier. Anyway, my special gift to you guys for being so patient is my longest chapter yet. It's like two for the price of one :-) Enjoy

* * *

_From the moment we were both born, KiAdjae and I were like brothers. We were a part of the same hatching group. We grew up together. We entered the Temple as Guardians in training at the same time. Back in those days, we were practically inseparable. But gradually, things started to change. KiAdjae started to change…_

**The Digital World: Many Years Past**

Two young men sat in the middle of a wide, grassy, plain. Their legs were crossed, eyes closed, and their hands rested on their knees. They both breathed slowly, rhythmically, seemingly in a meditative trance. Abruptly, one of the men opened his eyes and grunted.

"Gennai, this is ridiculous."

His partner opened his eyes gradually and had to blink several times to regain his senses. "What?"

"This doesn't make any sense, sitting here, basically doing nothing."

"KiAdjae," Gennai said with a small smile. "We need internal balance. The elders say-"

"Yeah, they're always saying. That's the problem. They, and we, never _do_ anything. Myotismon is out there, just biding his time. The Dark Masters are getting ready to make their move and we're just sitting here, seeking 'internal balance.' Ridiculous.

"KiAdjae, we can't always be consumed by our own ambitions. As Guardians, it is our jobs to protect and preserve the prophecies-"

"Has anyone ever told you that you sound like an Azulongmon recording?"

"Some of us would take that as a compliment, you know."

"Well, you definitely would." KiAdjae smiled. "You know, just because he's a god doesn't mean he's always right."

As soon as KiAdjae uttered the words, a low rumble descended over the tranquil clearing. Both young Guardians looked up and quickly rose to their feet. A gargantuan, dragon-like digimon was hovering over them. Electric pulses ran down the length of his body.

"Master Azulongmon." Gennai gasped reverently. He bowed deeply. "You honor us with your presence."

KiAdjae bowed as well, but without quite the same servant nature.

"Arise, Guardians. I come with urgent news for your elders."

"What is it, Master?"

"The digimon known as Piedmon and Myotismon appear to be on the prowl once again. Though the latter seems only interested with finding a way into the earth realm, the former is starting to show an inclination towards destroying us, the guardians."

"And what of his creator?" Gennai asked. "The dark one known as Apocalymon?"

"He in nowhere to be found. All indications are that he is no longer within our realm."

"So," KiAdjae stepped forward. "We should take the fight to them then?"

"No." Azulongmon boomed. "As Guardians, that is not your role. You are to protect the prophecies, not go out, looking to fight."

"Oh, come on. Wouldn't the best way to protect the prophecies be to just destroy Piedmon and prevent him from ever getting near them?"

Gennai looked absolutely shocked. It was one thing to disagree with their elders, but outright defiance towards Azulongmon was unheard of. He spoke up on the god's behalf. "Our duty is not only to protect the prophecies, but also the keys held within them. For us to engage Myotismon or Piedmon right now, would mean we're compromising the very prophecies we're trying to protect."

KiAdjae waved Gennai off. "Humph. I've seen the prophecies. If you ask me, taking things into our own hands wouldn't be such a bad idea. It's better than entrusting our fates into the hands of a bunch of mere children."

"No, it is not." Azulongmon said authoritatively.

KiAdjae was unfazed. "Then who's supposed to stop Myotismon if the children fail? Your human partner? The one that shares your powers, but doesn't even know it yet?"

"My Avatar will be informed and react when appropriate, which is none of your concern." Azulongmon turned and began to fly in the other direction. "Now go and inform your elders of what I have told you."

Gennai set off obediently and KiAdjae reluctantly followed him. "Everyone here is brainwashed." KiAdjae complained sourly. "All we do is 'protect the prophecies,' making sure that they fulfill themselves. When will these fools realize that there is no fate?"

"That is precisely the principle that we were founded on." Said Gennai.

"What?"

"The reason that we Guardians even exist is to make sure that the dark prophecies don't happen, and the good ones do."

"Yeah, I know the whole spiel about there being light and dark versions of every prophecy. Spare me the lecture. My point is, we should burn them all- live life as if we don't know what will happen next. Control our own destinies."

Gennai frowned and looked at his friend with a sad shake of his head. "But that's exactly what we do. We guard the prophecies so that humans and digimon can live their lives without ever knowing they exist."

"That is absolutely absurd. We give humans far too much reverence for accidentally creating our dimension. We are the evolved creatures, not them. If you ask me, they should be serving us."

Gennai came to a stop. "You truly believe that?"

"Sometimes I do, yes."

"It would be best that you keep such thoughts to yourself around the elders."

"But of course." KiAdjae said with a laugh. "I'm no fool."

* * *

**The Digital Realm**

Gennai sighed as Willis raptly listened to him spin his tale. "I should have seen it then, the darkness growing within his heart. But I was blinded by our friendship. I suppose I figured it was a stage he'd grow out of."

"It's understandable, Gennai." Willis said. "So how did he wind up being banished?"

Gennai looked down at his hands as he recounted. "KiAdjae eventually got worse. One day, he took matters into his own hands…"

* * *

Gennai stood in the middle of a complex of ornate stone buildings, conversing quietly with a couple of elder guardians as twilight descended upon the Digital World. Suddenly, a guardian closer to Gennai's age came running around one of the buildings.

"A portal has opened!" He shouted. "A portal has opened!"

"Not the Highton View gate again." Gennai groaned. "Will we ever be able to seal that thing?"

"Javi," one of the elders said calmly to the excited youth. "What gate was it?"

"I'm not sure." Javi responded. "I ran here as soon as I realized what was happening."

"Did anything come through?"

"That's the thing, I saw several humans walk through this time, all wearing special suits. And they- they started capturing any nearby digimon."

"Oh no." An elder exclaimed. "This isn't good. We just did a data cleansing last month, following the last opening. How could they have known where the gate was?"

"We must stop them somehow." Another said.

"KiAdjae's already over there." Javi said. "We'll have to hurry if we're going to help him in time."

A look of alarm crossed Gennai's face. "KiAdjae's there?"

Javi nodded. "I passed him on my way here."

"No, we have to hurry." Gennai took off at a sprint, but stopped after only a few seconds. To his dismay, KiAdjae was already returning.

Gennai looked his friend over as he crossed through the outer wall gate of the compound. He was carrying something blue in his hands, which upon closer inspection appeared to be a tattered old cloth. "The men are taken care of." KiAdjae said, throwing the blue fabric onto the ground. There was a name stenciled on it in capital letters, HITACHI INC.

"What- what did you do to them?" One of the elders asked, walking over. Many other Guardians were now walking out of the other structures, all curiously looking at KiAdjae and the cloth lying on the ground beside him.

"I killed them."

A collective gasp rose among the crowd.

KiAdjae looked around. "Oh, come on. They were attacking digimon. I was completely justified. I mean, what's the point of having these powers if we're never going to use them?"

"That is not our way." An elder said.

"I know, but maybe our way needs to change. Those men were dangerous. Something had to be done." KiAdjae looked over to his longtime friend. "Right Gennai?"

Gennai was looking at KiAdjae with an expression of complete shock.

"Oh, not you too. This is utterly ridiculous. Fine," KiAdjae turned to the ten or so elders that had assembled in front of him. "What will my punishment be this time?"

"There will be no punishment this time, young one."

"Then why is-"

Another elder spoke. "We have grown weary of your brash disobedience. This is the final straw. You will be stripped of your powers and banished."

"What?" KiAdjae's eyes went wide fear. "No. You can't do that. That's not right."

His eyes began to glow white and his body started to levitate off the ground. "I won't let you." KiAdjae started to turn, as if to fly away, but was suddenly pulled back. Several of the elders had extended beams of light from their hands that held him captive in the air.

"Let me go!" KiAdjae bellowed. "They were only mere humans! Worthless! We are gods! You would choose them over one of your own?!"

He struggled against his luminous restraints, but found them only constricting tighter. All of the elders began to chant in unison.

"No! Stop!"

"Everyone must perform the ritual." The head elder said to the gathered crowd. "His powers will not be removed if every Guardian does not perform it in unison."

The readiness with which everyone else raised their hands and joined in the chanting made it clear to KiAdjae just how much they wanted him gone. There remained one Guardian, however, that had yet to add his beam of light to the rest.

KiAdjae looked down from his midair imprisonment and smiled at Gennai. "I knew you would not betray me, brother. Despite what these other weaklings might say, I knew you were strong. I knew you would come around to my way of thinking eventually."

Sadly, Gennai raised a hand as well, and shook his head. "You are too far gone, brother."

KiAdjae recoiled in shock. "No. Gennai! Please! You can't!"

A beam shot forth from Gennai's hand and joined the others. When it did, KiAdjae let loose a blood-curdling scream that seemed to echo throughout the entire Digital World.

* * *

**Odaiba, Primary Investigations**

"…and then they threw me out into the Digital World, on my own. Gennai even had the gall to escort me to the border of the Guardian territory. He tried to give some pitiful apology for what he'd done, but there was no taking it back. I would never forgive him for his actions."

Kai Atuma paced across his office with armful of expensive equipment and dropped it gently into a cardboard box. He had been recounting the treacherous days of his youth to Jade as they packed for their emergency evacuation. Kai shook his head as he looked at the plethora of boxes and crates around the room. He should have known better than to locate his office on the top floor of Hitachi's shipping hub.

Now, because of the loss of one PDA, a PDA that didn't even explicitly mention this location, everyone in the building, from the genetics lab distributors on the ninth floor, to the weapons smugglers in the basement, was being forced to move out before CADE came snooping around. Though the building put up quite a convincing front to the everyday visitor that it was just a run of the mill office complex, any seasoned CADE operative would see through its façade in a split second.

Kai sat down at nearby desk and began marking down what he'd put in the box on a clipboard there. Some of Hitachi's henchmen would arrive tomorrow to move the stuff, and Kai wanted to be sure that none of it was lost. Once he'd finished, he continued his tale.

"That's when I handed them all over to Piedmon," He said. "Completely and absolutely. I sought out the clown digimon and told him everything, how to defeat the guardian spirits by using the destiny stones, what they were planning to do with the digidestined, even the crippling properties of dark spores. I wanted Gennai to suffer, you see. They all betrayed me, him foremost, and for it, they all paid dearly."

"It is quite understandable. I would have done the same." Jade finished taping another box of equipment closed. "And how is it that you came to the real world?"

Kai suddenly dropped the piece he was cataloguing to the floor with a loud clatter. He stared straight ahead, his face literally shaking with anger. "Gennai…"

* * *

In the middle of a desolate, burnt out, wasteland that was once the Guardian compound, an old man stood alone. He hung his head and looked around at the destruction surrounding him with weary, beaten, eyes. Another figure approached him from behind a partly dilapidated building and stopped a few feet away.

"Hello, Gennai."

"KiAdjae." The old man said without turning around.

"I see the spore's taken its affect on you very thoroughly."

"Thanks to you, no doubt."

KiAdjae began to slowly stalk around his old friend, not stopping until they faced one another. "And likely all of the Guardian Order is dead, except you, of course."

Gennai shook his head. "How could you do it, KiAdjae? How could you just turn everything over to the Dark Masters?"

"How could I do it? How could _I_ do it?!" KiAdjae began to scream. "How could you turn your back on me, your brother? You judged me! You stripped me of my powers and sent me out into the world to die! All of you did! I simply repaid the favor."

Gennai shook his head. "You are consumed by darkness. I am your brother no longer."

"You think I care anymore? I am greater than anything you ever could have been. Because, you see, I have a little thing called my own mind, and free will. I don't follow a bunch of useless ancients and their archaic rules, I make my own. And when I recover my powers from wherever you have hidden them away, I will be the one who makes the rules for everyone else here."

"You will make nothing of yourself so long as your heart is covered in blackness."

"And you will make nothing of yourself, period. Now die."

KiAdjae pulled a long, jagged, dagger from behind his back and ran at Gennai with a scream. The old man didn't move. Instead, he pulled a small object from his robe and threw in on the ground between them. The object exploded into light, releasing a bright, swirling, sphere, that KiAdjae's momentum carried him into. KiAdjae disappeared into the light, which then faded away as soon as he did.

* * *

"You sent him into the real world?" Willis asked.

Gennai nodded. "It was the last portal left after Piedmon's raid. I thought I was humbling him, forcing him to live the rest of his life virtually as a human. Instead, I released a monster upon the world. Every life he took, every cold blooded murder he committed from then on, is partially on my hands." Tears began to form in Gennai's eyes. "I should have let him kill me."

"You can't blame yourself, Gennai." Willis reached over and gently touched the old man's arm. "You did what you thought was right. No one is responsible for the lives the Assassin took but him."

Gennai gave his young protégé a small, baneful, smile, and patted his hand. "If only it were that simple, Willis. If only…"

* * *

"I was so stupid to fall for such a simple move!" Kai ruefully threw a box on top of a stack of others and allowed a low growl to escape his throat.

"Hitachi found me mere hours after I arrived here. He probably still remembered me as the man that had slain his entire expedition, all those years ago. Yet, instead of seeking vengeance, he sent me to the people who would train me to become the accomplished Assassin I am today. By giving me killing opportunities around the world, he inadvertently sent me you. And eventually, after I was forced to fake my death for a while, he sent you back to me. In return, I did him favors, such as killing Azulongmon's prized avatar, as well as anyone else that got in his way."

Kai picked up the piece he'd dropped earlier and began writing on it again. "Regrettably, he never let me go after the digidestined, for some reason, until now that is. He must have always had some kind of use for them…" A musing expression crossed Kai's face, but soon passed. "None of it matters, however. For soon, if Ineg is successful, I will have what I always wanted, my abilities restored…and Gennai's death."

At the precise time the words were spoken, far from Kai and Jade, in the Digital World, a hand burst forth from the rubble that was once the Digital Temple…

* * *

**Vengeance and Dark Hearts: Pt II**

**Odaiba: The Chamber**

"Alright guys, are we ready to go, then?" Davis stood at the head of the Chamber's lower conference room table, looking over the group assembled there; Ken, Yolei, TK, Kari, Cody, and Noriko.

A chorus of "yes's" answered him.

"Noriko, how are things topside?"

The dark haired girl to Davis's left cleared her throat before answering. "I spoke with Kin and Jiro a few minutes ago. They'll be ready and waiting for us."

"Good. Okay guys, this is going to have to be done with complete precision. We only have a limited window of time. Everyone knows the plan?"

Everyone at the table nodded. "Well then, all we need is for Kuri to do her part." Davis closed his eyes and concentrated for a second. "She'll be here soon."

He opened his eyes again and noticed Kari beaming at him.

"You sure seem happy." He said curiously. "Really looking forward to this?"

"I'm just impressed. You're really on top of things."

"You sound surprised."

"Hell, why wouldn't she be?" Said Yolei, "It's not like you've always been this responsible. I remember when you were just the goof of the group, constantly doing stupid-"

Davis suddenly pounded his fist on the table, causing Yolei to wince and grab her head.

"Aww, I'm sorry Yolei. I forgot you drunk yourself stupid last night. That was inconsiderate of me."

"I am going to kill you, Davis." Yolei grumbled, taking off her pair of overlarge sunglasses momentarily to pinch the bridge of her nose.

At that moment, the room's door opened and Kuri entered, twirling a set of keys around her finger. She tossed them to Davis. "You have no idea what I had to go through to get these."

"Gave you the third degree?" Asked Ken.

"Of course. It was nothing but "Where are you going with the vehicle? When are you going to return it? Why do you need it?" over and over again. And God, all the paperwork…I never want to see another release form in my life. You would think they'd have enough sense to leave me alone when I'm suited up, but nooo. It was all I could do not to boom bubble one of those idiots through a wall."

"Well, at least you were able to get it."

"Yeah, I guess. Are we ready to go?"

Davis scooped up the various notes off the table before him. "Yep, let's go guys."

Minutes later they were all loaded into a CADE SUV and exiting the Chamber's outlet tunnel into the streets of Odaiba.

Davis, at the wheel, checked the time of the lcd dashboard display. "The rendezvous is in just a couple of minutes. Everyone get ready."

Everyone in the car, save for Davis and Kuri, began reaching into their pockets, pulling out cell-phones and any communications devices other than their digivices. They all threw them into a paper bag that Noriko held out in the middle of the vehicle.

"I hope this works." Said Ken.

"It better, Ichijouji." Davis said, looking at him in the rear view mirror. "It was your idea."

"There they are." Kuri pointed out the window. "In that parking lot."

"Good." Davis turned and maneuvered the SUV into the lot and pulled up beside a run-down looking white van. It was pockmarked with dents, various rust spots, and seemed to be held together by a precarious mixture of duct tape and prayer. As they came to a stop, Kin, Jiro, and Kentaro jumped out of the van and walked over to them. Davis lowered his window.

"Hey guys." Kin greeted.

"Hey." Davis answered. He looked at the van the three had gotten out of and frowned. "Is that it?"

Kin nodded. "Yeah."

Noriko suddenly appeared at Davis's shoulder, leaning over the back of his seat. "Kin, that thing is a hunk of junk!"

Kin shrugged. "Hey I just said that my uncle had a van. I never said it was in great condition."

"Is that…van going to work for us?" Cody asked from the back.

"It'll have to." Davis unclasped his seatbelt and opened his door. "Come on guys. We can't stay sitting here for long." Everyone followed his example and began exiting the vehicle.

"Keys are in the ignition." Davis said to Kin as they crossed paths to their new vehicles. "Try to bring it back in the same condition it's in."

"Yeah, same here."

"Anything short of setting this thing on fire and driving it off a cliff will be fine, then." Kuri muttered as she jerked her door open with a grunt and climbed into the passenger side.

Ken walked over to Kin and handed him a piece of paper. "These are the places you'll have to visit and the times you'll need to be there. Don't forget to take the bag inside every time."

"Gotcha." Kin pocketed the list and gave Ken something resembling a salute. "Well, good luck then guys."

"You too." Ken turned and climbed into the back of the van as Davis started it. It sputtered and seemed like it would turn off for a moment before the engine finally caught and began to idle.

"Don't worry!" Kin shouted over the engine's noisy din as he got into the sleek CADE vehicle. "Bertha will get you there all right!"

"Bertha?" Yolei exclaimed. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Unfortunately," Davis grunted as he put the van in gear, "I don't think he is."

The vehicle lurched forward violently when he hit the gas, then backfired, before finally starting to move.

Kuri watched despondently as Kin smoothly maneuvered their SUV out of the lot before them. "From the highest of highs, to the lowest of lows." She sighed and picked at a chunk of loose upholstery on the dashboard, before asking, "How much time do we have?"

Davis pulled out his digivice. "Not long. We need to get to Yolei's parents' store pretty quick."

"That'll be great." Yolei muttered. "I'm sure they'll love to see their hungover daughter arrive in this thing, wearing sunglasses on a cold overcast day, just to buy cigarettes."

"Come on Yolei," Ken said, "you know why you have to do this."

"Yeah, yeah." She waved him off. "Doesn't make it any easier, though."

They arrived at the store in only a few minutes, after a harrowing drive involving three engine stallings and a bizarre incident in which the turn signal seemed to somehow control the radio dial. Yolei went around to the back of the small convenience store and, minutes later, appeared again at the front door.

"That's the signal." Davis said. "You're clear, Ken."

"Right." Ken quickly exited the car and rushed to the store. There was an atmosphere of anxiety in the van as everyone watched him dash inside.

"I hope her parents understand." Said Noriko, a doubtful tinge in her voice. "Otherwise, we're pretty screwed."

"I think it'll work out fine." Davis assured her. "As long as she tells them the truth about what's going on."

_Ever the friggin' optimist, aren't you?_

Davis detected the mental communication and glanced at Kuri. He gave her a small smile, knowing that she'd always thought his optimism to be one of his most attractive qualities. This was confirmed when she turned toward him slightly and returned the subtle sign of affection.

"It's taking longer than I would expect." Cody said after a few more moments had passed. "You'd think it would only be a couple seconds-" He paused when Ken and Yolei abruptly exited the small building, carrying a bag full of merchandise. They rushed back to the van and leapt inside as quickly as possible.

"Okay," Huffed Ken. "We got it. Let's get moving."

Davis put their lumbering vehicle in gear and drove out of the lot. "So, how did it go?"

"Well enough," Yolei shrugged. "They disabled the camera systems and I was able to explain what we were up to before my mom went ballistic."

"Then, what took so long?" Asked TK.

"Wouldn't let me leave until I'd finished at least one cup of coffee."

Davis shook his head and chuckled. "Next stop, Stonegate Prison."

Their arrival at the prison was met with much trepidation from the group. Davis parked the van on a deserted side street, about a couple of blocks from the imposing stone and iron archways that lined the main road and served as the actual prison complex entrance.

"Alright Cody. We're here. You ready to go?"

Cody took a deep breath before responding. "As I'll ever be."

"Good." Kuri said. She began tooling with her badge until she'd successfully separated its black backing from her shield. "This is my D-Terminal. If you guys get into any real trouble, just send a distress message to Davis."

"Yeah." Veemon piped up. "Then we'll bust in and save you."

Davis grimaced at his partner's enthusiasm. "Let's hope it doesn't come to that."

Kuri reached back and handed the D-Terminal to Ken. "You two had better get moving. We don't have much time, and since you don't have an appointment, they'll probably send up the alarms pretty quick. We'll wait a few moments after you leave before we take up our positions."

Cody and Ken nodded together as TK opened the door for them. "It shouldn't take long." Ken said as they got out. "Either they work with us, or they don't. We should know in the first few minutes." The door slammed shut with a loud rattle.

As the two boys headed off towards the end of the street, Noriko let out a loud sigh. Davis turned around to look back at her. "Something wrong?" He asked.

"Yeah, maybe. It's just, I don't understand why I'm here. I mean, all of you had your roles to play, but me, I'm just supposed to sit here in this car and wait?"

"That's what I'm doing." Kari said.

"Yeah, but you're still here for TK. Really, I just don't understand why I'm with you guys instead of making the rounds with Kin, Kentaro, and Jiro."

Davis shrugged as he undid his seatbelt. "That's something that you'll have to ask Cody."

"Why?"

"Because," Kuri answered, pausing to grunt as she forced her door open with a loud bang. "He's the one that insisted that you come with us. I guess he figured you'd be better protected with us than with the other guys."

"Really?" Noriko's voice took on a tone of interest. "You think so?"

"Yep." Davis said, as he got out and closed his door behind him. He leaned back in through the window. "I guess he really cares about you."

"Yeah, I suppose." Noriko didn't seem entirely convinced. "He's always doing these kinds of things for me, but never really let's me repay the favor."

_Sounds familiar._

Davis gave Kuri a knowing glance as she rounded the front of the van and smirked. "Noriko, right now, being his friend is repayment enough. Now, TK, take the wheel. Be ready to move at any sign of trouble."

"Gotcha." TK made his way to the front of the van and took up position in Davis's vacated seat as Kari followed him and seated herself on the passenger side.

Outside, Kuri walked up to one of the van's dingy rear windows and peered in at the digimon that were hiding in the back. "Veemon and Peko, you two stay out of sight. If anything really bad goes down we'll call."

"You'd better." Peko said, her anger at being left behind only slightly muffled by the glass. "We'll be waiting."

"Good." Davis clapped his hands together. "Well, if things go right, we should be back in just half an hour."

"Yeah, yeah." Groaned a pained voice from the back of the van. "Good luck and all that. Just get going already. All this talking is killing my head."

Davis merely shook his head at Yolei as he and Kuri set off to take clandestine surveillance positions outside the prison.

* * *

Ken and Cody found themselves in quite a large crowd of people at the Stonegate Prison visitor's entrance. Ken looked over the throng of depressed and dejected that surrounded them, all jostling for position in the cramped, Spartan, room as they waited for a nearby guard to call their names from an appointment list, after which they could enter the small, windowed, visiting room behind him.

"This is unacceptable." Ken said. "We'll never get in in time." He looked around the room and saw that a few people were already starting to glance at him and Cody with looks of familiarity.

"We don't have much time before one of them comes up to us." Cody remarked, practically reading Ken's mind.

"Yeah, I know." Ken searched the room as he tried to formulate some type of plan. "We need to talk to some of the prisoners first, then the warden."

"Really? And just how did you expect to pull that off without an appointment?"

Ken shrugged. "On short notice, I wasn't sure. I figure if we can't get something worked out here, we'll just have to pull out our trump card." He tapped his jacket pocket where he'd placed Davis's D-Terminal.

"I don't think that would be such a good idea. Forcing the answers out wouldn't go over too well."

"Neither do I. That's why I'm trying to figure out another way-" Ken paused when he spied something on the wall next to the screening guard and smiled slightly.

"What?"

"Cody, I need you to go distract that guard."

"What? Are you crazy?"

"Just do it. Go up and talk to him for a couple of seconds, and hurry."

Cody reluctantly did as Ken said. He walked up to the guard and, for lack of anything better to say, asked him what time it was.

"There's a clock posted on the wall over there." The guard answered gruffly.

"I, um know. I was just ah, wondering, because you have a watch on, and maybe that clock isn't right…ahem."

The guard looked down to Cody with a sneer. "What?"

At that moment, a loud, siren like, alarm filled the room. Ken grabbed Cody by the arm and forcibly pushed him into the visiting room just before the door slammed closed.

"What in the world did you just do?" Cody asked.

"Pulled the lockdown alarm." Ken explained. "It was the lever on the wall next to the guard. I had to wait for someone to exit first so the door would be open."

Cody looked around the small room. "Wait, are you telling me we're stuck in here?"

"Yeah. And they won't be able to unlock the door for at least five minutes. It's a common prison safety precaution."

"And the point of this was?" Cody asked, looking worried as he watched the guard outside pointing frantically to them through the glass. A couple of large men in suits that looked like detectives now stood next to the guard and were conversing with him.

"Simple." Ken nodded forward and Cody followed his gaze to where a bald, orange jumpsuited, prisoner sat, still chained to the visitor's table. "To talk to this lovely fellow here."

"I got nothin' to say to you two." The prisoner said gruffly.

"Oh, really?" Ken reached into his pocket and pulled out the pack of cigarettes they'd gotten earlier. "Because these say otherwise."

The prisoner looked at the cigarettes and licked his lip reflexively. "Alright, what you wanna know?"

Ken walked over and leaned onto the table. "Do you know anything about a man here named Sato Kobe?"

The inmate rubbed the rough stubble along his chin. "Might. What about him?"

"Has he ever talked to you? Revealed anything about the circumstances surrounding his incarceration?"

"Naw, I never really talked to that fella much before he left."

"Left?" Cody said in surprise. "What do you mean, left?"

"I mean, they took 'em." The inmate said gruffly. "He's innat new rehab program, r'whatever they're callin' it."

"New program?"

"Yeah, what I heard is they take prisoners n' all n' put 'em t' work for the government t' work off their time due."

"They took Sato?" Cody said incredulously. "They let him go free?!"

The inmate shrugged. "That what I hear. Now, you gonna pay up?"

"Huh?" Ken looked confused for a moment. "Oh, yeah." He slid the pack of cigarettes across the table to the inmate, who took it with a nod and slipped it inside of his collar.

Cody began to pace impatiently, his face contorted into an angry scowl. "I can't believe it! They just let him go!"

Ken brought Cody to a stop by grabbing his shoulders. "We don't know that for sure. Save it for when we get some real answers Cody."

"And when will that be?"

Ken checked his watch. "I'm sure they've called the warden by now. He should be here soon-"

The room door suddenly burst open and the two detectives that were outside barged in. One went straight for Ken, and the other headed for Cody. Ken raised his arms into the air. "We didn't mean any harm-"

He was cut off when one of the detectives punched him in the jaw, twisted his arm behind his back, and slammed him up against a wall. The large man put his forearm against Ken's head and pressed into it.

"Now listen here boy. I don't know what you and your friend here are up to, but you can bet Hitachi will know about it real soon."

Ken let out an incredulous gasp. "You bastards are on the take?"

The guard pushed harder against Ken. "Shut your mouth, if you know what's good for you. There's a lot of us."

Ken glanced out of the corner of his eye at Cody and saw that the younger boy was faring much better. He and his opponent were locked in a stalemate, as Cody had made good use of his grandfather's training to evade capture, and was darting in and out of the larger man's reach.

"That's enough!" A voice shouted from the door. A tall man with meticulous facial hair, dressed in a tan suit and hat, stood there with his arms crossed. He seemed stately, and particularly incensed by what was going on in front of him,

"Sir," The guard holding Ken said. "We caught these two boys after they pulled the lockdown alarm-"

"Then I'll receive these two in my office."

"But sir-"

"Now! Release them."

The detective reluctantly removed his forearm from the back of Ken's head. Ken glared at the man's sneering visage as he turned around and rubbed the area on his face that had been pressed up against the wall.

"You got lucky, boy. For now." The detective and his partner left the room, leaving Ken, Cody, and the Warden looking at one another.

"Follow me, boys." The Warden said, turning on his heels and walking out of the room.

Cody and Ken followed the Warden through the outer waiting room and down the long hallway that led to his office. They walked in silence, as the Warden had opted not to speak until they'd arrived into his office and closed the door.

"I suppose you boys are searching for a prisoner here?" He asked, gesturing for them to take a seat as he seated himself behind his desk. Ken noticed that the Warden's voice was kind yet condescending. In other words, completely fake.

"Maybe." Ken answered evenly, producing a photo from his lapel and sliding it across the warden's desk.  
"His name is Sato Kobe."

"Ah." The Warden nodded. "Well, that prisoner no longer resides here. A routine move for space considerations."

"Bull-!"

Ken raised a hand to prevent Cody from responding further. "We have information that says otherwise."

"Oh, really." The Warden's expression became hard and suspicious. "And where could you have gotten information like that?"

"We have eyes and ears, Mr. Warden. The point is, we know Kobe was placed in your little 'program.'"

The warden leaned back in his chair and appraised Ken and Cody with a wary expression. He took a lighter from his jacket pocket and a cigarette from a pack lying on his desk. He lit the small stick and sat quietly for a moment, allowing the acrid scent of burning tobacco to waft around the room.

"You know." He finally said. "I know who you kids are."

Ken barely raised a brow, and Cody likewise seemed none too fazed by the admission.

"You're two of the digidentineds that killed that…that thing a few years back, right?"

The Warden's speech began to slip into a more natural, uncultured, tongue, evidence of a rudimentary cultural connection he shared with the men whose incarceration he oversaw.

"Yeah, I gotta admit. Fighting that thing, that took some kinda balls there. I have no idea what the hell that thing really was, but I could tell it was big and bad and there's no way I'd be caught messin' with it."

Ken did his best to mask his confusion at the Warden's manner, while Cody didn't restrain himself in the slightest from looking at the elder man as if he were clinically insane. Noting his companion's waxing impatience, Ken spoke again. "I'm not sure we follow-"

"Look. I've seen your friends on TV, like everyone else. Seems you all got a lot of power now. I guess since you're the only ones that can fight these new "whatever they ares" that're attacking people now-"

Cody finally spoke now, interrupting the Warden in what seemed to be as calm a manner as he could possibly muster.

"Look, Mr. Warden, I came here expecting to find my father's killer serving his rightful sentence. Instead, I discover that the government has basically decided to let him go free. I want to know why."

The Warden took another very long drag on his cigarette before answering. "Well, first of all, this ain't the government."

"But I thought you said-"

"Yeah I know." The Warden waved him off. "I shouldn't even be tellin' you any of this. The program they put the prisoner Kobe in is what you'd call 'government appointment'"

"What?"

Ken nodded as a few of the pieces began to fall into place. "It's when the government pays private industries to carry out missions that they aren't legally allowed to. If things go wrong, the companies take on full liability and any implications of wrongdoing."

The warden smiled, apparently impressed by Ken's explanation. "Yeah, only this time it wasn't the higher ups going to somebody else to handle their dirty business. Someone came t' them."

Cody, having found his bearings in the conversation once again, leaned forward with his hands on the desk. "Who?"

The Warden considered Cody for a pregnant moment. "I don't know if this is safe to tell you."

"Please."

Another long pause. The two continued to stare at one another, neither backing down as their gazes matched intensity. Finally, the Warden seemed to make a decision regarding Cody's trustworthiness and gave an answer.

"Gentech."

"What?"

"That's all can say, but that's all you should need as well." The Warden looked to Ken knowingly.

Ken nodded in affirmation. "It is."

Cody did not look pleased with this apparent resolution, but seemed to trust Ken's judgment and instincts in the matter. "Fine." He said as he rose away from the desk. "But I just want to know one thing, Warden."

"Huh?"

"Why did you suddenly decide to tell us this? What are you getting out of it?"

"Kid, I know that wild animals belong in cages. Murderers, serial killers, rapists, none of 'em should be allowed to go free. I don't care for what reason. They're gonna hurt people again, and anyone who believes different is a damn fool. We need to get rid of these programs that are putting these beasts back into the public."

"So you want us to change the system?"

"Far as I can tell, you're the only ones with th' power t' pull it off." The Warden leaned back in his chair a bit. "Least your friends are, anyway. That's not to say you two can't raise plenty of hell yourselves, judging by the way you barged in here. Just, it's a lot easier for the bad guys to do away with you two than it is this." He pointed to the front page of a week-old newspaper resting on his desk. On it was a picture of Tai shooting blasts of fire from his hands as he pursued a bluish mutate over several downtown Tokyo rooftops. The headline read "Heroes of a New World."

Ken stared at the picture with a frown. "I suppose."

There was a knock at the door, prompting the two digidestineds to make preparations to leave.

"Yeah, just a minute." The Warden answered, before turning his attention back to Ken and Cody. "Hold on, you two. If you guys find somethin' out and need some help, look me up. I still got some buddies on th' force. Might be able to call in a favor or two."

"We would appreciate that, Warden." Ken said as he and Cody reached the door. "After the things we've seen, it would be nice to see the good cops again."

"Don't I know." The Warden stamped out his cigarette with a grim expression and rose from his chair. "Well, you two had better get goin' now. You probably raised plenty of suspicion by bein' in here this long."

"Right."

The three exchanged hurried goodbyes and as Ken and Cody exited the office, they passed a couple of plainclothes cops who seemed to be watching them very intently.

"God, are they all corrupt?" Cody complained in a whisper once they passed the two men turned into the main corridor.

"I wouldn't doubt it." Ken grumbled in reply, his eyes darting anxiously around the hall. "Pick up the pace. Be ready to run when we reach the doors."

They moved forward at a quickened gait, reaching the metal detectors and large glass doors of the complex's entrance in little time. The guard there barely acknowledged their departure with a nod as he absentmindedly turned his newspaper to the next page.

Once the two reached the outside, they raced down the front steps to the street below. Only moments passed before the doors burst open again, and the two detectives from earlier came bounding out after them.

"Stop!" The men shouted, pulling out their firearms simultaneously.

"Run Cody!" Ken shouted. They both broke into hard sprints just as the air was filled with the loud bursts of gunfire and metal ricocheting off of the concrete around them. Ken's heart pounded and adrenaline coursed through his system. He had thought that the detectives would have tried apprehending he and Cody under the guise of arresting them for the stunt with the alarm. But, he now found that, they weren't shouting any orders to them. They were just shooting. Trying to kill them, as they had likely been paid and ordered to do. Apparently, he and Cody weren't even valuable alive to Hitachi. He only wanted them dead, and as far as Ken could tell, in a few moments, that's exactly what they would be.

No sooner had the defeatist thought passed through Ken's mind than a couple of dark blurs darted between he and Cody, colliding with the cops pursuing them with two loud thuds. Ken came to a halt and grabbed Cody's arm to stop him as well. They turned together to seen Davis and Kuri standing over the unconscious forms of their would-be murderers, both wearing furious scowls.

"Scum." Davis said with a sneer. "Turning on their own people for money."

Kuri gave one of the men a hard kick for good measure when he stirred slightly. "Should we take them into CADE for questioning?"

"We'd be raising their suspicions…" Ken warned as he recovered his bearings. "They'd know what we've been up to."

"The question is," Davis said, using a foot to disdainfully turn one of the men face up. "Is the risk worth the reward?"

"Were those gunshots?" "It came from over here somewhere!"

The four looked up in alarm as the shouts of several approaching people reached their ears.

"We need to clear out of here, fast." Davis said. No sooner had the words left his mouth than a loud clunking and screeching of tires drowned them out. A dilapidated rusting white van pulled up beside the quartet, its engine loudly guffawing as it protested the rigorous use it was being put through.

"Get in!" TK shouted from the driver's window, gesturing frantically. "The cops are coming!"

Needing no further prompting, everyone immediately jumped into the van via its nearest open window or door. Once inside, they sped off amidst a cloud of smoke and the strong smell of burning rubber.

* * *

**The Chamber**

Tai just finished putting the last touches on his uniform by clasping his belt when Jun, Terence and, Clara, and their respective partner digimon, appeared at his room's doorway.

"I'm guessing you guys are already ready to go?" He asked them.

"Pretty much." Clara replied, shifting Marta's weight as she held the small Salamon in her arms. "We don't have long to do everything."

"Yeah, I know." Tai turned his attention to Terrence. "We get everything clear with CADE?"

Terrence nodded. "Yeah. As far as they know, we're just taking an earlier patrol than usual. Hatori didn't even seem too concerned about it either, like he was really preoccupied with something else. He said something about us picking up the slack for Davis and Kuri."

"What? Davis and Kuri are gone? Where?"

"I think I heard them say something about going out with some of the others." Clara said. "I think they may be visiting family or something,"

Tai crossed his arms with a frown. "That's something that they really should have cleared with the rest of us." He grumbled. "We can't afford to have communications breakdowns like this."

Jun pensively bit her lip. "It is weird that they didn't tell us. You think they're perhaps up to something else?"

"Wouldn't doubt it." Terrence said with a shrug. "They probably got tired of waiting around and are now out there hunting down Hitachi for themselves."

"I hope not." Clara said with a slight shudder. "They'd be risking a lot by doing that."

Jun shook her head. "They're not that stupid…I think. It's more likely they're up to something less drastic."

"Probably," Tai said. "I trust Davis's judgment too much for him to do something that foolish. If Ken's with them, he may have convinced them to go investigate some obscure clue or something."

"Which," Said Clara, "If Ken is as good a detective as you guys say he is, might lead them into something dangerous sooner or later."

"So basically," Sparks chimed in from the floor. "We have to finish our stuff before they do theirs."

"Yes, Sparks." Jun said, sounding a little exasperated. "Like I told you earlier, we'll be leaving soon."

"You can't get mad at him." Marta said, leaping down to the ground from her partner's arms. "It's been a while since we got to actually do something fun."

"It's not fun." Tai reprimanded her. "It's our job. We have to take this seriously."

Marta visibly cowered a bit. "I know. I-I was just saying-"

"Ah, don't worry about him." Agumon interrupted her with a wave of his hand. "He thinks it'll be fun too."

"Dammit Agumon." Tai muttered, allowing his head to drop.

Jun put a sympathetic hand on her boyfriend's shoulder and grinned. "Don't worry, Tai. We're all taking this _very_ seriously, right guys?"

The others chimed in with comments of agreement and exaggerated nods.

Tai regarded them all with a small shake of his head and a faint smile. "Alright smartasses, let's just get going then. We need to get down to the docks pretty soon."

As Tai headed down the hall with the rest of the group in tow, a pair of eyes watched their departure intently.

* * *

"Finally." Curtis sighed as he watched Tai's group head around a corner leading to the Chamber's main airlock exit. He turned back to his anxious girlfriend, waiting behind him as he peered through the crack of his barely opened room door. "I think we're clear to leave now."

He pulled the door open carefully, making sure that it made no sudden noises. The couple stepped out into the hall, using every ounce of stealth training they'd learned at the academy to make their way from the small corridor to the advanced research lab two floors above without being detected. It wasn't until they had almost completed the precarious journey that they ran into their first sign of trouble.

"A patrol detail." Rosa grumbled as they peered around a corner at the hall where the research room's entrance was located. Two lower level CADE agents were passing by it as they made their methodical rounds and were approaching Curtis and Rosa's position. "What should we do?"

Curtis pulled out his digivice in one swift movement. "We planned for this, remember."

He pressed a button and seconds later the sounds of a scuffle came from further down the hall. The agents immediately halted and turned around at the sudden noise. "Hey, you two!" One of them shouted. "Pipe down. There's an important meeting going on up here!"

When the wrestling Taps and Gotsumon showed no sign of having heard them, the guards jogged over to the two rookie digimon to break them apart.

Curtis and Rosa seized the opportunity and crossed the hall, their feet barely touching the ground as the practically glided across the floor. When they reached the nondescript metal set of double doors that was the lab's entrance, Curtis pushed one open without a second thought. He held the door as Rosa entered behind him, then held it as it swung back, allowing it to close with as little noise as possible.

"Wow." Rosa said with a breath of awe. "Look at this place."

Curtis turned around after finishing with the door and mirrored her expression. "All this equipment," He said, walking around the spacious laboratory and trailing a finger along each piece of high tech apparatus inside. "This is really impressive."

Rosa nodded as she too took in all silver tinged devices and bright monitors that were situated along the walls of the dark, circular, room. "I have no idea what any of it is."

"Don't feel bad," said Curtis. "I'm not even sure about some of these machines, myself."

"Which one is the one we need?"

Curtis nodded toward a rather eclectic looking contraption directly across the room from them. "I think that one." He produced the vial of blood from his belt and began walking towards the machine.

"You're sure?" Rosa asked.

"Nope." Curtis answered honestly. "But it looks more like a biological analyzer than anything else in here. There's even a place to place the vial."

"But you don't know how it works."

Curtis looked back at Rosa with a confident grin. "Are you kidding me?"

She shook her head. "Right. Forgot who I was talking to for a sec there."

Curtis quickly crossed the room and took a seat in front of the machine. He began tooling with its instrument panel and in short order had it fired up and a command prompt flashing on its monitor. Curtis then placed the vial in one of the several analysis chambers in front of him.

"This interface is really simple." He said offhandedly as Rosa walked up behind him.

"Yeah, I see. A mistake on CADE's part, huh?"

Curtis smiled. "They'll live to regret it." After a few moments had passed, he abruptly stopped inputting commands and leaned back in his chair. "It's starting the analysis. Now we have to wait."

Rosa pulled a chair over and sat down as well. "How long will it take?"

"About ten to fifteen minutes." Curtis looked around the impressive room, which, with all its advanced gadgetry and lights, resembled the bridge of a futuristic starship more than a simple laboratory. "I can't believe we actually got in here." He said. "I wonder what meeting they had that's so important?"

Rosa shrugged. "Dunno. But like I said before, I don't have a good feeling about it."

* * *

In the Chamber's upper conference room, a large group of upper level CADE agents were gathered around a long black and white swirled marble conference table. Each had a manila file folder and several skewed papers placed in front of them. Seated at the head of the table was Hatori, and to his immediate right, Scott Barke. Both wore solemn expressions as Scott addressed the group.

"Gentlemen, every bit of information you see before you is absolutely legitimate. These are the true blueprints for the Hitachi tower that was destroyed a few weeks ago."

"How can you be sure kid?" One of the older agents spoke up. "Why should we just take you word that these "lower levels," this underground labyrinth of tunnels and labs, truly exist?"

"Sir, these records were taken personally from my father's private files. I can vouch for their authenticity myself."

"Forgive me if that fails to soothe my concerns."

"With all due respect, sir, this meeting wasn't called to make you feel better about our intelligence. This has all been reviewed by the highest levels of CADE. It's real."

"Fine." Another older man said from the other end of the table. "Then what do you suggest we do about it?"

"We've planned a raid on the facility tonight." Said Hatori.

"What?!" The first man shouted. "We haven't cleared any of this."

"No offense sir, but you all never clear anything," Scott said. "So we went over your heads."

"And I suppose you're sending your precious Knights, barely older that this boy here, in on this raid?"

Hatori shook his head. "They're much too important to waste on a maneuver such as this. They're needed to protect the public, while we attack Hitachi's infrastructure."

A woman to Hatori's right sighed. "Well, at least they aren't sending children in again."

"Ma'am, those 'children' have done more for our fight than this committee has ever even imagined." Scott said, raising his voice. "They've already saved the world twice before, or did you forget?"

"I still don't think this is a good idea." The second older man said.

Scott scoffed. "In my experience, you don't think any action is a good idea, sir. The raid is happening tonight, whether you like it or not. The era of CADE twiddling its thumbs and wasting time is over."

"That's enough Scott." Hatori stepped in front of the angered you man. "What he's trying to say is, we already have commissioned the manpower and weaponry for tonight's maneuver. This meeting wasn't called for your opinions, but simply to give you this information so you won't be in the dark-"

There was a sudden knock at the conference room's door.

"Enter." Hatori said.

Two guards walked into the room and bowed respectfully.

"Sir there was a disturbance reported at the StoneGate Prison today. There are a few eyewitness reports that have placed some of the Knights at the scene."

Scott looked up. "There are always reports coming in placing the Knights at places they couldn't have possibly been. People see what they want to see at times. Why should we treat this any different?"

"Well, seeing that we allowed Motomiya and Katsura a leave today, with one of our vehicles, mind you, it's entirely plausible that it could have been them."

"Plus, there's more." The other guard said. "Two officers were found unconscious at the scene. When they came to, they claimed not to have known what happened."

"That does seem rather suspicious." One of the committee members said.

"Okay, fine." Hatori gave in with a wave of his hand. "Go check our surveillance and see if they were near there then."

"Yes sir." The guards quickly walked out of the room, allowing Hatori to return to bringing his meeting to a close.

* * *

"Someone's coming!" Rosa hissed as she bolted upright in her chair. "Come on!" Without another word she dropped to the floor and scrambled under a nearby table. Curtis shut off the monitor before him and quickly followed her. He managed to pull his feet out of sight just as the door to the room swung open and the two guards from earlier entered.

"The sat-console is just over here." One of them said as they strolled across the room, their feet at one point coming within mere inches of the interloping teenagers. "We should be able to trace their movements pretty easily with this thing. It has access to most networks."

"Good, let's get it going then." The sounds of keystrokes echoed across the room for a tense couple of minutes. "Here's the feed. I just need to enter our particular subjects' ID tags and…voila. There you go. Satellite tracking of cell phones, PDAs, our vehicles, basically anything they may have with an orbital uplink. "

The first guard took a couple of steps forward. "Hmm. According to this, they've visited these particular addresses as a group."

"Those locations appear to match up with our records of their residences."

"And none of them are near the prison." The guard sounded a bit disappointed at this fact. "Well, let's go report our findings."

"Ugh, Hatori will really let us have it for interrupting the meeting for a false alarm."

"Don't I know. Let's get it over with."

Their footsteps echoed, then the door shut with a loud bang and the room was bathed in complete silence once again.

"Wow, that was close." Curtis said, climbing out from under the table, then turning and offering a helping hand to Rosa.

"Tell me about it." She took his hand and rose to her feet before brushing herself off. "Is that thing finished yet?"

As if to answer her, a small beep rang out from the machine in question.

"I think so." Curtis answered. "And not a moment too soon either." He turned the monitor back on. "Now, to send this information to Willis."

Rosa watched him set back to work for a moment, then turned to look toward the door. "I wonder what they were talking about."

Curtis looked up. "Huh?"

"You know, who they were trying to find."

"Oh. That could've been anybody." Curtis immersed himself back into his work.

"Whoever it is, CADE doesn't seem to trust them very much."

"I agree."

After a while, Curtis pressed one last key with a flourish, and smiled. "Alright, here goes nothing."

The screen went black for a couple seconds, then abruptly lit up again, this time displaying the smiling face of Willis.

"Curtis, is that really you?" Came the loud tinny voice from the computer's speakers. Curtis hastened to turn the volume down before anyone outside heard. "Um, hey Willis." He whispered. "I wasn't aware that we would be able to actually talk, you know, with the time difference and all."

"I re-aligned the dimensional time streams." Willis answered, his voice much lower now. "Hey, is that you, Rosa? How's it going?"

"Uh, good." She said, her eyes darting to the door nervously. "Look, we can't really talk right now."

"Yeah," Curtis said. "I need you to run the info I sent you through your systems, see what you can make of it."

Willis took note of their demeanors and quickly became more serious. "Yeah sure. Just give me a few moments."

"Okay, but hurry. I don't know how long we'll have access to this system"

"Gotcha." Willis's end suddenly went black again.

"Think he'll be able to come up with anything?" Rosa asked.

"I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't," said Curtis. "Willis is the foremost mind I know on digital genetics and bonding. If anyone can get to the bottom of this mutant mystery, it's going to be him."

The screen sprang back to life. "Wow," Curtis exclaimed. "That was quick."

Willis countenance appeared once again, this time appearing much more concerned than before. "Guys this is some really advanced evidence of digital mutation that you've sent me here."

"How so?"

"I can tell you right now that whoever created these digimon and human hybrids had to have already had intimate knowledge of the digimon's preexisting partner bonds. It's the only way they could have manipulated the lines so exquisitely to physically join with another human."

"What are you saying? These mutants are just humans combined with their digimon partners?"

"Not really." Willis looked at something off-screen with scrutiny then turned back. "The joined digimon and human in this instance don't appear to be partners, but whoever did this had to have known who the digimon's partners actually were."

"But that would mean-" Rosa began, before pausing and scratching her head. "What exactly?"

Willis shrugged "I'm not sure. Has there been a rash of digimon kidnappings in the real world lately?"

Curtis shook his head. "Not that I know of."

"But that would mean that the digimon taken to create these abominations were given willingly by their partners. Who would do such a thing?"

The room went silent as the three delved into their own thoughts as to who the culprits could possibly be.

"Roots Gate." Rosa finally said with an ominous air.

Curtis looked at her with a sudden dawning of recognition crossing his face. Willis, who wore the same look, said, "Looks like you guys had better get in touch with Jonathan."

"Right." Curtis looked around the room. "But we can use the regular lab for that, just in case we've overstayed our welcome here."

"Good luck then guys. Keep me posted." The monitor went blank once again.

Curtis took the vial from the machine with one hand and Rosa's hand with the other. "Come on. Let's get out of here."

* * *

**Odaiba: The Docks**

Jun adjusted her skirt yet again, still uncomfortable with its unreasonably short length.

"I told you girl, you look fine." Clara said, not taking her gaze away from the mirror in front of her as she applied makeup.

Jun cut Clara a skeptical stare. "Easy for you to say. You're wearing pants."

"I told you Jun, we both have to show off our best assets. You have gorgeous legs. I have big boobs. It's just common sense."

Jun looked at Clara's "assets," noting that the two tan globes appeared to be practically bursting from her miniscule halter top. "Ugh. This is so degrading."

"I know. Isn't it though?" Clara said with a grin. She dipped a brush into her rouge and began applying it to her cheeks. "Could you imagine Kuri in this situation?"

"Sure, and I could also imagine this entire yacht in flames and sinking into the harbor." Jun finally quit adjusting her skirt, giving up on it with a sigh. "And I wouldn't blame her one bit."

Clara chuckled and paused in her activity long enough to hand Jun a bag from the table in front of her. "Now that you're finally dressed, here's a make-up kit I put together for you."

"Thanks." Jun took it gratefully. "I guess we're really fortunate that Terence's boat came here so prepared."

"He told me that it's the one he uses for many of his overseas concerts. Says it beats a plane any day."

"Of course it does now, seeing that he doesn't actually have a plane anymore."

Clara frowned a little and looked around. "I guess all these clothes and makeup are probably for his backup dancers."

"Yeah, probably." Jun leaned forward beside her and began applying eyeliner.

"That's a lot of girls."

Jun paused and looked down at her friend. "Clara, not this again."

"I'm just saying Jun, that's a lot of girls to be around him all the time, not to mention the millions that swarm him anytime he goes anywhere."

"I know you're not jealous."

Clara shrugged and returned her attention to the mirror. "I guess not. I just wish that, well, y'know, everyone _knew_ that we were together."

"Are you kidding me? The way you two are all over each other every time we go out on patrol. Anyone that even partly watches the news knows you two are together."

"Yeah, I suppose. Maybe I'm just being stupid."

"Exactly."

Clara glared up at Jun, who returned her look with a small smile. "Sorry."

At that moment, the door to the small cabin room opened and Terence and Tai walked in, looking particularly stylish in designer shirts and slacks, with mirrored sunglasses hanging from their collars.

"You guys ready yet?" Terence asked.

"No." Clara answered. "And we'll never be if you guys keep asking every five minutes."

"Is that what you're wearing?" Tai asked, his eyes practically bulging as he took in Jun's appearance, particularly her legs.

"Look." She pointed a finger at him threateningly. "I just came to terms with this thing myself. I don't need you here setting me back."

Tai put his hands in the air. "Okay, okay. Sorry."

"Shouldn't you guys be getting the car or something?" Clara asked.

"Remarkably, she has a point," said Terence. "Though we already got the van out, my H2 is still somewhere below in the storage deck."

Clara looked at her boyfriend in the mirror. "You brought a H2 over?"

"Yeah, and I hope it didn't get damaged on the trip here. It's my favorite car."

"Well, so long as no one 'pulls a Tai' with it, it should be fine."

Tai crossed his arms and looked at Clara irately. "That is not funny. It's not like I just go around, destroying Hummers."

"Tell that to Matt." Jun replied calmly.

Terence laughed heartily at this, prompting Tai to turn towards him. "I wouldn't laugh so hard, Terence. You gave the digimon full run of your boat, remember? You honestly think they haven't found your precious vehicle by now?"

Terence immediately stopped laughing and grabbed Tai by the shoulder with a look of desperation. "Come on, we have to find those little bastards before they break something!"

"I'm just kidding. I'm sure your car is just f-" Tai's words were cut off by Terence forcibly pulling him out the door.

Clara and Jun glanced briefly at the two as they left, then shrugged and returned to their facial ministrations.

* * *

**The Chamber**

"Okay, I got it!" Ken said triumphantly as he raced into the conference room where Davis, Kuri, and the rest of the group from earlier were seated. Ken threw and sheet of paper down on the table in front of them and stood back, his arms proudly crossed. "This is our connection between Gentech and Hitachi."

"Did anyone see you?" Kuri asked.

Ken shook his head. "Rosa and Curtis were the only others in the lab, and they seemed pretty busy with whatever they were doing."

Davis took the paper and read for a moment before speaking. "It says that Gentech, a biological genetics company was bought out by Creative BioEnterprises Inc."

Ken nodded. "Keep reading."

"Creative BioEnterprises is a venture seeking to improve the human condition though medical research and unorthodox methods. It is also a subdivision of the Human Hand foundation, a joint collaboration between the UN and Japanese philanthropic businessman, Yukio Hitachi-" Davis paused. "There it is."

"And it all makes perfect sense." Said Ken. "Because of the UN connection, Creative BioEnterprises was able to coerce the government into allowing them to test vaccines and controversial treatments on members of their penal system, particularly those sentenced to life terms or even death."

"So the mutants are all former prisoners?" Noriko asked.

"I'd bet on it."

"Wait," Cody raised a hand. "The warden said that these Gentech people were the same ones that took my father's killer. If they put him into their program, wouldn't he then also be one of those mutants?"

"I think we have to assume so."

Cody slammed his fist on the table, his years of martial arts training made evident by the splinters that went flying from the impact. "I don't believe this. You telling me he's still out there, and now he's even more powerful?! That was his punishment?!"

"Cody, you have to stay calm."

"How can you tell me that?! You probably see him every night on your patrols! You know he's out there!"

_Tell him._

Davis looked to Kuri in surprise.

_Are you serious?_

_You have to._

_I can't._

_Davis, look at him._

Davis looked at Cody and noticed the rage seething through every part of the boy's features.

_We owe it to him. He deserves to know the truth._

Cody continued when Davis didn't respond to him, "See? You know I'm right, don't you. He's out there, and that orange mutant knew it. That's why he said what he did."

"Or maybe he _is_ the orange mutant." Ken said flatly.

Cody gaped at him, his mouth hanging open as he searched for a response to the unexpected statement.

_Tell him._ Kuri prodded again.

"Cody." Davis said in a low voice. "I need to show you something." He was about to say something else, but then turned and headed towards the room's exit. "Come with me."

After a beat, Cody reluctantly began to follow Davis. "Where? What are you showing me?"

"What really happened to your father." Davis walked out of the door and Cody hurried to catch up with him.

At that, everyone else in the room got up to follow, but Kuri stepped in the doorway to block them. When they protested, she said, "This is for only Cody to see, guys. He can tell you afterwards, when he wants to."

She glanced back over her shoulder with a look of extreme worry. _If he wants to._

* * *

"Here it is." Davis turned his laptop towards Cody and slid it across the desk to him.

Cody took the computer gingerly and kept his eyes shifting from its screen to Davis's countenance. "What is this? How does it relate to my father?"

"Read it."

With one last look at Davis, Cody turned his eyes back towards the screen and began to scan the wealth of information contained there. Davis watched him with a fixed, intent, albeit worried, stare. A few minutes passed before Cody spoke again.

"I don't get it." He said.

Davis looked at him in surprise. "What?"

"This guy. This Assassin, he's certainly a despicable character, but I don't see what his crimes have to do with me or my father."

"Read the annotations at the bottom of the page."

Cody did as he said, and accordingly, only a moment passed before he recoiled in surprise, instinctively pushing the computer away from him and giving Davis a cold glare.

"What the hell is this?"

Davis, unaccustomed to being talked to by Cody in such a manner, was taken aback and had to grasp for his words. "It's um, the truth about what happened to your father." He got up from his chair and turned the laptop back towards Cody, before walking over and placing a gentile hand on his shoulder. "That man, the assassin, killed him."

Cody shrugged away from his touch. "BS."

"Cody-"

"How is it possible?! My father saved the councilman, who Sato tried to kill. He took the bullet for him. How could this guy, this 'Assassin,' have possibly been the one to, to- I mean, what you're saying is, an entire police investigation, the trial, every single piece of video evidence that shows that worthless bastard shooting my father, turning, and running like a coward through the crowd, is wrong?"

Davis made a point of looking Cody squarely in the eye, and nodded. "You've seen the power and influence of Hitachi, even today. Do you have any reason to believe I'm wrong?"

Cody half smiled and gave a small shake of his head. "I have all the reason in the world. I have the truth. All you have is some CADE file-"

"Gennai made this, not CADE."

"Gennai?"

Davis nodded.

"But-but, how can it be true? How can this be possible?"

"I wish I knew Cody. To tell you the truth, part of the reason Kuri and I helped you guys today is because I thought I might find out."

"But, I just don't understand. How-?" Cody pressed his palms to his forehead, grimacing as he seemingly attempted to force all of the new thoughts and confusion from his head. When Cody finally decided to open his eyes again, he glanced at the computer, but this time seemed to notice something. He quickly took his hands from his head, and peered closely at the screen.

"Is that the only picture you have of him?" He asked Davis.

"No," Davis answered, a little thrown off by Cody's sudden shift in demeanor. "There are others." He reached down and pressed a few keys on the laptop, causing the screen to cycle through a slideshow of spy photos and surveillance stills. "But they're really not of much use. As you can see, The Assassin changes his facial appearance every so often. Really screws us up and throws us off his trail."

"But his eyes don't change." Cody's voice was dark, flat, and mechanical.

Davis looked closer at the pictures and noticed that Cody was right. The man in each picture had a shadowed, hidden quality to his eyes that was unwavering throughout each image. "You know, you're right. I never realized that before. Maybe-"

Cody stood up and faced the door. "Davis, if you don't mind, I'd like to go to my room. It's been a long day and I have so much to meditate and think about."

"What?" Davis reacted quickly by rushing around Cody and blocking his path. "Cody, you need to talk about this."

"Look, right now I don't feel like talking. I wouldn't know what to say, anyway. Hell, right now, I don't even know what to _think_. I just want some time to myself, okay?"

"Fine." Davis reluctantly stepped aside and allowed Cody to pass, then remained at the doorway and watched as the younger boy walked down to the far end of the hall and into his own room. "What did he see?" Davis asked himself, glancing to his laptop once more before heading back to the conference room.

* * *

"Hey you two! Fancy hearing from you at a time like this!" Jonathan's voice came through the lab computer's speakers loud and clear. Curtis's digivice was plugged into one of the computer's rear ports in order to provide it with much greater power and range.

"Hey Jon." Curtis answered. "How've you been?"

"Can't say I haven't been better. Things have been hard here since it's come out that I'm a Knight. I've been effectively disowned by everyone at home. All this Digital World War business has only made them more distrustful of digimon."

"Aw man, I'm sorry to hear that. I really thought things could get better once everyone there saw the good we were doing."

Jonathan shrugged. "Yes, so did I. But I suppose Jun was right when she said it over a year ago, people don't change their beliefs easily."

"True." Rosa said. "So where have you been staying?"

"At the HQ of the local CADE faction. They're good blokes, even if they don't really allow us to have much fun, since, as you know, they're only three of us British digidestined. Of course, activity is relatively low here, as well. We don't get into as many battles as you lot do in Japan. You all practically have your own show on the news channels."

"Yeah, we know." Curtis said with an air of regret. "Look Jon, this wasn't entirely a social call."

"Yeah, I figured. What's going on?"

"We've been doing some investigating on the human-digimon mutants we've been fighting against and we may have come up with significant evidence that they were created using digimon that once belonged to Roots Gates residents."

"I definitely believe that. In case you didn't know, the main headquarters for Roots Gates' business just happens to be in Quinto, Mexico."

Rosa let out a small gasp. "The same as Chavez Cosmetics."

Jonathan nodded. "Coincidence? I think not. So what is it that you want me to do for you?"

Curtis said, "We were wondering if maybe you knew where we could find information on what happened to the digimon partners that the Roots Gaters rejected."

Jonathan visibly perked up. "I can do you one better, mate. Hold on, I'll be back in a sec."

He exited the frame on the monitor, causing Rosa and Curtis to exchange looks of hope.

"What do you think he's going to get?" Rosa asked.

"I'm not sure." Answered Curtis. "Knowing how Jonathan likes to get into things he's not supposed to, it could be anything."

"I guess you're right about that." Rosa chuckled. "That sticky bomb of Gennai's didn't really teach him much of anything, did it?"

A few moments passed before Jonathan showed up again, holding a sheet of frayed and wrinkled paper.

Curtis raised a brow. "What's that?"

"Something I found when my parents first moved us to Roots Gates. When we first arrived, I had to sneak in and rescue Razor from a warehouse where they were storing our abandoned digimon. This paper was a list of the locations that they were shipping the digimon to." Jonathan smiled. "Nicked it just in case I ever lost Razor again and had to go world hopping to find him. Anyway, on it was one particular address in Japan that received more shipments than any of the other locations."

"Really?" Curtis perked up. "That's gotta be it!"

"That's what I'm thinking." Jonathan said with a grin. "Alright mate, get a pen handy."

* * *

Cody sat at the edge of his bed, staring at the business card Kai Atuma had given him over a month ago. He turned it over and over in his hand, his mind absolutely racing with the possibilities of what he had just seen. There was no mistaking it. Those eyes were definitely the same ones he'd seen periodically when delivering news and searching for answers about his missing friends. That was the man on Davis's computer screen.

A heat began to build up within Cody. No wonder Kai had been so interested in finding out where the missing digidestined had gone. He worked for the enemy. All this time he had just been using Cody, while masquerading as his friend.

And all this time, he'd had the blood of Cody's father on his hands.

Enraged, Cody stood up and tore the card in his hand into pieces. He allowed them to fall to the floor, swiftly crossed the room, reached into his closet, and pulled out the brown sheath that held his Kendo stick. Cody stared at the object for a long while, then threw it aside and allowed it to clatter to the floor. He reached into the closet again, this time going even further inside, until he found another sheath. This one was longer that the other, and jet-black in color. On it was written "HIDA" in gold lettering. Cody gently tied the sheath around his waist, then drew out its occupant; a long, expertly crafted samurai sword, passed down through his family for dozens of generations. The gleaming, silver blade was the last thing his father had given him. Cody stared at it for a while, and placed it back in his sheath. He headed for his door and turned out his room light, then checked to make sure the outside hall was empty before taking off at a sprint.

"Tonight, your final gift to me, will be my parting gift to your killer." Cody said to himself as he ran. "You will be avenged, father."

* * *

Two pairs of eyes watched Cody's hurried departure from the Odaiba Works factory from a nearby rooftop through high powered night vision goggles.

"Where is he going in such a rush?" One of the observers asked. "And with that sword?"

"I've seen that type of body language before." The other said with a foreboding tone. "Follow him. I believe it will be worth our while."

Without another word, the first ran to the edge of the rooftop and leapt off into the night.

* * *

**Odaiba, Club Tsunami**

An impressive black Hummer pulled up in front of Club Tsunami, it's expertly waxed body reflecting the bright neon lights of the stylistically posh building. Everyone in the long queue lined up in front of the building turned their heads in unison, curious about the new arrivals.

One of the portly bouncers stationed near the front door turned to his equally large companion. "Who the hell is that?" He bellowed gruffly.

"Don't know." The other answered. "The car's new."

"I know, idiot. That's why I asked you."

Both shrugged to one another and began to walk up to the car as it pulled to a stop. Unauthorized guests pulling into VIP valet parking were a definite no-no at the Tsunami. As one of the vehicle's doors began to open, the first bouncer started to speak to its exiting occupants before stopping short in surprise.

"Hey, my man," Said Terence Dumars as he got out of the driver's side and tossed the keys over the car, "Scratch it and die."

The bouncer unwittingly caught the keys and remained unmoving as Terence walked over and patted him on the chest. "Big tip."

He turned and helped Clara down from the passenger seat as Tai and Jun exited from the back. Excited murmurs raced through the crowd lined up. The newest media darlings at Club Tsunami on a Saturday night? They were now in the hottest nightspot in town. The sound of dozens of cell phones taking pictures at once permeated the night air like crickets in the forest.

"Yes sir." The bouncer finally answered after recovering from his surprise. He bowed deeply and hailed a valet over.

As a young man in a red vest approached, the other bouncer walked over and spoke furtively to his companion. "Are you sure about this? I mean, they're-"

"I know who they are, fool. Mr. Danzer would never want us to refuse such…reputable guests."

He turned from his partner to the group of stylishly dressed Knights standing before him. Amid countless camera flashes and shouts of adoration, the bouncer made a gesture for them to follow him as he headed for the doors. The quartet trailed him as Terence made a spectacle of himself, waving to the crowd and posing for a variety of snapshots. Amusingly, Clara stayed particularly close to him, making sure to be included in every picture taken.

The bouncer held the door for them as they approached. "Please, enter. We'll have someone meet you inside to escort you to your seating."

They walked into a small entryway, which led to two much sturdier doors that served as the actual club entrance.

"Thanks, my man." Terence said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a few bills. He slipped them into the larger man's lapel pocket and patted it for good measure.

"Thank you, sir." The man said. "Enjoy your time at Tsunami."

Tai grinned at Terence as the bouncer departed.

"What?"

"You have no idea how much money you just gave him, do you?"

Terence shrugged. "I'm not all that familiar with the exchange rate, or Japanese money, why?"

"Nothing." Jun said, "Just be glad that you were able to put any future children that guy has through college."

"Dammit." Terence bit his lip and turned to look at the doors behind them. After a moment, however, he shrugged and began walking forward again. "Screw it." He pushed the doors to the club open and held them as everyone entered.

The eclectic and loud atmosphere that greeted them inside Tsunami was impressive. Though the group had entered the building from ground level outside, they found themselves on something of a second story balcony upon entering. Directly in from of them was a neon railing, encased by glass tubes, that ran around the entire floor and down side staircases to the spacious dance floor, bar, and stage below. Crowded tables were lined all along the railing, illuminated by countless lasers and blacklights. On the floor above them was a collection of expensive looking luxury suites with glass fronts. The club's sound system was currently playing a pounding hip-hop track, which, judging by the way people were rushing down the lighted glass staircases to the dance floor below, seemed to be quite popular.

Terence coolly straightened his jacket, adjusted his glasses, and took in the scene. "Nice place."

"Yeah," Clara agreed, swaying slightly to the rhythm of the music. "Really nice."

"So, what now?" Tai asked. "Anyone see Danzer yet?"

"Nope." Jun answered. "But here comes the welcoming committee."

She'd barely gotten the words out before a short man in a finely tailored suit approached them with a bow. "Tsunami is proud to have your patronage, honored guests. If you'll just follow me, I'll show you to your suite-"

"Hold on, my man." Terence put a hand on the man's shoulder. "We'd rather stay down here, with the people, y'know. So if you'd like to just rope us off a section somewhere over there, I'll make it worth your while."

"Yes sir. Very good sir." The man quickly departed to carry out Terence's request.

"Well you certainly are in your element." Jun observed.

"Yeah." Terence acknowledged as he looked around the building. "Sure are a lot of people here for a town that's supposed to be under lock and key."

"Even with all the mutant attacks, it's still the businesses' prerogative whether they want to close or not," said Tai. "We all know that Danzer's club is the last place that should expect any trouble."

"Until tonight," said Clara ominously. She peered over the crowd around them. "That little guy's signaling. I think our table's ready."

The four crossed through part of the crowd and took their seats at a booth table, situated so that it faced over the rail and down to the dance floor.

"And what will you all have to drink?"

"Sake." Jun and Clara said simultaneously.

The waiter nodded. "And you would like that mixed how?"

"Straight." Jun said. When the waiter raised a brow, she added. "You have some kind of problem with that?"

"No. Of course not." The waiter said hurriedly. "And the gentlemen would like?"

"Just a couple Tsunamis." Terence said.

The waiter bowed. "Very good. I'll be back momentarily."

Clara watched the man leave with a frown. "He's a little stuffy for this place, don't you think?"

"You'd be surprised what lengths some of these clubs go to to make VIPs feel 'classy.'" said Terence.

"No, I agree with Clara," Tai said. "Something about that guy just seems phony."

"He's probably overacting in order to make us feel more comfortable." Jun said. "I'm sure the wait staff has probably been instructed to keep us here as long as possible, by whatever means necessary."

"You think so?" Terence looked around the club at the plethora of tray bearing men and women in black vests. "That's a lot of people."

Tai nodded in agreement. "Which is why we have to put on a convincing enough show."

"I guess." Clara said, "Though part of me is starting to wish I was actually going to be drinking sake instead of just pretending to."

Terence gave Clara an accusing look. "Sweetheart, please make sure that you do remember to _pretend_ to drink the hard liquor tonight."

Clara rolled her eyes at him. "What do you think I am, some kind of alcoholic? Now, if this was tequila we were talking about…"

The waiter arrived back at the table with a try laden with their drinks. He unloaded each and placed them in front their proper counterparts.

"Thanks," Terence said, placing noticeably fewer bills than he'd given the bouncer on the empty tray.

"Of course sir. Please signal if you'll be requiring anything else." With a bow, the waiter walked off and disappeared back into the crowd. The four watched him leave, suspiciously.

"So, anyone spot the marks?" Tai asked as he took a tentative sip of his drink.

"I've got three potential shooters on the third floor." Clara said, casually flicking her eyes upward towards the luxury boxes, where a trio of armed guards were pacing back and forth. "Normally, they're probably just regular security, but-"

"Today they're upgraded to full-fledged Knight snipers." Tai finished. He looked toward Jun. "What about you?"

"Well, there's our two rather large friends from out front, and as I said, I'm pretty sure most of the waiting staff probably has it in for us."

"I count at least six thugs on the dance floor." Terence said as he peered over the bright railing.

Clara followed gaze. "How do you know?" She asked.

"Because, every once in a while, I catch those guys glancing up here. Plus, if you notice, they're not really dancing all that much, not that I would call what anyone else is down there doing, 'dancing.'"

Tai allowed himself a smirk at Terence's comment before adding his tally. "I count at least twelve on this level." He said. The others gave him looks of surprise.

"Twelve?" Clara exclaimed. "How did you come up with that?"

Tai put his bottle down on the table. "Don't look, but that table on the other side of the room is full of Yakuza. I can tell by the way their dressed and the fact that I recognize many of the faces from the CADE criminal files."

"Man, the Japanese mob?" Terence whistled, "Somebody's been doing his homework. What makes you think they're against us though?"

"Simple," Jun answered. "Everyone in Japan knows that Yakuza only frequent clubs when they're on good terms with the owner. They probably have some type of working relationship with Danzer and would lose a lot if we took this place down tonight."

"Okay, so let me get this straight." Terence raised a hand and began counting off his fingers, "We're up against waiters, bouncers, thugs, assassins, and organized gangsters? Nice."

"So, when do you think we should make our move?" Tai asked.

"We should get a few more rounds in to make this believable." Terence said. "That is, if we have time."

Tai reached for his shirt collar and furtively spoke into a microphone there for a few seconds, then listened for a moment more. "Agumon says there's been no activity in the back alley."

"So Danzer hasn't tried to use his rear emergency exit," said Clara.

"Doesn't surprise me." Said Jun. "He's probably going to stay here and try to personally erase all of his connections to Hitachi's shipment operations before leaving."

Tai rubbed his chin. "Then we need to get into our positions before he finishes."

"Right." Terence waved a hand in the air to beckon their waiter back over.

Another fifteen minutes and two rounds of drinks passed before Terence was convinced they'd put up a good enough front. Jun and Clara were swaying back and forth exaggeratedly and many of the people down on the floor were starting to look up at their table curiously.

"Alright guys," said Terence. "Let's do it." He rose from the table, took one last swig of his Tsunami, and helped Clara to her feet. Tai did the same with Jun, and together, they all headed for one of the illuminated stairways. As they descended the stairs, it seemed that everyone on the dance floor, as one, turned to watch them. The music suddenly cut short and countless camera lights began to flash again, this time even worse than out front.

"You're on, girls," Tai said once the group reached the floor and the throng began to close in around them, "Just like we said, okay?"

Jun gave a small nod underneath her drunken guise and grabbed Clara by the arm. "We're ready."

"Okay, get going. We'll handle this part. Terence?"

With no further urging, Terence stepped forward and raised his voice while the girls slunk away through the crowd under the cover of flashing lights and the hazy atmosphere.

"Alright guys, I know you've seen us on television many times! Yes, it's me Terence Dumars," Many of the girls started screaming and jumping up and down. Terence indulged himself in a broad smile. "And I'm sure you all know my partner, Tai Kamiya, leader of the Original Digidestined." Another loud round of squeals went up. "Well, we want you all to join us on the dance floor right now! This is your lucky chance ladies! The world's newest heroes want you to get out here on the floor and get wild!"

Everyone that had remained seated on the second level began running down to join in the spectacle. Even the third story boxes had started to empty.

"Now," Terence continued as he tried to shrug away the many girls that were beginning to grab at he and Tai's wardrobes, "don't come down here thinking I'm gonna let y'all get away with that stuff you were doing before! We're gonna do some actual dancing up here, so I want you all to just imitate what you see my partner and I do."

"Terence," Tai whispered. "Do I really have to do this too? I mean-"

"Just do like we practiced man." Terence hissed. "Alright everyone, gather round! I'm gonna show you a simple two step that we do where I'm from! DJ! Gimme a beat!"

The music started once again as the crowd roared and Terence grinned. "One of my early club hits, eh? You guys might not be able to dance, but you got good taste! Alright, here we go, follow me…"

Meanwhile, Jun and Clara slipped away from the ruckus on the dance floor uninhibited and made a beeline for the lower level bar, which was conveniently situated close to the club's rear exit. The plan had worked. While most of the girls in the club had run immediately to the floor to be near Tai and Terence, with their jealous dates in tow no less, the guys were content to give Clara and Jun a wide berth, as they were obviously fearful of the two girls' powerful, intimidating, boyfriends.

As a result, the two were able to seat themselves at the bar, order another round of sake, make a show of giggling and practically falling all over one another, and were unbothered. They continued the ruse for a while, until Clara began falling out of character. She started looking over at the dance floor, a persistent frown playing across her face. Jun noticed and put her drink down.

"Clara, what's wrong?"

"Look at them. They're all over him."

Jun followed Clara's gaze and looked out onto the dance floor. "Oh, no." She groaned. "Not this again. Clara, we're on a mission-"

"I know, I know. It's just, I don't know how I'm going to deal with this all the time. Girls constantly hanging all over him. I mean, I can't use my howling attack on them all, Jun. It's too many."

Jun almost cracked up at the sincerity of the comment, but caught herself at the last second. "Clara, it's just something that you have to cope with. They're all over Tai out there too. But you don't see me worrying-" Jun paused when she saw one girl dancing particularly close to Tai in a sensual manner, but relaxed when Tai subtly moved away from her. "Um, besides," Jun continued as she casually turned back around and picked up her glass, "soon enough, after all this is over, you'll be working on your own album, dealing with your own ogling fans, right?" Clara didn't respond. "Right?" Jun turned to her friend and found her looking intently in the other direction. "What's up?"

"I see him." Clara whispered. "Danzer Hall."

"Where?" Jun put the drink back down, suddenly alert.

"Three o'clock, near the back exit, right next to the restrooms."

Jun kept looking forward, in order to keep from alarming their target. "Has he spotted us?"

"Dunno. But he's definitely staring down Terence and Tai." To keep up appearances, Clara pretended to take another sip of her drink before continuing. "He's not really paying much attention to us though."

"I'm insulted." Jun mock pouted and rose from her stool. "We should go introduce ourselves."

Clara pushed her glass aside and got up as well. "I agree."

Together, the girls began stumbling excessively in the direction of the restrooms, giggling and whispering to one another. As they did, Jun finally got a glimpse of Danzer, a man near the rear exit that was tall in stature, with particularly pallid skin and crew cut white-blonde hair. There was no mistaking that Clara had spotted the right guy. Jun could tell that Danzer was caught off guard as they approached. He even paused in the conversation he was having on his cell phone to appraise the girls warily. Initially, his body language showed every intention of running, but after a moment of observing Jun and Clara, however, he seemed to calm, and began speaking again. As he was forced to shout into the phone in order to talk, his voice faintly carried across the shrinking expanse between he and the girls.

"It's really nothing." He said, averting his gaze back to the dance floor. "I've got men making easy targets of the two on the floor. And the women-" He paused and glanced up at Jun and Clara again. Jun instinctively latched onto Clara's arm and fell a bit, giggling incoherently all the while. She oriented their path more towards the restrooms. They were mere feet away from Danzer now, and couldn't afford to tip him off.

"I could take care of them myself. They seem to be nothing more than drunken stupid harlots, as would be expected-aack-" A petite hand clasping onto Danzer's throat interrupted the New Zealander, mid-sentence. He gagged even more as Clara pulled him down from the choke grip into an expertly executed headlock.

"Don't move." She warned, tightening her grip when Danzer made a futile attempt to struggle free. "I can make this a lot worse."

She dragged him further into the shadows of the rear exit hall. Jun made sure that no one had noticed them, then followed.

"Hello? Hello? Mr. Hall?" Came a tinny voice from the phone held limply in Danzer's hand. Jun took the phone from Danzer and brought it to her ear.

"Sorry," She said into the receiver, "But 'Mr. Hall' here is about to have a wild night with a couple of 'stupid harlots.'"

"Lucky boy." Clara said, squeezing her grip even more.

"I'll be holding on to this." Jun snapped the phone shut and placed it in her skirt pocket.

Danzer struggled mightily against Clara's hold and kicked out at Jun, but was unsuccessful as she casually dodged the feeble attempt.

"Clara, let's get him out of here before he alerts someone."

"No problem." Clara cuffed her captive over the head roughly, causing him to immediately stop struggling and go slightly limp. She nodded to Jun. "Grab his legs. Let's go."

* * *

Out on the dance floor, as Terence led the frenzied crowd in yet another choreographed dance routine, Tai placed a finger to his ear and listened with an intense expression. After a moment, he turned to his partner.

"The girls just got Hall. We're clear to leave."

Terence nodded between moves and forcefully detached a couple of overzealous hands from his arms. "Good. So, how do we get out of here-"

A loud blast suddenly rang out over the air, causing Tai and Terence to instinctively duck down. No one else on the floor seemed to notice the noise or react to it, except a girl to Tai's right who fell completely to the ground. She seemed only stunned at first, and complained of 'weak ankles,' but when she reached down to rub one of the faulty joints, she let out an ear-piercing scream.

"What's wrong Michi?" One of her friends asked, kneeling down next to her.

Michi pulled her hand back and stared at it with eyes the size of saucers. Copious amounts of blood dripped from her fingertips onto the floor. "Oh my god! I- I think I've been shot!"

The reaction of all the club's patrons to the frantic shout was almost immediate. Mass panic ensued as every man and woman on the dance floor began to rush for the stairways and the upstairs exits.

With expert swiftness, Tai ripped one of the sleeves from his shirt, tied it tightly around the injured girl's affected leg, and helped her into a crouching position on her good foot. He then looked up to the girl's shell-shocked friend. "Get her out of here!" He instructed. "And hurry!"

The friend nodded shakily and put a shoulder under the girl's arms for support. Together, they quickly began to follow the departing crowd.

Tai turned to Terence as the crowd's last few stragglers rushed around them. "One of the upper level shooters?"

"Yeah, probably." Terence scanned the luxury boxes. "They're not up there anymore though."

"Well, they obviously aren't good shots," said Tai. "Most likely, they're headed down here for a better opportunity. We need to get out of here."

"That ain't happening, Knight."

Tai turned and saw that one of the bouncers from earlier had descended the staircase closest to he and Terence. The hulking man grinned as he came to stop a few feet away from the duo and began popping his knuckles. A further look around revealed to Tai that most of the waiting staff had already come down to the floor as well, where they'd joined with the waiting thugs Terence had spotted previously. To even further compound matters, several dark suited Yakuza were already jumping the neon rails surrounding the floor and landing all around Tai and Terence in kneeling poses.

Tai glanced up briefly and was relieved to see that the last of Tsunami's fleeing patrons had made their way out of the second floor exit, leaving only the still pounding baseline of the song they'd been dancing to as evidence of their revelry of just moments ago.

"These poor bastards," Terence said, looking at their opponents, then shaking his head as Tai took up a fighting stance beside him, "About to get their asses kicked to a soundtrack."

Terence started to make a tsking noise, then, without warning, lunged forward toward the bouncer, dropped down, and delivered a bone crunching slide kick to his kneecap. When the bouncer dropped to his knees with a yell of pain, Terence kick flipped back to his feet and greeted him with two stinging jabs and a powerful uppercut that sent the large man tumbling head over heels across the floor and into the wood paneling of the lower level bar.

"Alright." Terence said, a dangerous grin playing across his face. "Who else wants some?"

The wait staff and thugs all came forward, amid shouts and curses. They wielded whatever weapons they had available, including trays, cleaning utensils, and bottles. Tai managed to catch one of the bottles just as a thug swung it for his head, then spun and caught his attacker in the back of the head with it as he passed by. As he had no time to see the effectiveness of his attack, the sound of glass breaking and a resulting yelp of pain brought a smirk to Tai's face.

Tai then quickly ducked as a waitress came at him with a wide swing of her tray, delivered a leg sweep to a thug trailing right behind her, and rose back to his feet just in time to block a second attack from the waitress when she turned around. Tai ripped the tray from the woman's hand, much like a parent taking a dangerous object from a child, and casually pushed her into another approaching waiter, causing them both to fall to the ground in a crumpled heap. Tai then threw the tray at a thug attempting to sneak up behind Terence. The large disc whistled through the air, hit the thug in the back of the head with a thud, and sent him facedown to the floor for the count.

Terence dispatched the thug he was fighting with a nice roundhouse, looked down at the man and tray lying behind him, and smiled. "Nice."

"Thought you'd appreciate it." Tai said, grappling with another waiter momentarily before twisting the man's arms, turning him around, and giving him a firm kick in the backside that sent him careening directly into a nearby wall. "Least I could do."

"Yeeeaaa!"

Tai quickly turned at the sound of the yell to see yet another thug bearing down on him with a wild-eyed expression and a chain spinning wildly over his head. The man didn't get close however, as the same tray Tai had just thrown suddenly came sliding under the thug's feet, causing him to slip up and flip headfirst into the ground with a loud crack.

Tai looked over to Terence, who was just coming out of his throwing stance. "One good turn deserves- hold on-" Terence turned, blocked an oncoming waiter's broomstick swing and punched him in the face. "Another," He finished as his attacker crumpled to the ground.

The rest of the waiting staff, having seen all of the club's hired thugs quickly and easily dispatched, dropped their weapons and began running for the stairways.

"Aww, but we were having so much fun!" Terence taunted as they left. He turned to Tai. "Now what?"

Tai looked around as the black suited Yakuza men surrounded them evenly and began strategically closing in. One man with a red necktie was directing the other's movements with minute hand signals, and seemed to be eying Tai and Terence up with a stonefaced intensity. "Now comes the real test."

"Yeah, I've heard about these guys." Terence said, echoing Tai's seriousness. "They've been trained to fight practically their entire lives, right?"

Tai nodded.

Terence shrugged "I think we can take 'em."

Tai wasn't convinced. "Maybe it's time we suited up-"

The leader interrupted Tai with a shout. "Attack!"

The Yakuza all came forward at once, a whirling dervish of kicks and punches that Tai could barely make out. Tai was able to block a couple of blows, and even deliver a kick to one man's midsection, but soon found himself retreating under the unrelenting barrage of the highly trained gangsters. He took a couple of direct blows to the face and stumbled backwards into something hard. Tai turned around, only to see Terence looking back at him, one eye already swollen from a particularly well-aimed Yakuza punch.

Together, they simultaneously ducked as a shorter Yakuza henchman came at them with a spinning jump kick, aimed at their heads. They jumped immediately afterwards, barely clearing a vicious, knee level, leg sweep from another, then split apart as yet another attacker barreled through their midst like a battering ram. Tai and Terence backed into each other again and began dodging and blocking various attacks while covering each other's backs.

"We can't keep going on like this." Tai said, deflecting one punch, yet taking another to the jaw.

"Yeah," Terence agreed, "Pride be damned, let's do it."

The two grabbed their digivices in unison. Before another punch could be thrown at them, they were enveloped in a bright white light that forced all of their opponents to back off some distance. When the light dissipated, Tai and Terence stood there in their classic black uniforms, chains, shields, and all. Tai wore a furious glare as his hands burst into white and orange flames, and Terence mirrored him, with his hands similarly covered in icy blue frost and wisps of vapor.

The Yakuza backed away from the impressive sight and began groping for whatever they could use as weapons or shielding.

"Now," Terence said, moving forward with a devilish grin, "Our turn."

* * *

In the alley behind Tsunami, Jun and Clara unceremoniously dumped the body of Danzer Hall into the back of a nondescript black conversion van.

"Is that the guy?" A small blue digimon asked eagerly, peeking over the van's back seat as the girls secured Danzer's hands and feet tightly with plastic ties.

"Yes, Pings." Jun answered. "It's him."

Sparks popped up next to Pings. "Ugh, look at his head. What, does he take showers in peroxide?"

"Guys, could you please sit down?" Clara asked. "We're trying not to draw attention."

To her dismay, Marta appeared next. "Whoa, you're right Sparks." The Salamon said, "That is one ugly dude."

"Guys, sit down." Jun said sternly, "If you get us caught, Tai and Terence may get in trouble."

"Too late for that." A groggy voice said. Everyone looked down to Danzer, who was stirring slightly, though held back by his restraints. He squinted and looked up at the ceiling of the van with a grimace, but began chuckling eerily.

Now, Agumon joined the other digimon. "Just what are you laughing at?" He demanded of Danzer.

"I put my staff on alert when you arrived. If I don't contact my guards every minute, on the minute, they'll assume something is wrong and take appropriate action."

"So? Tai isn't scared of some measly security guards. It'll take more than that to take down my partner."

"My security has particular…skills. It's likely that your partner is already dead."

At that precise moment, the back door of the club split open from its hinges and a man in a black suit burst through. He tumbled across the alley and into the opposite brick wall with a thud, before slumping to the ground.

"Yakuza!" Jun said. "The guys are fighting!"

"But I'm not digivolved." Agumon observed.

"Of course you're not. They won't digivolve as long as they know you guys are in this van. You'd be crushed."

"Then we're going in." Pings said, beginning to climb over the seat.

"No." Jun said. "We are. You guys stay here and keep a close eye on Danzer. We'll be out in a few seconds."

"But-"

"Stay!" Jun and Clara took off for the door, flashing white as they suited up along the way.

* * *

Tai and Terence were now having a field day with the Yakuza that remained on the dance floor. Those that still dared to attack were rewarded with ice hard punches or singed by fireballs.

When a group of about six gangsters decided to attack the duo at once, Terence kneeled down and put his hands to the floor, covering the area immediately surrounding he and Tai with a thin layer of frost. As the men approached, they all began to slide out of control on the ice, and were each summarily punched or kicked away by the two waiting knights.

Tai grimaced as he watched the men still begin to slowly regain their footing. "These guys just keep coming."

"Tell me about it." Terence said. "I've seen ultimate level digimon go down easier- Look out!"

A man to their right, near the bar, had lobbed a bottle of vodka at the duo. Tai quickly reacted by turning and striking the bottle with a pepper breath attack in midair, causing it to shatter into an explosion of blue flame that showered their attackers with bits of burning glass. The Yakuza frantically stamped out portions of their suits that had caught fire while their leader berated the man that had thrown the bottle.

"Okay," Tai said, stifling a chuckle. "Let's end this."

He and Terence rushed forward, but were forced to stop suddenly when a loud crack rang out and the floor in front of them burst into a shower of splinters. They looked up to the second level railing and saw three men standing there, all aiming firearms directly at them.

"The shooters!" Terence gasped. "Damn, we forgot!"

The shooters all fired again, as one. Their bullets, however, ricocheted harmlessly off of a yellow barrier that suddenly appeared in front of Tai and Terence. The gun wielding men didn't even have time to express their surprise before the rail they were standing near lit up with arcs of white electricity that coursed through their bodies and blasted them backwards. The many tubes of neon around the entire floor then burst loudly in a barrage of sparks and flooded the club with a multicolored glow.

As the blast showered the entire floor in glass, Jun sprinted from her position holding onto the stairway railing and joined the trio in the center of the floor inside of Clara's shield. The Yakuza men all started to flee as several parts of the building began to catch fire.

"Wow," Terence said, surveying the destruction around them. "Nothing like a little overkill, eh Jun?"

"Oh, come on, you guys were being shot at." Clara said. "Besides, it's not so ba-"

Her words were cut off when the bar area suddenly blew up with a loud, booming, shockwave that sent the four knights flying to the opposite side of the room. They all got up again quickly, save for Clara, who had to be helped by Terence.

"What happened?" Jun asked.

"The flames must have ignited the alcohol behind the bar." Tai said, giving them all a once over before looking back in the direction of the explosion, where there was now a raging fire. "Well, we can't get out of the back exit now."

"We'll have to go out the front," said Terence. He was holding Clara, who seemed pretty drained after shielding them from the blast.

"Right. Let's move."

As the club began to rapidly fill with smoke, they made their way up a staircase and back the way they'd originally entered the club, and gasped loudly when they finally reached the clarity of the outside night air.

"Okay," Tai said between heaves. "We...have to get…around to the back."

The atmosphere outside was one of chaos. People were still running around frantically. Reporters, alerted by the Knights arrival at Tsunami, were already on the scene, and rushed over as one to try and get interviews.

"Not now." Tai said, pushing through the throng as the others trailed behind him. When the reporters continued to follow, he added, "We have information that the mutants are going to attack here."

That got a response, as many of the reporters began to back off with fearful looks in their eyes. Still, Tai was forced to lead his group all the way into the street in front of the club before they were clear of everyone.

"Anyone see a quick way to get to the back?"

"I'm not sure," said Jun, looking up and down the face of the club, before abruptly turning her head in another direction. "What's that noise?"

The sound of a loud, powerful, engine revving reached all of their ears,

"Some...some kind of truck?" Clara asked.

"Oh _hell_ no." Terence turned just in time to see his H2 come flying around the corner from the Tsunami parking garage, with the valet from earlier at the wheel. It began bearing down on them at high speed. "This night just keeps getting better."

Tai and Jun stepped in front of Terence as he supported Clara, their hands crackling with fire and electric energy. They only had seconds before the vehicle would impact.

Before they did anything, however, a black van pulled out of an alleyway near the Hummer and smashed into its side at high velocity, changing the trajectory of both vehicles with a gnashing of metal and shower of broken glass. The valet was launched through the driver's side window of the H2 and landed in the middle of the street with a thump. He rolled to a stop and remained unconscious there. A disoriented Agumon then leapt from the driver's side of the van.

"That was _not_ the brake, Sparks!" He shouted.

"Like I've ever driven before!" Yelled the furry Elecmon as he jumped down next to Agumon. "Maybe you should have steered better!"

The two looked up at the four stunned Knights that were watching them and the throng of reporters on the side of the street.

"Oh crap." Sparks said. "We're dead."

Tai was the first to recover from his surprise. "Terence, take Clara to the Hummer. It looks like it can still drive. Jun, let's get Danzer."

As he and Jun ran over to the smoking van, Sparks began frantically explaining what had happened. "When we saw the back of the place on fire, we knew we couldn't just sit there-"

"Don't worry Sparks." Jun said as she and Tai opened the back of the van and began working on Danzer's restraints. "You did good. Is everyone alright?"

"Me and Pings are okay," Marta said as she leapt out of the rear door with the Penguinmon. "When those two took the wheel, we strapped ourselves in and ducked down."

"Good job." Jun said. "Now, all of you get over to the other car. We'll be right behind you."

The digimon obediently took off at her request.

"Bunch of clowns." Danzer said suddenly as Jun and Tai finished undoing his ties. "This is the worst run kidnapping I've ever-"

Tai punched the club owner to shut him up, then hefted the large man out of the van and slung him over his shoulder. "Let's go."

He and Jun made their way to the H2 as fast as possible, dumped Danzer in the back, then jumped in after him. "We're in!"

Terence nodded at Tai's cue and put the SUV into gear. They peeled off with a loud squelching of tires spinning against pavement, leaving the flaming, smoking, building that was once Club Tsunami well behind them. As they sped away, Tai leaned menacingly over the reawakening Danzer. He held up a hand between them, and allowed it to burst into flame.

"Now, Mr. Hall, tell me what you know about Hitachi's shipping headquarters."

* * *

**The Chamber**

Davis and Kuri sat next to each other on the former's bed, their faces etched with worry.

"So he didn't take it well at all?" Kuri asked

"That's just the thing." Davis said. "He took it way _too_ well. Like he was bottling it all up or something. When he looked at the pictures of the Assassin, all he wanted to do was go meditate." He sighed. "I wish my sister was here now."

"Yeah," Kuri said. "I haven't seen her or Tai since we got back from the prison. Or Terence and Clara for that matter. I wonder where they are."

There was a sudden frantic pounding at Davis's door.

"It's open." Davis called out.

The door swung open, revealing an exasperated looking Noriko standing there. "Where's Cody?"

"I think he went to his room-"

"No he didn't! He's not there."

"Um, Noriko. Is something wrong?" Kuri asked with a raised brow.

"Follow me!" The girl took off down the outside hall and Davis and Kuri had to scramble to follow her.

When they reached Cody's room, Noriko gestured as if everything was self-explanatory.

"Um," Davis scratched his head. "So he's not here. What's the problem?"

"Look at this place!" Noriko exclaimed. "Bits of paper all over the floor, the closet wide open. Cody's an extreme neat freak. He wouldn't leave the room like this-"

"Unless he was in a rush to get somewhere." Davis said, quickly walking into the room. "I was right. He did recognize something in those photos."

"Photos?" Noriko asked.

"Long story." Kuri said. She walked into the room and stooped down to look at the scraps of paper on the floor. "I wonder what this was."

Meanwhile Davis picked up Cody's kendo stick from the floor by the closet and examined it carefully. "This was just thrown to the side." He said. "Cody is always extremely careful with this thing. His grandfather gave it to him. I wonder what he saw that would cause him to just leave it here like this."

"I think I know." Kuri picked up a scrap of paper and held it up for Davis to see.

Davis walked over and read the miniscule words printed on it. "Kai Autma?"

"K. A." Kuri said, giving him a significant look.

"Oh no." Davis began gathering up the other scraps on the floor. "We have to put the rest of this together and see if there's an address on it."

"What's going on?" Noriko asked as Davis began arranging the pieces of the business card on Cody's bed.

Kuri turned to her. "Noriko, go get Peko and Veemon for us, and hurry. Cody's life may depend on it."

At those words, the former dark spore child tore out of the door to fulfill the task

"God, I hope he hasn't gone out there, trying to kill the Assassin by himself." Davis said as he frantically arranged the pieces. "I'll never forgive myself if anything happens to him."

"Just keep trying." Kuri said. "We'll get there in time. Remember, Cody's a pretty damn good fighter himself."

* * *

**Primary Investigations**

Having already dispatched three guards on his twelve-story trek through the office building complex where Primary Investigations was located, a determined Cody Hida arrived at Kai Atuma's office and peered through the blinds next to the door. Kai and a woman appeared to be packing boxes inside, as if they were moving somewhere.

"Trying to make his escape." Cody whispered to himself. "Not tonight."

Without a further thought, Cody drew his sword, sliced it in a long arc, and cleaved the doorknob away from the door. Before the knob could fall to the ground, he kicked the door open, impacting it so hard that the entire thing actually came loose from its hinges and fell to the floor.

Kai and his assistant looked up in surprise. "Cody?"

With a flourish, Cody brought his sword around and placed it only inches from Kai's neck. "What did you do to my father?" He demanded.

Kai didn't make any attempts to seem confused, or even deny that he knew what Cody was talking about. Instead, he actually began to smile. "Well, bravo digidestined. I don't think anyone has ever seen through one of my disguises so thoroughly before. It was the eyes wasn't it? I can never get those right-"

Cody thrust his weapon forward, so that it's edge actually came into contact with Kai's skin. "You bastard! Then you did it? You really did kill him?"

Kai didn't answer, and instead seemed rather bored with the situation he was in. "Jade, please."

The woman with Kai came forward.

"Stay out of this." Cody warned her. "You don't know what he's done."

She didn't pay him any heed as she drew her own impressive sword and knocked Cody's aside in one deft move.

"I know precisely what he has done. It is you that does not."

At first, Cody was stunned by the skill with which the woman wielded her katana, but, as he realized just exactly where her alliances lay, he spun away from her and brought his weapon around for a slicing blow to her legs. She easily dodged the move with a timely leap and gave Cody a hard jump kick to the face. As he stumbled backwards from the blow, Jade also kicked his hand, forcing his sword to come flying free and clatter to the ground. Cody made an attempt to quickly recover his weapon, but was kicked in the face again and smashed into the wall behind him. Jade put her sword to his throat and regarded him with a steely expression.

Kai let out a loud bout of laughter and began clapping. "Good show Jade. Quite entertaining."

He casually strolled over to where Cody stood, slumped against the wall, and bent down a little. "Quite the little avenger, aren't you?"

Cody glared at the man and defiantly spat blood into his face.

With a frown, Kai stood up a little and took a handkerchief from his pocket. "But you lack of manners-" He reared back and gave Cody a backhanded blow across the face. "Is disconcerting."

As Kai wiped his face, Cody slowly turned back from the blow, pure hatred emanating from his eyes. "I will kill you."

"I'm sure." Kai said, inspecting his hand for any damage. "I take your friends' absences as evidence that this is a lone vendetta on your part. Likely, no one even knows where you are, just like they never knew all the times you came here before. What were you, too embarrassed to tell them that your father's killer was a man that you'd been making regular visits to over the past month?"

Kai smiled again.

"Don't take credit for crimes you did not commit." Cody said, his voice muffled by a slightly swollen lip. "You could not have killed my father."

Kai laughed. "If you truly believed that, you would not have come barging in here like this. No, I believe that little statement is your way of asking how and why, isn't it? Is that it? Wanna know why Daddy perished when you were tragically sooo young?"

Cody's breathing came in even bigger heaves as rage took over within him. He remained, however, ever mindful of the blade Jade held to his throat.

"I guess I'll tell you, if only to see the anguish on your face before you die." Kai began to pace with his hands crossed behind his pack. "Well, first you have to understand just how much Mr. Hitachi wanted his partner digimon to live through his takeover attempt a few years ago."

At Cody's confused expression, Kai chuckled. "CADE remains ever ignorant, I see. Myotismon is, or was, Hitachi's digimon partner. Anyway, Hitachi hired me, the assassin, to find the perfect host in the event that Myotismon lost to the digidestined. He wanted it to happen, you see. Somehow, he knew that, if he lost, Myotismon would return much stronger later on. Hitachi knows more about the digital world than anyone you or I shall ever know. But, then again, the creator often knows more about his creation than anyone else."

"I digress, however. I took my mission and found the one, perfect host for Myotismon. A completely hopeless and hapless soul that would do anything to be a part of the digital world. A pitiful excuse of a man named Oikawa. Problem was, pitiful as he was, Oikawa still had one tie that caused him to remain bound to reality, a police officer and secret serviceman named Hiroki Hida, who also happened to be his best friend since childhood. You see, in order for Oikawa to completely accept Myotismon's vapor form into his psyche, he had to be completely devoid of anything that could potentially keep him grounded in reality."

"Thus, Hiroki needed to die. So we did what we had to. We found a patsy, a man named Sato Kobe, who lost his job, and everything he owned, to a few choice actions by the Japanese parliament, particularly the closing of his manufacturing business for 'environmental' reasons." Kai chuckled. "Humans are so petty. It seems that the district councilman, the very same one your father was in charge of protecting, no less, had owed a favor to a one of his primary campaign contributors, so he used the environment ruse in order to give the contributor the land where Sato's plant was located in order to build a golf course. Of course, I, a 'sympathizer' to Sato's cause, told him of this fact, effectively raising his ire against the councilman to the point that he actually wanted to kill him. It was then that I that showed Sato a secret entrance into the ballroom where the councilman would be giving a speech that evening, I that gave him the gun-"

Cody responded through clenched teeth. "You, who was too much of a coward to do it yourself-"

"Ah, ah, ah," Kai said, raising a ringer and twitching it back and forth. "You think I would trust that fool to actually pull it off? You think I would trust him to get in, actually have the stones to pull the trigger, and be fortunate enough to have your father leap in front of the bullet? No. I do not gamble with chance. In fact, I gave Sato a gun loaded with blanks, just to be sure that when I switched his gun with the actual murder weapon, police ballistics wouldn't find themselves trying to match two bullets to the same firearm."

"So you did do it." Cody said with a quiet ferocity. "You shot my father from the crowd, while Sato stood out front, drawing everyone's attention, then switched weapons with him when he tried to run away through the crowd."

"Nice deduction, but not quite. It wasn't me." Kai leaned in so close that Cody could feel his breaths. "Your father's actual killer is currently holding a rather sharp blade to your throat."

Cody's gaze quickly flicked back to Jade and his eyes suddenly widened in realization. "You." A lump rose in his throat and his heart began to pound like a drum. "I've seen you in the video. You're the woman in the crowd he bumped into as he tried to flee… You- you did it."

For the first time, the faintest hints of a smile appeared at the corners of Jade's mouth.

Kai chuckled quietly. "Yes, she did. Her first assassination, in fact. I was so proud. And now that you know this little fact-" He turned to his assistant. "Jade, kill him. And make it clean. I don't want this to be a repeat of the Avatar. It took a week to get the stench of her blood from my robes-"

Every single window of Kai's corner office suddenly exploded into thousands of shards of glass. A hurricane force wind blasted into the room, slamming both Kai and Jade into the wall on opposite sides of Cody as bolts of electricity began to strike indiscriminately everywhere. Cody forced his eyes open, against the electric whirlwind around him, and squinted. He could just make out the form of a small girl with flowing white hair, seemingly floating as she crossed from the window to where Kai lay.

"Murderer!" A ball of energy came forth from the girl's hand and slammed into Kai, who yelled out in pain as he was picked up and smashed into the wall again. Several cracks formed behind him.

The girl stalked forward and stopped only inches away from Kai's face. "Do you know who I am?"

For the first time, Kai showed a measure of absolute fear. "H-How is this possible? Th-the last avatar is dead!"

"No, she is NOT!" Another ball of light slammed into Kai, and he screamed out again.

Jade shook her head clear, rose from the floor, and began to make her way to where her sword had fallen to the floor. When Cody saw her, adrenaline began to rush through his body, washing away any pain he had in mere moments. He sprung forward, landed on Jade's back and wrapped an arm around her neck. "I don't think so, murderer."

Jade gasped as Cody tightened his suffocating stranglehold and collapsed to the ground. She began to claw desperately at Cody's arms, but could not gain purchase. "I'll hold you until you draw your last breath."

Jade pushed off the floor, flipping them both over, so that Cody now lay under her. His grip didn't loosen, however, but he now had a good view of the newcomer and Kai.

The girl seemed every bit as enraged as he was, if not more, and was pummeling Kai with bolts of light without relent.

But behind her, a dark, swirling, sphere had begun to form in the middle of the room. It gradually grew until it was the size of an average man, then began to crackle with electricity. A humanoid figure then walked through. It was a man that looked very familiar to Cody. "Gennai?"

The man looked down at Cody with a look of disdain. He extended his hand toward Cody and Jade, and released a bolt of black energy that blasted the two clear of each other. They rolled in opposite directions and Jade began gasping raspily as air returned to her lungs. Cody quickly recovered and jumped back to his feet. The man in black turned away from them and headed toward the white haired girl, who, in her attacking fury, had failed to notice his arrival. This time the dark man built up a substantial amount of energy between his hands and, with an exaggerated swing, slammed it into the girl's back, knocking her away from Kai and through an adjacent wall with a bone crunching crash.

"Thank-you Ineg." Kai slumped to his knees and held onto his chest. "I-I don't know where she came from."

The dark man spoke. "The Avatar had a child that you did not know of at the time you killed her. As you can see, she has grown up."

"You could have told me that a long time ago."

"I could have." The man called Ineg casually tossed a glowing white ball at Kai's feet. "By the way, I was successful in my mission."

Kai's eyes grew extremely wide as he looked down at the ball. "I-is that what I think it is?"

Ineg nodded. "I suggest you use it before the Avatar returns."

Like a snake, Kai struck out and snatched up the sphere. As soon as he did, his entire appearance changed. His business suit was replaced by robes, strange markings appeared on his skin, and his body began to glow with an unnatural light that grew brighter and brighter until Kai was no longer visible. When the glow faded away, Kai stood tall, completely unscathed. He stared at his own hands with wonder, and looked over the rest of his body as well.

"I can't believe it." He gasped. "After all these years, to finally have my rightful abilities returned to me."

He moved his hands with a flourish and a white ball of light appeared and disappeared before him.

Ineg grinned. "You have returned, old friend. I also brought two more trinkets." He pulled out a large, English style sword, and a small sphere of metal.

"The Avatar's digizoid armor and sword?"

Ineg nodded. "Gennai locked them away when you killed the last one."

"I think I'll hold onto the armor." Kai placed the sphere in his robes, then took the sword and tossed it across the room to the recovered Jade, who caught it expertly with one hand and turned her attention back to Cody. Cody, who had been lost in the mystery of what was going on around him, recovered his senses and dove to pick up his own sword, which lay nearby.

Both Kai and Ineg laughed. "Jade, hold your sword out." Kai intoned.

Without question, she did as he asked. Kai then built up another ball of energy and shot it directly into the sword, which then began to glow white.

"Swing it." Ineg said. "Swing at the boy."

With only a slight look of confusion, Jade did as he said. She swung the weapon in a wide arc, releasing a ribbon of destructive energy from its tip that headed directly for Cody. He was barely able to dive out of the way before the wave took a significant portion out of the wall behind where he'd stood. Jade smiled and looked at her blade in awe.

"It absorbs digital attacks and releases their energy at your command." Kai explained. "Don't let too much build up, however, or the sword will release the energy of its own accord."

"Thank you, master." Jade said, bowing slightly, but keeping her eyes on Cody.

"Now continue. Kill the boy."

Jade raised her weapon, but never got to swing it again because the wall behind her suddenly burst open with a loud crash of brick and drywall and the white-haired girl from before came charging into the room. Jade quickly leapt away from the girl and ran over to join Ineg and Kai.

The girl flew over and landed next to Cody. "Are you all right?" She asked.

"Um, yeah." Cody took up a fighting stance next to the girl, his sword held out in front of him. "Are you?"

She nodded. "The newcomer is Ineg, the dark portion of Gennai."

Cody stifled his surprise at the statement. "He gave Kai-the Assassin- some kind of ball, and now he has powers too."

The girl's eyes narrowed. "Then he has returned KiAdjae's powers."

Kai let loose a maniacal laugh. "That's right Avatar. And I'll use them to kill you, just as I did your parents!"

The girl prepared to launch at him, but Cody held his hand out in front of her.

"He's trying to bait you."

"What?"

"All three of them have some type of powers now. You're strong, but I don't think you can take them all on at once."

"Then what would you have me do? Run?"

Cody glanced at Jade and found himself conflicted. "I- I don't know."

"What's wrong, Keyan?" Ineg taunted. "Having second thoughts now?"

"Then we'll help." Kai said, raising his hands. "NOW!"

Both Kai and Ineg threw large energy attacks of light and darkness, as Jade swung her blade. Reacting quickly, Keyan grabbed Cody's arm and pulled him over to and out of a nearby window. As they turned over in their fall, Cody saw the combined might of the three attacks fly out over the night sky, just milliseconds after they'd jumped. The attacks struck the side of a building across the street, reducing three stories of its wall to rubble. Cody tore his eyes away from the sight and began grasping for Keyan's hand, but found that their fall trajectories had split them apart. He flipped again, falling more and more out of control, and desperately found no other course of action for himself but to squeeze hit eyes shut and await the inevitable. Abruptly, his fall halted, and Cody felt a pair of strong hands grasp him under his shoulders. He looked up and was relieved to see the determined face of Tai as they gradually lowered down to street level.

"You okay?" Tai asked when they landed, concernedly looking over Cody's bruised and cut face.

Cody nodded. "I'm okay, but the Assassin, Gennai's dark side, and my father's killer are up there."

"I'm not even going to ask how you know all this or what you're doing here," Tai muttered as he looked up to the window Cody had fallen from. He turned to the younger digidestined. "But that's the same building we were just told is the center of Hitachi's shipping operations."

"The girl!" Cody yelled suddenly, looking around. "The girl that saved me! Where is she?"

"Right here." Clara landed on the ground next to them with her arm wrapped around Keyan's waist.

"I am not the most experienced flyer." Keyan said apologetically. "Thank you Clara."

Clara seemed perplexed about what was going on. "Um, anytime."

"Keyan?" Said Tai, giving the diminutive girl a look of confusion. "What in the-?"

"Not now, Tai." Keyan said. "There are more important things going on up there."

Cody looked around and took inventory of all who were gathered there. He saw Jun, Terence, and all of their digimon in their mega level forms and decided to seize the opportunity. "We have to go up there and attack them!"

"Hey!" A shout interrupted from overhead.

The group looked up and saw Rosa and Rosemon flying over, carrying Curtis and Taps between them. "The hell are you all doing here?" Rosa asked as they landed. "Is that Keyan?"

"Uh, yes," Jun answered, still trying to grasp the situation. "What are you guys doing here?"

"We got this address from Jonathan," said Curtis. "It's where Roots Gates shipped all the digimon that Hitachi turned into mutants."

"Roots Gate?" Said Terence. "We should have known they had something to do with all this."

"Alright" Tai said, raising a hand to command everyone's attention. "We're going to attack. We'll need the flyers. Rosa, you Rosemon, Clara and Marta are with me and WarGreymon. Let's go."

"Uh, okay." Rosa joined Tai and her cousin. "What's going on?"

"Not sure, but Ineg and the Assassin are up there." Tai lifted off from the ground and WarGreymon immediately followed him. They barely rose a few feet however, before Ineg exited the building above them, with Kai trailing behind him. Both hovered in mid-air and looked down at the Knights.

"The Assassin can fly?" Curtis said in surprise after digivolving Taps to Boltmon.

"Ineg restored his powers to him." Keyan said, narrowing her eyes. "But I will kill him, nonetheless."

"Gennai's Knights!" Ineg called out from above. "Our reunion has been long overdue! But it isn't complete without my special guests!" He raised an arm up over his head and, almost immediately, the sky above began to transform into a large swirling vortex.

"A portal." Curtis said.

Rosa drifted forward and her face took on a measure of darkness. "He's bringing the Dark Masters."

Just as she said this, a white laser blast zoomed over the Knights heads, warming the air around them by several degrees. It struck both Ineg and Kai and sent them tumbling head over heels in different directions. The group turned to the source of the blast and saw Imperialdramon flying towards them, with Davis and Kuri perched on his shoulders, and Peko (as Valkrymon) trailing behind.

"What are you all waiting for?" Kuri called down to the group, apparently unfazed by them all being at the address they'd tracked Cody to. "Attack them!"

"She's right!" Tai called out. "Flyers, with me! Let's take 'em down NOW!"

All the flying Knights, plus Keyan, took off, while the others began to leap or climb up nearby buildings. As soon as they sprang into action, shapes began to appear in Ineg's portal, shapes of digimon Cody hadn't seen in seven years. As the battle above began to take place, Cody turned to the front doors of Kai's office building. While his friends fought up there, Cody was determined to bring Jade to justice, by whatever means necessary. He gripped the hilt of his sword tightly and ran back inside the office complex.

_To be continued…_

* * *

Next up: **Vengeance and Dark Hearts: Part III** The climactic battle in the skies over Odaiba, and the CADE sponsored raid of Hitachi HQ. Who will be successful? Who will live and who will perish? All this and more in the next installment of Digital Knights.

Don't forget to review!


	20. Vengeance and Dark Hearts Pt 3 1

This chapter was getting to be entirely too long (30,000 words), so I split it into two parts. This is the last of this three-part arc, now split into two sections. Sorry about the wait guys (especially to the people that sent me all the threatening emails :-) ), but I was severely overworked the past few months and had to put this on a back burner.

* * *

**Digital Knights **

**Vengeance and Dark Hearts: Pt III (Sec. 1)**

**Downtown Odaiba, South Side**

Hatori nervously adjusted his grip on the plasma rifle held in his hands and continued to stalk forward methodically. The newly cleared streets that surrounded the remains of Hitachi Tower were virtually deserted, abandoned even by the usual security details that stoically patrolled the area most nights. The portable restrooms and makeshift trailers surrounding the site caused the area to look like something of an urban ghost town, and they had the benefit of casting an excellent myriad of shadows. Thus, no untrained eye could spot the dozen or so helmet and armor clad CADE operatives slinking along the sides of the many buildings that lined the streets.

"This isn't right." Said a woman crouching to Hatori's immediate right as the group closed in on its destination. "Where are all the guards? Someone must have tipped off the cops." The woman stopped moving and pulled a second weapon from her waist. "And if the cops know…" She looked around uncomfortably.

"Hitachi knows," finished a man slightly behind them.

"Calm yourselves people." Hatori admonished the two, placing his hand to his earpiece to better hear a transmission coming through. "I've been informed by HQ that there was a disturbance on the other side of downtown. The Knights are handling it, but all available local security forces have been called in as well."

As if on cue, the sounds of several faint explosions and accompanying sirens drifted to the men over the thin night air.

"Perhaps it is a decoy?" The woman suggested.

The other man scoffed. "A decoy against potential invaders that just happens to go off tonight? Even Hitachi would not have such resourceful foresight."

Hatori chastised them again. "Suya, Koi, Quiet!" If there was one thing he couldn't stand, it was chatty underlings, especially ones that didn't know what they were talking about. It would be well within Hitachi's "resources" to schedule a decoy precisely at the time of their operation. There was a good possibility that they were, in fact, walking into a trap, and should make a strategic retreat. But the time for such insecurity from CADE agents had passed. Their days of placing caution and timidity over risk-taking and bravery had gotten them absolutely nowhere, so far. This was a new age.

Hatori looked away from the men, toward the teenager moving along in front of them, a blueprint held in one hand, and a depth-measuring instrument in the other. That Scott Barke was one determined kid. It was powerful, his devotion to saving his father, so much so that Hatori had never had the heart to tell him that there was evidence that the elder Barke had been acting of his own accord, and not by coercion. Why ruin the kid's ideal of his dad? It was such a powerful motivator.

"This is it!" Scott suddenly hissed, crouching low.

They were now in the middle of the street.

Hatori looked around and reaffirmed the grip on his rifle. "You're sure?"

Scott nodded vigorously. "According to this, there's a small tunnel running directly below here, and it seems to agree with the blueprints."

"Okay." With only a few minor hand signals, Hatori motioned for four men to create a perimeter and beckoned for two other men, laden with large backpacks, to approach. The men came over and immediately set to work by pulling a pair of large, gray, metal discs from their packs.

"These things had better work." Hatori mumbled. "They certainly cost us enough."

"R&D said they got all of the bugs worked out." Said one of the men as he placed one of the discs flat on the street surface and began tooling with a small instrument panel on its topside.

Hatori wasn't entirely convinced. "I sure as hell hope so, because we're not in a bulletproof glass control room anymore. One of these things explodes this time, at this range, and the shrapnel alone will kill us all."

"You're truly an inspiring motivator, sir." The man deadpanned without looking up. "Always a ray of sunshine."

"There, it's ready." Said the other. He got up and handed Hatori a remote before brushing his hands off. Seconds later, his counterpart did the same.

"All right, men. Good job. Get back." Hatori pressed the remotes simultaneously and both of the discs begin to spin at a high rate of speed while emitting an extremely high pitched whirring noise. He demonstratively wiped a hand across his forehead. "Well that's a relief. Activating the laser now."

A bright light appeared under each of the discs and a fine mist of gravel and concrete began shooting out from their sides. The discs started sinking into the ground.

"Okay, they're digging in. Take up your positions. Alpha squad, go in first. We're not getting any life sign readings, but they may have mechanical security measures down there. Take 'em out and fall back." As Hatori supervised, six men took up position beside the man-sized holes. "Beta, you're with me. We'll lead the charge into the interior while they cover us."

Hatori looked over the squad as they took up their assigned positions and allowed a small frown to cross his face. Scott had drawn a weapon and was currently standing beside them.

"Barke, what are you doing?"

"I'm going in too." Scott carefully rolled up his blueprint and placed it in a pack on his belt. "I have to."

"No. I can't let you do this."

"Fine, then don't. But just so you know, you're going to have to shoot me to keep me out."

"Don't be ridiculous, kid." Said one of the men beside Scott.

"I'm not. There's a good chance my father's down there. If we have any hope of erasing Hitachi's brainwashing from his mind, you're going to need me."

The soldier shrugged as he checked the clip on his rifle. "And here I was just gonna shoot the guy."

A dark shadow passed across Scott's countenance. "Then, I'm definitely going, if only to make sure you trigger happy zealots don't kill him."

"_We're_ the zealots? That's rich-"

"Koi, that's enough!" Hatori hissed. "We don't have time for this. Look, Scott, you come in with Beta, but stay close to me at all times, got it?"

Scott nodded.

"I'm serious. You disobey any of my orders and I'll have one of the men tranq you and drag you back out here immediately."

"Or we could just tranq him now."

"Not another word, Suya." Hitachi gave the female soldier a threatening glare, then turned to Scott. "Now, it's only because you've completed most of your training, not to mention the fact that we've only gotten this far due to your efforts, that I'll allow you to go in. Don't disappoint me."

"Don't worry." Scott said quietly, watching as the digging discs finally broke through to a darkened chamber below. "I won't."

Hitachi never took his gaze from the teen. "Good. Alpha, move in."

* * *

**Downtown Odaiba, North Side**

Across downtown, the blare of the newly installed sirens of the Digital Defense System served as background noise to one of the largest and most destructive battles in the history of the eastern hemisphere. Blasts of light, energy spheres, missiles, and bullets were being fired everywhere. The streets sounded like some type of futuristic war zone.

Amid the chaos, the Digital Knight of Insight was beginning to piece together some type of plan. She was leaping from rooftop to rooftop, hundred of feet in the air, hoping to avoid the clutches of her pursuer, an enraged Machinedramon, as she tried to formulate a course of action. Sparks was not with her at the moment. Shortly after the battle had begun, he and the other mega evolved digimon had returned to ground level, at Davis's request, to aid in the evacuation of thousands of Odaiba citizens from the many high rise apartment buildings in the area. His logic behind the request was sound. The digimon could carry far more people to safety from the crumbling buildings as the Knights kept their enemies busy.

That this battle was taking place in a densely populated residential area was actually the least of Jun's problems. The real issues of the moment were the literal army of Hitachi mercenary soldiers that seemed to be arriving by helicopter and assault vehicle every ten seconds; and the fact that many of Jun's human counterparts had taken off on their own vendettas as soon as the dark Masters had shown up. Jun shook her head as she remembered how Cody had disappeared, Rosa had gone after Puppetmon like a crazed bat out of hell, and Keyan had immediately perused The Assassin into an aerial battle.

Of course, obsessively vengeful allies weren't the only problems that the other Knights were facing. Of those that were level headed, Terence was currently locked in battle with an enraged MetalSeadramon that seemed out for his blood. Clara was trying to help him. And Curtis was taking on Piedmon with very limited success while Davis and Kuri were currently faring about as well against Ineg.

The worst development of all, however, had been Tai. He'd gone after Daemon at the start of the battle with barely a word uttered to anyone. Jun worriedly recalled the wild look that had been in her love's eyes as soon as the Dark Ocean digimon had shown up. She had to find him. Jun didn't know exactly what was wrong with everyone tonight, but she knew they wouldn't come out of this alive if they all didn't start acting as a team. Tai was the one who could bring them all together. No sooner had the thought passed through Jun's mind than she came upon the edge of her current rooftop and saw exactly what she was looking for. Before her, hovering hundreds of feet over a major downtown thoroughfare below, Tai and Daemon were facing down one another with only the distance of the street between them.

To Jun's relief, Tai didn't appear to be hurt. To the contrary, he was levitating into the air and raising his hands over his head in a demonstrative fashion. He looked down upon Daemon and gave the Dark Ocean denizen a wild, uncontrolled, glare. Tai's eyes were filled with the unmistakable marks of rage that Jun had always feared would come to the surface upon the two opponents' next meeting.

Jun cursed herself silently and dove out of the path of another of Machinedramon's missiles, launched from a rooftop two buildings over. She'd avoided this issue with Tai for far too long. All this time, she'd known that his "death" in the Digital Realm had affected him adversely, to the point that he tended to avoid acknowledging the fact that it even happened in the first place. And Jun had chosen not to press him on it. After all, he'd hardly had enough time to deal with what was going on in the present, much less confront an issue from his past. Foolishly, Jun had thought that Tai would somehow find a way to work through it without her prompting him.

"Damn."

Jun cursed again as she rolled out of her dive back to her feet. She honestly should've known better, simply based on the incredible amount of vengeful anger she'd felt emanating from Tai during their initial joining as J'ai. Though Jun and Tai had been merged equally into their powerful joint alter ego, it was Jun that had found herself struggling to hold back against Tai's powerful influence. Had she not been somewhat successful, they'd have likely pursued the Dark Masters and Ineg's entire army through their escape portal.

Now Jun looked on helplessly as the anger she was able to suppress in Tai before threatened to consume him.

"Tai!" She shouted, her voice desperately piercing through the chaotic winds of war surrounding her, "Please stop this! We need you!"

Tai showed no sign of having heard her and continued to focus on building up the massive ball of Terra Force energy between his arms.

"Come on, 'Courageous Knight.'" Daemon taunted. "Do your worst. Do you really think you have what it takes to destroy me? Do you believe you even possess the power necessary to kill me, boy?"

Jun ripped her attention away from the scene just in time to leap out of the way of yet another of Machinedramon's projectiles and bounded over a small alley onto an adjacent rooftop.

"Tai!" She shouted again, as she turned back to the battle. The sight that greeted Jun caused her voice to catch in her throat before she could say anything further. Tai's body had begun to take on a completely different look. His skin was becoming shaded, his face markedly more angular, his eyes…darker. And all the while Daemon continued to jeer and taunt as if nothing out of the ordinary was transpiring.

"No." Jun glanced upward to where Ineg had retreated. Gennai's negative was observing the scene below intently, when not avoiding attacks from Kuri and Davis. It seemed he hardly cared about his two opponents at all, the way he was going to so much effort just to watch Tai. At times Jun noticed a very distinct look of concentration on the dark Guardian's brow.

"Revenge." Jun whispered to herself in thought. "Retribution for personal attacks, selfishness, an element of darkness." Her eyes went wide as she realized what was going on.

"Tai!" She shouted yet again. "You have to stop! This is exactly what they want!"

"Shut her up!"

Jun turned in time to see several men rappelling down to her rooftop from an overhead stealth helicopter. As they landed, each of the men produced weapons of varying nature and size from their utility straps and backpacks.

Jun grunted. "I don't have time for this!"

She dropped to her knees and drove both of her fists forcefully into the hard asphalt of the roof, causing it to tremble and several cracks to streak across its surface, towards her attackers. The mercenaries all stumbled on the unstable ground and grasped for footholds, but found their efforts futile as the roof surface literally opened up beneath their feet and swallowed them down into the building's interior.

Jun allowed a fleeting sense of satisfaction to pass and turned back to Tai's battle. She gasped involuntarily at the sight that met her eyes. A strange wind was whirling around Tai now. It was cold, colder even than the already chilled night air. And yet, Daemon appeared to be enjoying himself greatly. He was no longer taunting now, and simply seemed to be awaiting Tai's attack. This led Jun to another realization.

"Daemon!" She shouted. "Is this what you really want? In this really worth your own death?"

"Child, I serve a master beyond your comprehension. When our forces succeed, I will be resurrected."

_Our_ forces? The two words were enough to tell Jun just how much the dark aspects of the digital world and Hitachi were united. They were no longer just allies. They now saw themselves as one. Jun took a closer look at Tai, who was shaking with the effort it took to hold his augmented attack overhead. Hitachi valued him. If Tai could be turned to their side through this action, Hitachi could claim for himself the greatest leader the real world had ever known in the era of digital warfare. It would represent a crippling blow, not only to CADE's integrity, but to the morale of every single digidestined and Digital Knight on earth. And Daemon was willing to die to achieve it.

Jun clenched her fists and moved to the edge of the roof with a new sense of determination. She was willing to go just as far to prevent it.

* * *

**The Chamber**

Matt and Sora sat side by side in the Chamber's kitchen, the former with his arms draped around the latter's shoulders. On the table before them was a plethora of catalogues, brochures, and magazines. Sora rifled through all of them with zeal, stopping here and there to make suggestions to Matt.

"Hey how about this?" She asked, pointing to a picture in one of the thicker catalogues. "That looks really nice."

Matt peered at the picture, then shook his head adamantly. "Oh god no, no swans. I swear Sora, I understand that the day will be more about you than me, but please no swans. I mean, that's just a little too much."

Sora crossed her arms and gave her fiancé a pointed stare. "I thought you said cost didn't matter."

"Trust me honey, this has nothing to do with the cost." Matt gave her a wry smile.

Sora poked him playfully in the side and grinned. "Fine, I'll leave the birds out."

Matt let out a sigh of relief and leaned over to give Sora a kiss on the cheek, but found himself lingering there and eventually starting to nibble on her earlobe. She giggled and gave him a small push.

"Not now, Matt. I promise, at this rate, we'll never get this thing planned out."

Matt reluctantly turned his attention back to one of the catalogues while making a pouting expression that prompted Sora to laugh again. The clear tenor of her voice caused Matt's heart to swell. She was so beautiful like that. Happy. It had been so long since they'd been this way together, perhaps years. Since last night, after Tai and Jun had pulled their little stunt and he and Sora had talked, really talked, for the first time in quite a while, things had already started progressing spectacularly in their relationship. Matt had to hand it to those two, even though they'd only been together for a year, they seemed to be one of the foremost authorities on relationships he'd ever met. Somehow, Tai had surpassed him yet again. This was becoming quite the recurring theme lately, and yet, for the first time in a long while, Matt didn't care. Surprisingly, he was actually happy for his old friend and rival, and Jun as well.

The door to the room burst open and interrupted Matt's thoughts. Biyomon and Gabumon ran into the room, their animalistic features flushed with worry.

Matt stood up from the table with a look of alarm. "Guys, what's wrong?"

"It's the Knights." Gabumon panted. "They're in trouble."

Matt and Sora shared a brief look of anxiety before they simultaneously bolted from the room and ran down the main hall with their partners trailing behind. They found all of the other digidestined already gathered in the Chamber's recreation living area once they arrived.

"What happened?" Matt asked the room.

"We think the bad guys must be finally making their big move." Said Gatomon with a nod toward the room's television.

Matt and Sora squeezed into the group crowded around the screen and looked at the live report currently airing.

"I-is that-?" Sora covered her mouth with a hand, not daring to complete the sentence.

Kari fidgeted nervously beside her. "We don't know-" Her voice wavered. "We don't know what's wrong with him."

"He looks like he's…sick," Joe commented as he shifted his cast inside his shoulder sling. "But it's not like any kind of illness I've ever seen."

"He doesn't look sick to me." Said a small, seal-like digimon at Joe's feet.

"But he is, Gommamon." Ken's tone was depressingly graven. "It's a different kind of sickness."

Kari, TK, and Yolei's gazes darted to Ken immediately. Yolei moved toward him and put a hand on his shoulder. "What are you saying, Ken?"

Noriko answered when the one-time digimon emperor provided no response. "He's saying that Tai is being overtaken by his own darkness." She maneuvered through the group to get a better view of the TV. "Not that Ken would ever admit to it. He'd much rather keep others in the dark and ignore his own past, being no help to those around him that may be going through the same thing that he once did."

Ken gaped for a moment, and after a glance at Yolei, seemed to decide against arguing with the somewhat infuriated dark spore child.

"She's right." He said quietly. "About Tai, anyway."

Noriko huffed and seemed ready to say more, but was interrupted by Kari.

"She _is_ right. I can feel it." Kari clutched at her chest.

"Your light?" TK asked.

Kari nodded. "Just like before when I could feel dark presences, I can feel Tai. His is more powerful than any of the others."

As she spoke, Kari's eyes took on a somewhat glowing quality and her eyes grew markedly paler.

"But, why would darkness suddenly take over Tai?" Mimi said. "That doesn't make sense. I don't see how it's possible."

"Maybe the dark spores have returned?" Izzy suggested. "I mean, if Oikawa could fabricate them, couldn't anyone else, especially Hitachi?"

"It's possible." Said Ken. "But I'm not sure if that's what's happening."

"He seeks vengeance." Kari's voice seemed to echo around the room as she spoke again. "His own, selfish desire."

TK turned to look at his girlfriend and recoiled in surprise. Her hair had suddenly come untangled from its numerous clips and was flowing freely around her head as if in a weightless environment. Her eyes were fully white now and her voice possessed an ethereal otherworldliness that commanded everyone's attention.

"What?" TK gasped in a low whisper. "This hasn't happened in-"

"Years." Matt finished for his brother. He was staring at Kari as well, with a look of great intensity. "What's going on? She only did this before when things were looking really bad for us."

TK swallowed as he looked worriedly upon Kari's blank expression. "Then things must be pretty bad."

* * *

"Do it, if you think you have what it takes, boy." Daemon jeered, continuing in his verbal torment of Tai. "But you and I both know that you don't. I could kill you, quite easily I might add, but you can't even make the attempt to take my life. Look at you. Pitiful. You're stalling."

"Not. Any. More." Tai reared his arms back, veins ripping through the thin fabric of his uniform as he prepared to launch the gargantuan glowing sphere held tenuously between his arms.

"Tai, stop!" Shouted Jun desperately as tears began to stream from her eyes. "Please!"

Tai paid her no mind as he lunged forward through the air towards the grinning Daemon. He let out a guttural scream and began to swing his arms forward.

Jun knew there was only one thing she could do now. She took a few steps back and, with all the strength and force she could muster, launched herself from the edge of the rooftop.

* * *

**The Shipping Tower: Interior**

Cody held his weapon out before him in a steady fighting posture. He had to be ready for whatever awaited him around the next corner. His ears strained for even the slightest sound of his quarry. That woman was here, somewhere, she had to be. Cody had seen her type. She wasn't the kind to run, nor was she the type to launch herself into a battle in which she was overmatched. No, she was still up here somewhere. She had to be. She was waiting for him.

As he came to the end of the corridor, Cody took in his surroundings with all of his senses. Nothing was out of place, as far as he could tell. The area was exactly as it had been left, save for a large hole in the wall of Atuma's office. There were no footprints, no signs that the area was still occupied. He entered a door on his left that had been left slightly ajar. On the other side of it was a very large room filled with rows of desks and computers. Charts and maps adorned all of its walls. It seemed to be some sort of business headquarters. Stalking forward silently, Cody began to inspect all of the room's many potential hiding places. Part of him knew he was being obsessive and illogical. The woman had probably left and made a retreat during all the commotion. She was, after all, heavily overmatched in the battle going on outside. Perhaps she had decided to leave the area altogether.

Cody paused. He had heard it, the familiar sound of a blade being drawn from its sheath. Without thinking, he dove forward, hitting the ground just before a massive wave of energy passed over his head and destroyed several desks and workstations on the other side of the room. Cody returned to his feet as fast as he could manage and whirled around to see Jade standing behind him.

"I knew you would return." Jade said, smiling as she approached Cody across the expanse of the now cleared room. She wielded her Katana in one hand, and the sword The Assassin had given her in the other. The latter of the two weapons continued to glow, but Cody noted that the light it was giving off had faded somewhat from earlier. With this information, he began to formulate a plan.

"Your kind is always the easiest to kill." Jade continued. "Always so bent on emotions…justice, vengeance. It makes you incredibly predictable, and thus, incredibly weak."

"If I am so incredibly weak, then why can't you kill me? You are the weak one, murderer. You needed a supernatural being just to save your worthless life."

Jade's eyes narrowed. It was the only sign that Cody's words had affected her. He continued.

"You set up an innocent man to take the fall for your murdering of another innocent, neither of whom had any idea you even existed. You have no honor and no idea what it means to be strong. You are the very definition of weak."

"HAA!" Jade swung her weapon, just as Cody expected she would. She was quick, accurate, but Cody was just a half step in front of her. He ducked the high strike and shielded himself from falling debris as the energy wave practically destroyed the room's ceiling.

Without hesitation, Jade swung again, this time angling her attack downwards. Cody expected this as well. He leapt this time, grabbed one of the many now exposed pipes along the ceiling, and pulled his legs up just as the attack, which was noticeably smaller than the one before it, passed harmlessly under him. Before the dust could clear from the attack's resulting explosion, Cody swung himself forward from the pipe, feet first, directly at Jade. He caught her in the chest before she could launch another strike, and sent the woman careening backwards into a wall.

By the time Cody got up and placed his weapon in front of him, his opponent had already recovered and was coming at him again. She swung her empowered sword once more. This time, the energy wave it unleashed was pitifully small, and Cody had no problem jumping to avoid it. Jade continued forward however and swung her katana at Cody before he could land. He blocked the strike with his own sword, but was placed off balance just enough for Jade to plant a foot squarely in his chest and send him flying across the room, where he violently crashed into the pile of debris that all of her earlier attacks had created.

The first thing Cody felt upon landing was an incredible sensation of pain coursing through his back, the result of him landing on something very cold and hard. His vision was blurred and full of stars. He could feel Jade approaching him, but couldn't bring himself to open his eyes. He writhed a bit and let out a small groan.

"Don't worry." He heard her cold voice say. "I shall take pleasure in ending your misery now." He could feel her reel back for the final strike, feel the change in the air currents when her arm stopped and began to come forward for the fatal blow.

Cody knew then that the time was right. He stopped feigning pain and his eyes flashed open. In the nick of time, he brought his sword up to block Jade's katana, mere inches from his neck, then reached up and swung his other hand forward, which was wielding whatever it was he'd just landed on, with all his might. The object, revealed to be a length of iron railing, caught Jade squarely across the forehead, opening a gash there and sending her stumbling backwards, where she fell over a partially destroyed desk.

Cody got back to his feet as quickly as possible, now holding his sword in one hand and the iron bar in the other. Jade slowly got up and turned to face him. Blood now gushed down the side of her face and trickled from her chin, but she seemed utterly oblivious to it. She kept an enraged stare trained firmly on Cody.

"Now we are evenly matched." Cody crossed his weapons in front of him. "Your magic sword doesn't have any energy left. Lets end this, here and now."

Jade set her swords in front of her. "Lets-" She paused and looked to the side momentarily, then sheathed both of her weapons and sprinted out of the room.

Cody recoiled. Though he knew the woman was entirely devoid of honor, he didn't think she was quite that lacking in conviction. He turned to the side to see what she had been looking at. Out of the full-length windows lining the room he realized exactly what she had seen: something heading toward him at an incredible speed. At best, he could discern that it seemed to be two battling beings from the fight outside. Cody put his weapons away and began to run, but only got a few steps before the beings crashed through the side of the building and unleashed a furious shockwave that picked Cody up off of his feet, crashed him through two walls, and sent him flying out of a window on the other side of the tower.

Cody experienced the familiar sensation of the wind whipping around him as he went into yet another freefall from the tower, then felt something large and powerful stopping his descent suddenly and gripping him around the torso. He felt hot breath and saliva on his skin, heard the sound of an animalistic growl, spied a shock of scaled muscular skin, and felt himself breaking through glass once again, before the world faded from view and everything went black.

* * *

Joe frowned at Kari as she watched the television quietly in her enlightened state and paid no mind to the others who cycled constantly between gasping and letting out shouts of disbelief. On the news report, the grainy outline of Tai suddenly moved forward, illuminated by the intense light of the terrific terra force attack he wielded.

The bright sphere of energy launched forward prematurely however, and flew well wide of Daemon, as something slammed into Tai in midair and, along with him, smashed through the side of a nearby building. A loud explosion and millions of shards of glass, followed by smoke and dust billowing forth from the gaping hole in the tower, were all that remained on screen in the wake of the sudden attack.

The on site reporter's voice suddenly turned hysterical as the helicopter he was riding aboard began to rock and sway under the incredible influence of the crash's resulting shockwave.

"That's it." Matt said, tearing his gaze away from the image as the screen went in and out of focus due to a suddenly weakened satellite signal. "We're going down there."

Joe turned to Matt with an expression of incredulity. "What? Matt I feel just as helpless as you do here, but what do you honestly expect us to do there?"

"_We_ may not be able to do anything, but Gabumon and the rest of our digimon, can."

Izzy backed Matt up with a nod. "And we'll have to go with them so that they can evolve."

Joe shook his head. "I don't know guys. This is different from the last time. Those are the Dark Masters out there. Did you forget how hard it was to defeat them the first time we faced them? And those armed men running around the streets? Those are highly trained soldiers of fortune. This isn't like the other times. These aren't just evil digimon anymore. These are ruthless men that will kill us just as soon as look at us."

"Look Joe, I understand what you've been through recently. If I were in your shoes, there's a chance I'd feel the same way as you do. But I'm not in your shoes, and I'm going down there to help. Those are our friends out there." Matt looked around the room and addressed everyone. "Any of you guys that want to stay behind can. Nobody will think less of you. But I'm going." He turned brusquely and headed for the door, with Sora right behind him. As one, everyone, digidestined and digimon alike, rushed to follow.

"I'd almost forgotten he was once the second in command." Joe muttered to TK as the group headed out into the chamber's main halls.

"Yeah." TK's voice sounded absent, as if preoccupied with something else. Joe followed his gaze to Kari, who walked beside and slightly behind him. Just like the times when she'd entered into this trance-like state previously, she seemed perfectly sentient, yet simultaneously immersed in some other, mysterious, world.

Joe frowned. "Perhaps you two should stay behind."

"No." Kari forced her way past Joe dismissively. "There is a new form of darkness afoot tonight. I must investigate."

"Okay." Joe adjusted his displaced spectacles and looked on as TK sped up to catch up with his entranced girlfriend. He then noticed that ahead of TK and Kari, Ken had produced a couple of firearms from his jacket and was instructing Matt and Sora in how to use them. Matt took one of the guns, but Sora refused. Joe shrugged and let out a sigh. He supposed they would have to protect themselves somehow, seeing as none of them had access to this place's armory, but his abhorrence of violence would never allow him to view the involvement of guns as anything but bad.

"Well," He said to himself. "I guess I'll head over to the infirmary and get some medical supplies before we leave." Joe turned and almost bumped into the trailing Noriko.

"You're going too?" He said in surprise. "Despite your digimon not even being here?"

She nodded. "Bearmon is where he should be, at home protecting my family. Now I'm going to where I belong, out there helping my best friend."

"So what I've heard is true then, I guess you really do care a lot for Cody."

Noriko looked at Joe as if he'd just put forth the dumbest, most obvious statement she'd ever heard. "Of course I do. Like I said, he's my best friend." With that, she pushed her way past Joe as well.

Joe concernedly watched the determined girl join the group walking in front of him before he turned at the detour that a small sign indicated would take him to the infirmary. Something within him, something other than his naturally worrisome demeanor, was screaming at him to stop them somehow, to convince them to turn back. Joe knew that would be impossible, however. Instead, he resolved himself mentally to do his part to make sure everyone got out of tonight alive. It was all he could do.

* * *

With shouts of fury, Rosa and Puppetmon ran at each other from opposite ends of the cobbled rooftop that served as their battleground. Rosa struck out with her thorn whip as they passed one another, only to have Puppetmon block the attack yet again with a timely swing of his mallet. She slid to a stop on the smooth pebbles of the roof's surface and let out a grunt of frustration. Beads of sweat ran profusely from her brow.

"Getting' tired kid?" Puppetmon taunted as an evil smile of arrogance played across his wooden face.

"You wish. I won't be tired until I've ripped you apart, piece by piece."

"Oooh, gruesome." Puppetmon cackled. "Kinda like me when I smashed your friend's face in with my mallet. But then again, that was real, unlike your idle threats."

Rosa's eyes went wide and she rushed forward again, practically screaming her head off as she drew her weapon back for another strike.

* * *

On yet another rooftop, this one quite a bit higher, Curtis looked down at Rosa's battle and shook his head. Puppetmon was toying with her and she was growing tired. He had to get down there to help her.

"Curtis, a little help over here?!"

Curtis looked away from the roof's edge and to where Taps and Piedmon were doing battle. His partner, who had decided to join him in battle only moments earlier, was having a hard time with the Dark Master, even in his mega evolved Boltmon form. Piedmon was just too quick and relentless in his attacks. Cutis drew his energy axe and ran towards the fight. The sooner they finished this, the sooner he could go down there and help Rosa. Piedmon noticed the young Knight's approach and tossed a large white sheet of fabric in his direction. Curtis acted quickly and used his axe to cleave the sheet in two just as it began to descend upon him.

"Really, that old trick?" Curtis said with a confident smile that he knew would infuriate the clown digimon. "Even the newest digidestineds know about that weak attack. Come on, you can do much better, can't you?"

Piedmon, who towered over Curtis, bore a look of disdain as he drew his flail from its scabbard. "We'll see how cocky you are," He said, "When it's you that's cleaved in two."

As he said this, a fist smashed into the back of his head, sending him forwards into the ground. Curtis had to leap out of the way to avoid Piedmon's fall trajectory and rolled back to his feet just as his opponent recovered.

"Nice one, Taps." He said as readied his axe to meet Piedmon's next attack.

"Thanks- get down!" Taps pushed Curtis aside with a wave of his arm, then ducked down as a volley of missiles flew overhead. The projectiles barely missed them and streaked out through the air, their fiery tails contrasting against the night sky, before they exploded against the side of the shipping tower and ripped several gashes into its side.

The building they were on shook as the weight of a new opponent came down upon it.

"Nice of you to join us, Machinedramon." Piedmon cackled, taking up position on the opposites side of Taps and Curtis as his mechanical counterpart. "Take the Boltmon. The boy is mine."

"Very well." Machinedramon unleashed a massive volley of giga missiles in Boltmon's direction just as Piedmon once again launched forward at Curtis with his flail.

* * *

Terence didn't know how he had found himself in an uncomfortably familiar position, hanging on for dear life on the back of a giant bucking MetalSeadramon, but he knew that the status quo had to change before the massive beast dislodged him hundreds of feet in the air. He slowly began to make his way up the Dark Master's back, just as he had done previously back in the Realm, but the serpent was ready this time. He twisted his body and bucked in such a manner that Terence was completely disoriented and lost his grip. The Inspirational Knight began to fall through the air, but only for a few seconds before he felt his descent halted suddenly by a pair of dainty yet firm hands wrapping around his wrists.

"I told you that was a stupid thing to try." Clara said as she pulled out of the dive she'd entered into to catch him.

Terence shrugged while he hung from her hold. "It worked before."

Clara rolled her eyes. "I swear, me catching you in midair to save you from certain death is going to be something that happens all the time to us, isn't it?"

Terence ignored her as he had noticed something alarming in front of him. "He turned around! He's coming back!"

"Oh keep your pants on, and hold on tight." Clara pulled him up so he could wrap his arms around her waist, then shot off, weaving around skyscrapers and dodging MetalSeadramon's attacks as if it were nothing more than a Sunday drive.

"Damn, girl!" Terence exclaimed, closing his eyes to avoid the disorienting blur that the cityscape had suddenly become. "Have you always been this good?"

"Of course I have!" Clara replied with a hint of mirth in her tone. "I was the number one flyer at the Academy, and don't you forget it!"

They ascended into the night, the gap between them and their pursuer continuing to widen.

* * *

"Davis, I hate to say this, but we may be in over our heads here."

Kuri dove down beside her boyfriend as they weaved through the various spheres of dark energy that were continually being launched at them by Ineg.

"Maybe we should call in Imperialdramon and Peko."

Davis shook his head resolutely. "No. They can easily beat the mutants and soldiers and protect the evacuations below. All we have to do here is keep Ineg busy so he and the Assassin don't get the opportunity to double team Keyan. She's powerful now, but no way can she survive against both of them at once."

At the mention of Keyan's name, Kuri glanced up at the girl in question. She was currently hovering ten stories or so above them in midair, exchanging furious attacks and blows with the newly empowered Assassin. The two seemed to be fighting one another to a virtual standstill.

"You're right, I guess." Kuri admitted. "But I don't know how long we can keep this up. If the tide doesn't turn in our favor soon, we're eventually going to tire out. We can't stay mega-evolved forever."

Davis dropped altitude slightly just before another of Ineg's attacks streaked overhead, practically singeing him as it passed.

"I know." He turned, leveled his arm, and fired a positron laser blast that Ineg easily deflected. "What the hell happened to Tai?"

Kuri performed a quick scan of the ground below them. "I don't see him…or Jun either, for that matter."

At that, Davis looked down sharply. "What?"

"Look out!" A small voice shouted.

Something streaked between Davis and Kuri, forcing them apart just before another of Ineg's energy spheres passed between them and washed them in its trailing vortex of heat.

Keyan unsteadily pulled out of her dive and flew back to their level, a stern expression on her face. "If the two of you are going to be of any aid to me, you must pay attention."

Davis's face exhibited a lingering surprise at Keyan's vastly improved abilities. "Yeah, sorry."

"Not that it matters," said Kuri as she took up a more appropriate stance facing Ineg. "He's a little too powerful for just the two of us to take down."

"Just maintain his attention." Keyan's eyes began to regain their faint glow. "Once I have killed The Assassin, I shall return to aid you."

With a bolt of wind she was gone, streaking upwards to where The Assassin seemed to be patiently awaiting her return.

"Confident, isn't she?" Kuri drew her crossbow and fired a few arrows to deflect one of Ineg's incoming attacks.

"Looks to me like she has reason to be," said Davis as he also fired a few retaliatory laser blasts. "Ineg didn't start attacking us again until she was gone. I mean, if even he's scared of her…" Davis allowed the implication to float on the air.

Kuri chanced a glance upwards. "The Assassin doesn't appear to fear her, though."

The two combatants above them were once again putting on an impressive aerial display as they traded blows, blasts, and bursts of light.

"I don't know." She continued. "I get the feeling he's enjoying himself."

"Yeah." Davis agreed before having a disturbing thought. "It's almost as if things couldn't be going better for his side, as if all this is going according to their plan."

The emotion that accompanied the statement ran from him to Kuri like electricity, causing the two to share a look of anxiety.

"We need Tai and Jun to show up, soon."

* * *

Hatori and his group of elite trained CADE agents continued forward through the main hallway of Hitachi's underground laboratory. As expected, the only evidence of Alpha team having been there were the smoking areas on the walls and ceilings that signified where they'd accurately shot out several surveillance cameras and gun turrets. When the group came to a set of double doors at the end of the large corridor, Hatori sent two men to fall back to a covering position halfway down the hallway, then signaled Koi and Suya into the next room. As they entered, he took up position next to one of the doors, careful to keep Scott behind him. If anything bad went down, he wanted to make sure the kid had a good chance to make it back to their fallback point.

"Digital disruptor charged?" Hatori whispered.

Scott nodded, then with notable apprehension in his voice, posed a question. "Do you really think there's a good chance the mutants will be here?"

Hatori gave a slight indifferent nod. "I did, but with what they tell me is going on on the other side of town right now, I doubt it. They've probably been deployed to handle that situation."

Hatori flinched when his earpiece cackled to life. "All clear."

"Alright, let's go in."

The two moved into the darkened chamber and joined the other agents in swathing the room with their halogen, helmet mounted, flashlights.

"Sir," Koi began with a scratch of his head. "I'm not entirely sure what we're looking at here."

Hatori scanned the dimly lit room with a well-trained military eye. There were dozens of technological devices here; all with brightly colored symbols on them that signaled some sort of hazardous capacity. It all looked familiar; test tubes mounted inside large computers, microscopes, petri dishes… This was a biological weapons development facility.

"Gas masks, men." He ordered. "This is most likely a bio-weapons lab."

A hissing noise echoed around the room as the men turned on their helmet's filtration circuits.

"I'm not so sure this is a biological weapons facility, sir." Scott said, inspecting closely as he walked down the side of one of the room's long lab tables. "The equipment looks an awful lot like our files on GenTech; like a genetics lab. I think this is the place where they created the mutant digimon."

Hatori looked around more closely and had to agree with Scott. "I think you're right kid. We need to recover their medical data files. Men, fan out and search for a storage terminal. Stay sharp."

"Yes sir." Answered Koi. He spoke further as he began to move about the room. "What I really want to know is, where the hell are all the people? We expected more resistance than this."

"It _is_ late." Scott answered. "Maybe they've all gone home?"

"That's ridiculous kid. These are prime operating hours."

"Unbelievably," Suya muttered. "He has a point. This would be the best time for any workers down here to avoid all the wreckage salvation that goes on up top during the day."

"Cut the chatter men." Hatori put a finger in front of his face. "I've got a faint heat signature on my visor."

The agents turned toward the direction he was facing. "I'm reading it too." Said Koi. "In that thing over there. Appears to be a storage closet of some sort."

"Alright." Hatori raised his rifle and began moving forward. "Barke, stay back. Koi, Suya, flanking positions."

The three continued forward up to the stainless steel door behind which the signal was coming. There wasn't a lock on the door, so Hatori reached out and firmly gripped it by the handle. He performed a silent three count with his fingers, then jerked it open.

Rather than finding anything overtly sinister inside the small storage space, Hatori was confronted with the image of a small, pale man in a white laboratory coat cowering in fear on the floor.

"P-please don't hurt me." The bespectacled man pleaded. "I'll give you-"

Hatori reached down, grabbed the man by his collar and threw him forcefully out of the closet and into a nearby wall. He then settled his gun's aim directly at the man's head.

"Alright, talk!" He hissed. "Who are you? Where is everyone?"

To the man's credit, his expression managed to maintain a semblance of calm and even appeared somewhat defiant. "I am the head genetic doctor in this facility. I am everyone. Everything else in this lab is automated."

"How stupid do you think I am?" Hatori sneered. He jabbed the end of his gun into the man's forehead.

"Wait, I recognize this guy." Suya said. "He may be telling the truth."

"How's that?"

"His face was in our deceased files. He used to be a government geneticist. Absolute best in his field. He was supposed to have died while on a joint research venture with GenTech when their plane crashed somewhere in the Pacific."

Hatori hardened his gaze on the man. "Explain."

"Obviously tales of my demise were greatly exaggerated. The government was too moralistic for me. I wanted complete funding and control over my experiments. Hitachi offered, I accepted. My death was faked to remove me from the grid."

"And where exactly is your employer, Hitachi?"

"You're too late. He's already undergoing the first phase of the transformation process."

"Transformation?" Scott repeated. "What transformation?"

"You CADE people are absolutely clueless aren't you?"

Hatori pressed even harder against the man's head. "I repeat, what transformation?"

"He's joining with the God of Darkness and taking control over the power of the entire dark aspect of the digital world."

"What the hell does that even mean?" Koi sneered. "More of this magical, good and evil, digital world fairytale nonsense?"

"You'll find out how much nonsense it is when Hitachi is destroying entire cities, taking millions of lives with only a single thought."

Suya sighed. "Yeah, sure. Hatori sir, perhaps we should find someone else to interrogate."

The doctor chuckled at the woman and shook his head. "You all really don't get it, do you?"

"I do. You're nuts."

"He'll destroy you, all of you. And you won't even see it coming. Do you even know what kind of man you're dealing with? Hitachi is already a god. Now he's about to get the recognition he has always deserved."

Hatori found himself more than skeptical of the doctor's claims. "Please doctor, do enlighten us about Mr. Hitachi's… 'godhood.'"

The doctor replied to Hatori's request with an expression of disgust. "Do you all even know how old Hitachi actually is? Let me guess, your pitifully inaccurate files say he was born in 1949. Self made billionaire who appeared in the software and technology business, practically out of nowhere, in the late 1980s. Am I right?"

"Yeah, so?"

"So first of all, Hitachi isn't fifty five years old. Try one hundred and six."

"That's impossible." Hatori asserted. "He doesn't even appear half that old."

"Because he benefits from technology that he developed in his thirties, much of which still hasn't come to light to this very day."

Hatori now reluctantly found himself beginning to take the geneticist's words seriously. He questioned further. "What technology?"

"You simply have to think about it. What was going on during that time period?"

"World War II." Scott answered quickly. He seemed proud to provide input in the conversation.

"Precisely. And if you all have any rudimentary knowledge of Japanese history, you'll know that we allied with Germany during the conflict. Anyone know a large part of the reason for this?"

"Quit wasting our time." Said Koi, annoyed. "Just spit it out."

"They were interested in a particularly brilliant scientist and engineer we possessed who could help them attain their goals, one Myotis Hitachi."

Suya shook her head. "He's in our files. That was Yukio Hitachi's grandfather. He died in the Hiroshima bombing."

"No, he most certainly did not, because he is my current employer." The doctor paused, as if awaiting another expression of disbelief, but none came. He continued. "The death in your files had to have been fabricated. Hitachi was much too important a man to have been left unprotected on the home front at the end of the war."

"Too important?" Asked Scott.

The doctor nodded. "Of course, the history books don't show it, but Hitachi was the man that was truly responsible for the advent and use of concentration camps as medical research facilities. He needed willing participants for performing his experiments and, unfortunately, subjects weren't always so cooperative. They tended to die. A lot. So he turned to the most abundant supply. The Germans provided him with plenty, as they wanted to adapt Hitachi's ideas to their own war efforts, trying to create the perfect Aryan, but none of their scientists possessed his absolute brilliance. They never came close to making all the wonderful discoveries he did.

"You see, his secret was that he was incredibly organized. He knew who to test and who to send to the chambers immediately. He kept detailed records on familial histories and attributes of each of his patients. That way he better knew exactly what traits caused the effects in his tests. He was able to learn and eliminate. And with an endless amount of subjects, his tests progressed rather quickly. The funny thing was, he tended to perform most of the tests on Americans POWs, not the Chinese, as one would think. To hear Hitachi tell it, Pearl Harbor was one of the most joyous days of his life. Apparently, the relative diversity of the American gene pool was irresistible to him."

For a moment the room was silent under the gravity of the doctor's words.

Predictably, it was Koi that finally broke the silence. "And just why the hell would Hitachi possibly tell you all of this?"

"Because he had to explain to me the basis of how he acquired all of the data that I used to create the mutates."

"I don't believe any of it."

"Believe what you want, I don't care. But this is the truth. And the most important part you should know about all I'm telling you is the method which Hitachi invented to keep track of all of his research, to keep all those millions of patients properly organized in groups, to keep their data available so it could be cross referenced, purged, improved-"

Scott let loose a small gasp. "Are you saying he created a computer?"

"Of course. It was about the size of three of these laboratories and took a team of ten engineers to help construct, but it was an early computing device nonetheless. It was the very beginning of binary code machinery and thus, the very first portal to the Digital dimension. Isn't it funny how these things tend to happen? Hitachi's true passion was genetic research. It was only the side product that he created to advance that goal that is the reason we are all here today."

Koi sighed. "This is ridiculous. Hatori, shoot him."

The doctor looked at Koi and adjusted his spectacles. "What's ridiculous? You thought that the claims of Hitachi being the creator of the Digital World were just figures of speech? You thought all those rumors of the Nazi's possessing computing machines over sixty years ago were blatant lies? Well, they weren't. Hitachi created the world's first computer, and years later, after the Western governments had confiscated the technology and studied every inch of it, they released it back to the world, claiming it as their invention. But they can't hide it all. The first ever gate to the digital world still exists where Hitachi performed his experiments so many years ago."

"Highton View Terrace." Hatori grumbled. "And yet, none of that explains how Hitachi is alive to this very day and looks so young."

For the first time, the doctor frowned. "Those are secrets he hasn't divulged to anyone, other than to say that it all was a result of his own research."

Koi looked to his superior. "Hatori, you can't be taking any of this seriously. I mean, come on."

"It does seem farfetched." Suya agreed.

Hatori ignored them. "This 'joining with the Dark God' you spoke of, how does he do it?"

"That is something I cannot tell you. My loyalty to Hitachi is absolute."

"Oh really?" Said Scott. "And what do you call what you've been doing the last few minutes?"

"I certainly have not been testing that loyalty. If anything, I strengthened it."

"What, how can you possibly-?" Hatori paused as the doctor's meaning hit him like a train. "You've been stalling us."

"Just tranq him!" Suya shouted. "We can question further him back at the Chamber."

Hatori was about to do just that, but paused when he heard noises approaching from outside the room. He quickly grabbed Scott and without a word spoken, shoved the young man into the closet that the doctor had been hiding in. Hatori then trained his weapon back on the geneticist, but alarmingly found himself suddenly unable to move. His gun clattered harmlessly to the floor. Something had overtaken Hatori's body and left him completely paralyzed from head to toe. At that moment, a dark portal suddenly appeared beside the doctor and the man wasted no time in leaping into it. Hatori tried with all his might to follow him, but still couldn't get his body to obey any of his commands.

"I can't allow that." Uttered a deep and ominous voice.

Something then entered into the room; something that Hatori knew had no business being capable of speech. It looked like a hulking 7 foot tall, 500-pound bodybuilder who'd dyed his skin a mottled dark gray and wore a set of opaque white contacts. "You cannot move because I do not want you to." The being sauntered into the laboratory, flanked by three armed guards, and a middle aged looking American trailed behind him.

Hatori recognized Scott's father at once. He tried to move or at least call out a warning, but the creature's mysterious hold on him was absolute.

"Hatori Kageru?" With plodding footfalls, the creature strode over to stand directly in front of Hatori, where he held his gross approximation of a face mere inches from the CADE operative's. "Well this is quite the honor. CADE sent one of their highest ranking officers just to see our little lab. And here I thought you had given up your notable field career to become one of their pencil pushers. Either way, you should prove quite useful for interrogating." The creature's eyes flicked away from Hatori. "But these other two…"

With a nod, the creature sent a command to his guards. They stepped forward, raised their weapons, and aimed directly at the immobile forms of Koi and Suya. The room was filled with the sound of brief gunfire, then fell silent again. Even if Hatori could turn to look, he still wouldn't have. At that range, he knew that the two agents were gone. He did his best to compose himself and not react emotionally to the event

The creature moved away from Hatori, so that they now stood a few feet apart. He held his hands folded behind his back in an unexpected pose of civility. "So, how do you like how the first stage of my transformation has turned out?"

Transformation? Hatori's mind began to race furiously. Like the doctor had been talking about? This man, this _thing_, was Hitachi? What the hell could he possibly have done to himself? _Why_ would he do it?

"Though you cannot speak, I am fairly clairvoyant of your thoughts." The creature said. "I think you'll find that I am a man willing to do anything for power, even if it means altering my appearance to this extent. The abilities I have been given are well worth it."

Hatori mentally shook his head. Nothing could be worth that.

"Do you know what it is like to create a dimension? No, you do not. It's an incredible feeling, to be the creator and ruler of an entire universe."

That couldn't have been true. Hitachi didn't rule the Digital World. Hell, with Oikawa around, he couldn't even _go_ there.

"Then, because of a technicality, to have it stripped away. They said that its very duality, the ones and the zeros, gave it life. That, although _I_ had invented the use of binary code, because of the freedom of choice it allowed it existed within the realm of darkness and light, good and evil, right and wrong. It gave a machine its own AI and life. It allowed two forces to move within it and take control from me."

Hatori knew what those two forces had to be: Darkness and Light.

"That's right." Said Hitachi. "Good old Darkness and Light. The indomitable forces that govern us all. They kicked me out of my own construct, took control of a dimension that was rightfully mine. For years, I worked on building the technology to defeat them, but it all proved fruitless in the end. Ethereal beings simply do not succumb to manmade devices. So instead, about eight years ago, I came up with a new school of thought; If you can't beat them, join them, then beat them. Thus, I have-"

Hitachi suddenly stopped, as if something had sprung to his mind and interrupted his thoughts. He turned around and glanced at the laboratory's storage closet. "I believe there is one here I have yet to account for." He nodded to a guard, who ran to the closet, flung the door open, and dragged out a struggling Scott Barke.

Hatori was forced to watch in anguish as the boy was thrown roughly to the floor and yelped as he was kicked violently in his side.

"Bring him to me." Hitachi commanded.

The guard snatched Scott by his uniform collar and began pulling him. "Hey! Don't-" Scott stopped protesting as he was dragged across the floor upon spying his father. "Dad? Is that you?"

Mr. Barke didn't respond to his son's question, but the pained look in his eyes spoke volumes.

At that moment, Hatori suddenly found Hitachi's paralyzing hold had loosened. He tried to leap into action immediately by charging the guard dragging Scott, but found his movement restricted again by another type of force, the arms of the other guards now wrapped tightly around his arms and torso.

Hitachi quickly walked over to the guard holding Scott and snatched him from his hands. He held the boy high in the air by the neck and began to grin while he watched him choke.

"You," He bellowed. "like the other two agents, are also expendable."

* * *

A police chopper spiraled out of control in midair. Plumes of smoke issued forth from the craft's tail as the last remnants of its rear rotor splintered away and streaked out in all directions, piercing easily through the sides of surrounding buildings, cars, and people. Several of the blue mutates were visible flying away from the craft, their mirthful laughs hanging on the air as they reveled in its destruction.

"On it!" WarGreymon, who had been on the ground with Sparks, fighting off a group mutants led by Red, took off into the air without a hint of hesitation, heading directly for the craft with his arms outstretched to catch it.

The helicopter was no sooner caught and carefully placed on the ground, than did the Red mutate use the distraction to streak past Sparks and impressively heft a nearby minivan they'd just loaded with evacuees onto his shoulders. He took off with it, laughing maniacally as the moderately sized vehicle teetered precariously in his hold.

Sparks let out an ear splitting roar and immediately gave chase after the mutant. "I got him!"

WarGreymon made to follow them after freeing the helicopter's harried occupants, but paused when a sudden movement caught his eye. Two large SUVs pulled up and came to screeching halts in the middle of the street. Matt jumped out of the driver's side of one of them, followed by the rest of the digidestined that had been left at the Chamber. They all ran across the street to WarGreymon upon seeing him.

"What are you all doing here?" WarGreymon bellowed in disbelief. "It isn't safe!"

"We came to help!" Matt shouted. He and all of the others immediately began to evolve their digimon to their Champion levels.

"You have to be kidding me." Rosemon came in to a landing beside WarGreymon and released an armful of evacuees to the safety of the ground. "You all are putting yourselves in danger."

"No, like I said, we came to help." Matt surveyed the area. "We figured you all could use the aid of our digimon with this battle."

"No offense Matt, but they aren't trained like we are. This isn't like the old days. If they try to fight, they'll be killed. Remember what happened to Gatomon and Wormmon when they tried to take on the red mutant?"

"Well, they may not be as well trained as the others, but there has to be something we can do."

"Maybe they could help in the evacuation?" Rosemon suggested.

WarGreymon looked from him, down to Matt, and bowed his head momentarily in thought. "Okay. The digimon can help then. If they digivolve we can get far more people out of the buildings than we currently are. That way, Rosemon and I can fight off the mutants while you save the people."

"Good." Matt said with a nod. "That works for me."

"But under no conditions are any of you to engage the enemy." WarGreymon's gaze shifted to the wolf-like Garurumon, whom he recognized as the group's de-facto leader. "Just help get the residents safely out of these buildings. Only you digimon. This is too dangerous for your partners."

"Right." Garurumon agreed. "Alright guys. Let's get to work."

The mass of large champions began to disperse, with Garurumon leading the land bound digimon, while Birdramon led the fliers. One digimon hadn't evolved, however, and didn't go with the others. Instead he ran off in the opposite direction, towards the epicenter of the ongoing battle.

"Armadillomon, where are you going?" Sora shouted.

He only hollered back, "I gotta find Cody!" before running out of sight beneath a haze of smoke and dust.

Sora looked as if she was about to pursue the determined rookie, but WarGreymon halted her with a shout. "Let him go! There is nothing you would be able to do to stop him even if you did catch up to him."

"And just what _are_ we supposed to do, then?" Called out Izzy.

"You need to find somewhere safe and take cover. Just remain close enough that your digimon remain in their evolved forms."

"I don't think so." Joe protested. "I saw the news. There are people out here, soldiers and police officers, who may need our help and medical attention. As a doctor, I did not come here to simply be a spectator."

Even with his arm in a sling, Joe wore a look of determination that WarGreymon was in no mood to counter. "Fine, but stick to the outskirts of the battle as you help the wounded."

"I'm with Joe then." Izzy said.

Mimi stepped up beside him. "So am I."

The rest of the group chimed in with unanimous choruses of agreement.

WarGreymon sighed in frustration. Why couldn't they understand? This wasn't like all those years ago. Their lives were in much more danger this time. They had no idea what they were getting themselves into.

"Fine," Rosemon said. "But if you all are going to be helping the wounded, I suggest you start with those two." He pointed to Ken and Noriko, who were doubled over grimacing and seemed to be in a great deal of pain. "They don't look so good."

Yolei and Sora rushed to Noriko and Ken respectively.

"Ken, baby what's wrong?" Asked Yolei as she put her arms under her boyfriend for support.

"I-I don't feel too good." He squeezed his eyes shut and groaned while putting his hands on his head. "It's like...like before, when I was the…"

Yolei's eyes widened and she looked to Sora with a hint of fear in her gaze.

By contrast, Sora maintained an even keel as she kneeled in front of Noriko and peered closely into the younger girl's face. "She has the same look in her eyes as she did when Oikawa drained her spore."

"No." Mimi gasped. "What should we do?"

"Take them back to the vehicles." Matt said. "TK, bring Kari too. She's pretty much out of it as well."

TK nodded and looked at his girlfriend. Her expression was blank, as if she were somewhere a million miles away. "Yeah, okay."

Izzy scratched his chin and looked around. "Something must be going on behind the scenes here to affect these three like this. They're the only ones of us that have an acute sensitivity to dark forces."

"We'll sort it out later. Let's just get them to safety for n-" A white flash interrupted Matt and the entire group was knocked to the ground by the force of a stray rocket impacting with their CADE issue SUVs. The heat of the explosions washed over the area like a tidal wave, before fading away and leaving only the charred flaming frames of the vehicles in its wake.

WarGreymon and Rosemon flew down to the group and shielded them from whatever shrapnel might still be waiting to explode from the leftover flames.

"Are you all okay?" WarGreymon asked.

"Yeah." Sora grunted as she rubbed her back. "I think so." She had used the instincts afforded by her maternal nature to shield Noriko from the worst of the blast.

As he got up, Matt looked around WarGreymon to what was left of their vehicles. "Well there goes that plan."

"We told you all this was dangerous." Rosemon said as he helped TK and Kari to their feet.

"So, now what?" Mimi asked. She ran a shaky hand through her hair and seemed particularly unnerved.

"I don't know about you all," said Joe as he used his one good arm to help himself up. "But I came here to help people, and that's still what I'm going to do." He picked up his first aid bag and began to walk off in the direction of the battle, where a few Odaiba police officers could clearly be seen lying in the street.

"He's very persistent." Rosemon observed.

"So are we." Matt said. He face seemed even more determined with the glow of the flames dancing off of it. "Come on guys. Let's do what we can to help him."

As one, the group followed Joe. Sora, Yolei, and TK, brought up the rear as they aided their entranced charges.

"Should we allow this?" Rosemon asked WarGreymon. "They're putting themselves in a lot of danger. They could be killed."

"It's their choice. They know what they're getting into and we can't deny them to opportunity to help." He took off from the ground and Rosemon followed. "Besides, the sooner we end this battle, the safer they'll be. I'm going to go find Sparks now."

"I'll go help Rosa. She seemed a bit out of control earlier when she went after Puppetmon."

"Yeah, you're right. Good luck."

"Same."

With that, the mega evolved digimon parted in separate directions to carry out their respective missions.

* * *

Inside Hitachi's shipping tower, a pile of rubble stirred as something beneath it began to move. A hand appeared, small, petite, yet strong, seeking to escape the mound of debris. It pushed aside much of the glass, stone, and metal in a single swipe, then groped for purchase on something solid before pulling out the rest of the body it was attached to. Jun took a deep breath after freeing herself from her suffocating prison, then turned back to face it with a single alarming thought. _Tai._

She dove back to the pile and began sifting through it, searching for even a slight hint of the reflective black fabric of Tai's uniform, of the orange sheen of his shield symbol.

"Tai...please, where are you?"

A faint clatter drew Jun's attention, prompting her to look over her shoulder in the direction of the sound. There, she saw a silhouetted figure standing in front of the gaping hole that her assault on Tai had left in the side of the building. Flashes of light from the war outside intermittently illuminated the figure, poised at the open ledge, seemingly ready to jump at any moment.

"Tai?" Jun braced herself with a hand and rose from the debris very gradually, careful to make as little sound as possible. "Tai, what's wrong?"

When the figure didn't respond, Jun began moving toward him, her eyes never wavering from his callously turned back.

"Tai…?" Still no response. Upon reaching him, Jun placed a gentle hand on Tai's shoulder. He responded only in slight and turned his head incrementally to look at her out of the corner of his eye.

"What?"

The cold distance and lack of emotion in his voice caused Jun to take a surprised step back.

"W-what are you doing?"

"I'll kill him." Tai's eyes darted back out onto the chaotic landscape before him. "Where did he run to? Where is that coward? I'll kill him."

Now Jun's concern was starting to transform into outright fear. How had their collision not knocked him back to his senses? Tai looked down at her.

"Don't try to stop me this time."

"Tai, what the hell is going on with you?" Jun began to move towards him before stopping short and bringing a hand to her mouth. Tai's eyes had transformed from their usual dark brown hue to a more sinister jet black. In addition, they somehow seemed to be swirling, creating a whirlpool of his irises around his pupils. "Oh my God."

Without a word, Tai entered into a crouching stance and appeared ready to launch back into the fray outside. Jun reacted swiftly by reaching out and grabbing his arm.

"Tai, you can't-" Her sentence was cut off as a powerful hand pushed her shoulder and forced her backwards.

"Get away from me."

"Tai, wha-?" Jun could barely speak. The insurmountable hurt she felt at Tai's action was unexpected even to her. "W-why are you doing this?"

"If I have to defeat you to reach him, I won't hesitate."

"Tai, I'm not going to fight you."

"Then move."

"No."

There was a very brief pause where only the slightest hint of confusion flashed across Tai's countenance before his stony expression returned. It was enough to convince Jun.

"Tai, something's wrong. You're not yourself. If you just let me help you-"

"Move!" Tai leapt at Jun with a glare. He craned his arm back, with the glowing red aura of an impending Terra Force attack pulsing at its end.

Jun reacted by lunging forward to meet Tai. She gained purchase on the front of his uniform before he could bring his arm forward and swung him roughly into a nearby wall. Tai didn't even lose his footing after the maneuver and came back at her with the tenacity of a rabid Doberman.

Jun was able to dodge a few of Tai's punches and kicks before one blow caught her in the midsection and sent her careening across the floor and back into the pile of rubble with a loud crash.

Jun ignored the pain coursing through her body and quelled her shock at Tai actually hitting her. She had to reach him before he left. Jun pushed aside a slab of concrete and a metal support beam that had fallen on top of her and got back to her feet. She spotted Tai heading for the gaping hole, partly obscured by the sparks from exposed electrical wires cascading all around him. He entered into a pouncing stance.

"Stop Tai!" Jun rushed forward and tackled him from behind, causing the two to tumble end over end until they slid to a stop near the very edge of the ledge. Tai was able to easily gain the upper hand over the smaller Jun and pinned her to the ground roughly by her shoulders.

"Stop this." He growled. As she struggled against Tai's grip Jun noticed that Tai's voice sounded like a strange mixture of evil and technology, if that made any sense. It was foreboding, yet robotic. "Don't you know that I will kill you, if you don't?"

Jun's eyes narrowed. "You're not Tai. If you were, you'd know that I'd rather die than let you go back out there like this."

"Very well." Tai raised a fist over Jun's head and allowed red energy to once again accumulate there. He wore a wholly unnatural scowl as he glared down at her. "Then die."

"Tai…" A lone tear coalesced in Jun's eye and hovered there for a moment before falling over the side of her face. "I love you."

Tai's expression fell at that moment, replaced by a grimace and the formation of numerous beads of sweat across his forehead. The attack he was forming faded away and he brought the hand that was wielding it to his temple.

"Argh, what's wrong with me? Why can't I-?" He clenched his teeth and his hand began to pulsate as it repeatedly cycled between building up Terra Force energy and allowing it to dissipate. "I c-can't… Why?"

He let out another grunt of pain and the hand he was using to hold Jun down released its grip slightly.

Jun seized the opportunity and pulled herself up to rest upon her elbows. Without hesitation, she leaned up and pressed her lips against his. At first, Tai seemed surprised by the sudden maneuver, but he didn't break their touch. Instead, he gradually melted into the developing kiss, resisting less and less until his lips joined in perfect unity with Jun's and both caressed one another with equal amounts of passion. Tai's arms first went from rigid to limp, then began to slowly drift upwards until they'd wrapped themselves gently around Jun's waist.

Jun responded by encircling her arms around Tai's shoulders and clenching tightly. She delved into his as deep as she possibly could, understanding that her love for Tai had to penetrate every part of his psyche if she was to have any effect. When the kiss finally broke, Tai and Jun shared a poignant visual exchange before Tai began to look around their dilapidated surroundings in alarm.

"J-Jun?" He stammered. "What happened? I- can't remember…" Tai placed a hand to his forehead and clenched his teeth once again.

Filled with relief, Jun caressed Tai's face and simply smiled as she pulled him into a strong embrace. "Thank God."

"For what, Jun? What happened to me?"

Jun's expression dropped a little as she considered the question. "I'm not sure. Daemon may have shot you with a dark spore-"

"Daemon?" A flash of anger passed across Tai's face and his gaze drifted upwards, towards the hole.

At that, Jun grabbed Tai's head fiercely and forced him to look down at her. "Oh no you don't! Tai, you can't just let him consume you! He's using you against yourself and you're hurting everyone here because of it!"

Tai was silent and his face contorted into an unreadable expression.

"You're right." He finally said. He got to his feet and reached down to give Jun a hand up. She took it. "I understand now."

As Jun returned to her feet, Tai tuned away from her and bowed his head in an introspective pose. "There was, or is, something in me, but I don't think it's any kind of dark spore. And I don't think I'm the only one affected by it, either. It's like…" He looked up and peered out of the opening before them at the battle beyond. He squinted his eyes, as if searching for something. "It's like it's in the air, if that makes any sense."

Jun nodded at Tai and bit her lip pensively. She walked forward to stand beside him. "Then what do you think we should do?"

"We have to help everyone else that this thing is affecting. We need unity out there." Tai unclipped his digivice from his belt and motioned for Jun to do so, as well. When she did, he took her hand in his and gave her a small smile. A gentle pull turned Jun to face him directly. "And I need to thank you."

"Tai, you never have to thank me." She said. A glow started to emanate from the digivices the two held between them, bathing the pair in a high contrast of light and shadow. "You know that. I did exactly what I know you would have done for me."

Tai's eyes blinked rapidly, holding back the emotion that Jun knew he couldn't afford to express at the moment. The lights of their digivices connected into one.

"And the same thing we will do for everyone else," Tai said. "Together." He leaned in towards Jun and she reciprocated the action instinctively. The intense light that was building between the two lovers enveloped them completely as their lips once again came into contact.

* * *

Sparks looked over the wreckage in front of him. He'd successfully managed to save the lives of the evacuees aboard the van Red had taken, but at a great price. Red had deposited the vehicle aboard an elevated railway, just as a train was approaching. Without much time to react, Sparks had been forced to redirect the monorail from its tracks and through the side of a nearby office building. Though Sparks knew that there was a good chance that no one had been aboard the monorail, he still remained horrified at the mere possibility that he may have killed anyone.

"Wow." A low cocky voice drifted to Sparks. "Someone sure enjoys playing God."

Sparks turned and found Red approaching him atop the elevated trestle. "Do you think it was worth it, saving that vanload of people and condemning everyone else to die?"

"You killed them"

Red shrugged. "Well sure, if you had left well enough alone, I would have taken credit for quite a masterpiece there, but you had to go and ruin it all by deciding the train passengers were less worthy of living that the people in the van."

"No I didn't!"

"Sure you did. I can't fathom what could bring about such discrimination towards someone's transportation preferences."

"Shut up!" Sparks leapt forward, extending his claws with every intention of ripping Red to shreds. Red bounded down the trestle laughing and Sparks chased after him with a loud roar of outrage. He followed the mutate down into the streets and around a corner, behind which a very large contingent of blue and gray mutates was awaiting him. Red stopped running and turned back towards Sparks with his trademark wide reptilian grin.

"I suppose you'll soon learn just how much death is to be appreciated."

Sparks looked around frantically while the mutants began to take up positions on all sides of him. Large globs of saliva descended from their mouths as they salivated over their impending kill.

"Die!" Red swung both of his arms forward, releasing his usual bands of destructive energy and smiling as they chewed through the gravel and asphalt of the downtown streets. Sparks leapt to the side just before the deadly attacks reached him and watched apprehensively as the bands took out a stoplight and several parked cars behind him.

Sparks turned back to his enemy. "You'll have to do better than-

One of the mutants leapt down upon the SaberLeomon's back and bit down hard into his mane. Another joined it and began clawing and slashing at Sparks's thick hide. Sparks growled and violently threw his assailants from his back, yet no sooner had he dislodged the pests than did three more mutates take their place. Countless others surrounded Sparks and began to attack at his heels.

Sparks roared and slashed around randomly as he felt the hot sting of hundreds of claws, teeth, and attacks boring into his hide and drawing blood in many places. Once they brought him down to his knees, Sparks finally decided that he'd had enough. He crouched low, disappearing for a moment under the weight of his unrelenting horde of attackers, before unleashing an incredibly powerful wave of golden hued energy from his very core. The mutates that weren't killed instantly by the attack were sent flying in many directions, into the sides of buildings, through windows, some even smashed into their allies that stood out of range of the initial explosion. Red, being the opportunistic coward that he was, managed to take cover behind one of the wrecked train cars just in the nick of time.

When the golden glow of Sparks's powerful attack faded, the mega-digimon found himself severely weakened. He tried to move forward, but was barely able to lift a paw before lurching forward and stumbling to the ground.

"Well, well." Red's distinctive voice carried over to Sparks, accompanied by patronizing applause. "I must say, that was very impressive."

Sparks struggled to get to his feet but only flailed his limbs about futilely.

"Get away, you-" Sparks stopped and had to take a deep breath.

Red smiled as he casually walked over to his weakened adversary and raked a clawed hand across Sparks's nose. Blood spurted from the three identical slashes and the SaberLeomon remained conspicuously silent, too tired to even scream out in pain. Red watched, transfixed, as a few drops of Sparks's blood trickled down his fingers and fell from the tips of his claws to the ground.

"Nice. Very nice. But this isn't nearly as much fun without the terrified screams. In fact, it's boring." His claws began to glow once more. "So, you can just die now."

"You first!"

A blast of red energy hit the mutant dead on, exploding with an immense amount of force and leaving only a crater and a few trails of smoke in its wake.

WarGreymon came in for a landing beside Sparks. "You okay?"

Sparks nodded, barely.

WarGreymon looked around at the damage surrounding the area. "You used your holy explosion attack didn't you?"

Sparks nodded again.

"You really thought that was a good idea, even though you know it should be used as only an extreme last resort in battle and would leave you pretty much powerless?"

Sparks glared at his savior out of the corner of his eye and extended one of the claws on his otherwise limp paw to form a highly suggestive gesture. "Shut…up."

The ground behind the two megas exploded and a red blur shot into the air. It soared over Sparks and WarGreymon and came back down a few feet in front of them. Red looked at the two from the crouch he'd landed in and grinned once again.

"Nice try, WarGreymon, but you forget that I'm a being of many talents, don't you? Not the least of which is the ability to quickly burrow into the ground."

A multitude of mutants began to approach from around the corners of buildings. The ones that had been lying on the ground unconscious started to get up, as well.

"Great." WarGreymon muttered to Sparks. "The ones you didn't kill, you really pissed off."

Red's eyes grew progressively brighter as the determination in his voice heightened. "I will have my kill on this night."

WarGreymon moved in front of Sparks and took up a defensive position. Sparks, too tired to protest his friend's presence, was forced to resign himself to this. He knew that WarGreymon would not leave his side, no matter what. There was a distinct possibility that they would both meet their destruction here.

At that very moment, a wave of power and intense light then enveloped the two and a sensation Sparks had felt only once before began to overcome him. By the time the light had faded completely, Sparks felt not only completely restored, but detected another consciousness within his own.

Red's eyes lost their glow and his aggressive posture disappeared as he looked up at the impressive new enemy before him. He utilized only one word to express his newfound emotions.

"Damn."

* * *

J'ai blasted out of the tower and streaked out over the streets of downtown, all the while avoiding the random gunfire, missiles, and digital attacks that filled the air. His powerful, omega level evolution afforded J'ai with a sense of omniscience. He could feel everything that was going on in the area, like a rudimentary connection with every single person locked in battle. He could feel that that the Knights and digidestined were losing. They were out of balance, out of synch, and lacking cooperation. He had to put events into motion to balance it out. J'ai banked hard around a building and ascended upwards, where he could feel the most crucial of the night's battles were taking place. Upon spotting Kuri and Davis, J'ai immediately went to join them in their fight against Ineg.

The two took note of J'ai's arrival, between dodging attacks, with some surprise.

"You're that…person again?" Davis observed. He paid for his distraction when an attack from Ineg came within inches of his head and knocked him slightly off balance. Kuri rushed to Davis's side and steadied him as J'ai pulled out one of his sais and fired a retaliatory strike that caught the Dark Guardian directly in the chest. The force of the blow actually knocked Ineg back into the side of a metal communications tower mounted atop nearby a rooftop. The relatively fragile construct crumpled and collapsed on top of him with a deafening crash as a massive cloud of dust billowed over the area.

"Yes, we are."

"Well, we certainly feel useful." Kuri said dryly, looking at the destruction that one blow from the new arrival had caused.

J'ai looked over his shoulder at her. "You are. We must battle according to our abilities. You must help the others."

Davis gave J'ai a look. "Funny, that's kinda what I thought we were doing. And where the hell have you been, anyway?"

"I have been learning. Davis, Daemon is here, as are the others that were left at the Chamber."

"What? No." Davis's expression turned to one of worry. "He'll want revenge against the ones that defeated him. Like last time. They're in trouble."

"Help them."

Davis bolted from the area with no further instructions and Kuri was hot on his heels.

J'ai turned his attention back to Ineg, who had yet to reappear from the dust cloud. A conversation played in the entity's mind between its two primary parts.

_We can't kill him, without killing Gennai._

_Then we will surprise him with what he can live through._

Ineg finally emerged from the cloud and glared at J'ai with an expression of shock mingled with anger. J'ai entered into a defensive stance and continued his internal conversation.

_We have toppled the first domino._

_Now the others must fall in place._

_To be continued…_

* * *

Next Up: **Revenge and Dark Hearts Pt. III** **(sec. 2) **

What will be the fates of Cody and Scott Barke? How will the Original Digidestined fare in their first real battle? Will Rosa finally realize her revenge against Puppetmon, and likewise Keyan against the Assassin? Find out in the next chapter of Digital Knights.

That's where I had to cut this part off. The next chapter will be up in only a couple of days! Keep checking in for the update.


	21. Vengeance and Dark Hearts Pt 3 2

Here is the second part, as promised. Enjoy!

* * *

**Vengeance and Dark Hearts Pt III continued (sec 2)**

The sheet descended again. Curtis ducked Piedmon's latest attack and lunged at the Dark Master with a swing of his axe. Piedmon parried the blow and sent the smaller Curtis stumbling over the edge of their small rooftop, forcing the Meditative Knight to clutch onto the roof's ledge at the last second to prevent himself from falling the fifty or so stories down to the ground.

"Curtis!" He heard his partner yell out. He felt the roof began to shake with the force of several giant footfalls as Taps ran over to where he was hanging.

"Taps, I'm alright! Get Machinedramon!" Curtis pulled himself back up, but not before taking a quick glance down at Rosa's progress on the lower rooftop and seeing that she was beginning to lose in her battle with Puppetmon. "I have to go help Rosa!"

"What? And leave me here with these two by myself?!"

"Not quite." Curtis pointed to two flying figures heading towards them in the air: Clara, with Terence suspended in her arms.

The two came into a landing on the rooftop, throwing attacks before they even touched down and knocking both Piedmon and Machinedramon back and nearly over the edge.

"Bro!" Terence called out. "How's it going here?"

"Not good!" answered Curtis. "Rosa's in trouble!"

Terence looked around between taking mace swings at Piedmon. "I don't see her."

"She's not up here!"

"Then where?" Asked Clara. There was a bit of a frenetic quality to her voice as she looked around for her cousin.

"On top of a lower building! Clara, give me a ride down! I'll show you!"

Clara wasted no time in running over and grabbing Curtis by the hand before they both leapt from the roof.

"Wait!" Terence hollered as they descended away. "What about me and Taps?!"

"Just hold them off!" Curtis called back. "We'll be right back!"

He heard Terence shout a few choice curses, but ignored them and guided Clara down to where Rosa was battling Puppetmon. They landed on the smaller rooftop just in time to see the vengeful young girl get knocked across it and slam into a metal vent housing. She got to her feet slowly, her breaths coming hard and heavy while sweat poured down her face. Curtis noticed that Puppetmon didn't look much better, but it was obvious he had taken the upper hand in the fight.

"Come on little girl." The wooden digimon jeered. "Is that the best you got? That's how you avenge your friend's deaths?"

Rosa entered back into a fighting stance, but she seemed fatigued and slightly off balance. "I'm not done with you."

"Oh, I think you are." Puppetmon raised his mallet and began to charge.

With a quickness that Curtis didn't know she possessed, Clara zoomed over and took up a position between the two combatants. Then, with a wave of her arm, she released a wide crimson flame attack that knocked Puppetmon back a good twenty feet into the brick wall lining the sides of the roof.

"Clara!" Exclaimed Rosa angrily. "What do you think you're doing?!"

Clara raised a brow and looked over her shoulder at her enraged cousin. "I _thought_ I was helping."

"Well you're not, damn it! Now, with you guys here, he's going to try to run away before I can kill him!"

Curtis noticed that Rosa's energy level now seemed considerably higher than it was just a few seconds earlier. He surmised that she must have been faking fatigue before, in order to lure Puppetmon into opening himself up to a killing strike. It was very smart strategy, Curtis had to admit, but he knew it was ultimately flawed.

Rosa moved around Clara and began to run towards Puppetmon once again. Curtis took this moment to step into her path, knowing it could very well prove suicidal for him.

"You too?!" Rosa exclaimed as she came to a sudden stop. "What the hell is wrong with you two? Don't you see? I have to kill him!"

"Rosa I-" Curtis did his best not to be thrown off by the look of absolute loathing in his girlfriend's eyes. "You can't kill him."

"What? Are you serious? Did you forget what he did to Mr. Chan?"

"No, of course not. But I also see what he's doing to you-"

"Shut-up!" Rosa swung hard at Curtis and knocked him into the metal side of the building's rooftop maintenance shed. He slumped to the ground there and had to be helped up from the surprising blow by a concerned Clara.

"I'm okay." Curtis assured her; though he had to feel his jaw to be sure it was still attached.

"I don't get it." Said Clara. "What's wrong with her?"

The two turned to look at Rosa while she continued her charge towards Puppetmon.

"I don't know. I suppose it's the same thing that's wrong with everyone else tonight that has revenge on their minds."

"What?"

"Didn't you see how everyone tore off on their own agendas as soon as this battle started, especially her and Tai? I swear, it's like they were brainwashed or something."

Clara nodded. "So then, what do we do?"

Curtis shook his head. "Hell if I know. How can someone stop a mega evolved Knight on a rampage?"

Clara shrugged. "We could just let her kill him."

"That won't do anything to help her. Something is really wrong with tonight. I can feel it. Plus, it's not like she can actually kill him anyway."

"Are you kidding me? Why not?"

"Because he-"

Rosa's sudden scream broke Clara and Curtis's conversation. She had dropped her guard while approaching her recovering enemy and taken a surprise hit in the stomach from Puppetmon's mallet. The blow had sent her skidding diagonally across the roof surface, and when she came to a stop, she had a noticeably hard time getting back up from it.

"You're not the only one that can play possum!" Puppetmon cackled, his voice echoing. He raised his mallet over his head in a victorious pose, as if to welcome any new challengers.

"She's hurt." Clara said. She crouched, ready to take off and intervene on her cousin's behalf again, but was interrupted when the spot where Puppetmon was standing suddenly exploded into smoke and flames with a bright flash. The force of the blast actually knocked she and Curtis back a small distance.

"What was that?" She exclaimed frantically. "Where did that attack come from?"

Curtis spied something hovering over the opposite edge of their rooftop. "There." He pointed. "Some type of aircraft."

"One of the mercenaries maybe?" Clara suggested. "They missed?"

"No. The thing's way to high tech for them. Look how it shimmers with the surrounding light patterns. That's cutting edge stealth technology."

"Then who's piloting it?"

The craft's cockpit compartment began to open, giving Cutis and Clara a closer look at the woman inside.

"No." Cody breathed. "It can't be…"

"Oh yes it can." Clara's face broke into a wide grin and she grabbed Curtis by the arm. "That's Ms. Lee! Come on!"

With Clara pulling and flying, they reached the edge of the rooftop nearest the plane in a flash.

"Ms. Lee!" She gushed. "What are you doing here?"

Krista looked at Clara and simply nodded. "Sanchez." She undid her seat straps, stood up in her hovering craft, and neatly leapt down to the roof surface. She then walked over to the blackened crater where Puppetmon had been standing moments before and inspected it closely.

"Did I get him? Is he dead?"

Clara and Curtis shared a look. Apparently, whatever was going on tonight wasn't only affecting the Knights.

"I don't know." Curtis said honestly. "From my experience, when digimon die there's usually some pixellation."

Krista cut a stare at him. "And?"

"And…" Curtis didn't answer immediately, instead opting to go to Rosa's side as she approached the scene. Upon seeing that her reception to him was about as apathetic as Ms. Lee's had been, he spoke again. "I didn't really see any."

"So what are you saying Curtis?" Rosa demanded. "He could still be alive?"

Curtis remained silent. He knew his lack of response would be all the answer she needed.

"No!" Rosa let out a scream and fell to her knees. She looked at Krista accusingly. "Why couldn't you just stay out of it? I had him! I could've made sure he was dead!"

"You couldn't have done a damn thing." Krista said coldly. "I saw how your fight was going. Only I am worthy of avenging Xian."

"Bitch!" Rosa attempted to lunge forward at Krista, but Curtis grabbed her around the waist. She turned around and gave him a furious glare. "Let me go!"

"Rosa," he pleaded. "He could very well be dead! We just don't know!"

Krista reached down to her waist and pulled out a rather impressive looking plasma pistol. "Or he could still be somewhere around here, hiding. He can still be killed."

"I will kill him." Rosa tried to push Curtis away, but he responded by holding her even tighter. "Curtis, I said let go of me."

"No. This is stupid. You can't kill Puppetmon anyway."

"Curtis, let go of me right now." Rosa's words were quiet, but the fist she balled her hand into provided her statement with more than enough exclamation points.

"Or what, you're going to hit me? I'd rather you punch me than keep on acting like this."

"I'll knock you off of this roof. You can't fly."

The Meditative Knight looked at her skeptically. "You would do that? You would kill me?"

"No, I would do that, then keep my cousin from saving you. _That_ would kill you."

"Bull." Curtis let go of Rosa and instead stood in front of her, blocking her path. "I don't believe you. Do it."

"Curtis." Said Clara in a warning tone. "She's not herself right now."

"No, Clara. I want to see this. I don't think she's capable of this."

"Those will be your last words." Rosa reared her fist back and took a step towards Curtis.

"Then what are you waiting for? Oops, now I guess those will be my last words."

"I'll do it." Rosa's fist started to shake violently. Her eyes narrowed and her breathing quickened. She pursed her lips. "I swear, Curtis. I'll kill you."

"No, you won't."

Rosa stepped forward again and it looked like the movement physically pained her. She grimaced and sweat formed profusely on her brow. Her fist remained raised however, though now it was shaking more than ever.

Curtis decided to grasp the opportunity and try something else. "You won't, because I love you, Rosa."

At that, the Willful Knight fell to her knees and tears began to pour from her eyes in an unyielding torrent. She sobbed, her body wracking, and wrapped her arms around Curtis's legs. He reached down and stroked a comforting hand through her hair.

"It's okay." He said soothingly, stooping down to wrap his arms around her. He'd have never believed in a million years that Rosa would ever display such vulnerability. "I know you wouldn't have done it."

"I-I love you too Curtis. I-I don't know what happened to me. I just didn't have control."

Curtis nodded. He knew that a lack of control over her own actions might very well have been the most frightening thing Rosa had ever faced in her life. "It wasn't your fault. Something is using our emotions against us tonight, taking people's desires to the extreme. I know that you only wanted to avenge Xian and do him justice."

"But I didn't. I lost my mind, and instead we don't even know if Puppetmon's dead or got away." Rosa slammed a fist into the ground and several cracks shot out from the impact in all directions.

"Look, it doesn't really matter, Rosa. As long as Hitachi's around, Puppetmon can't truly be killed. His techs have his data on file, along with all the Dark Masters. Any time we kill them, they'll just keep reconstructing their data and bringing them back."

"What?" Rosa looked up at Cutis with an expression of surprise that transformed into confusion. "Why have you never told me this before?"

"Because, you were always too angry to hear it. It would only have made you madder and more bloodthirsty if I had told you this before tonight."

A long shadow descended over the couple and Curtis looked up to see Rosemon coming in for a landing beside them. "What happened?" He asked immediately after taking in Rosa's state. "Is she alright?"

Curtis nodded. "She is now." He helped Rosa rise back to her feet and smiled when she began to furiously wipe any evidence of tears from her face.

"Yeah, I'm okay Rosemon." She mumbled. "Just…got a little winded."

Quiet footsteps approached Curtis from behind and he turned around to see Krista there.

"Is that true?" She asked. "What you said, we have to take down Hitachi before we can kill Puppetmon or any of the Dark Masters?"

Curtis nodded. "Yeah, it's like they say, cut off the head,"

"And the body shall die." Everyone else finished the well-practiced statement in unison.

Clara walked over to the group. "And the only way we can go after Hitachi is if we all start looking out for each other and get out of tonight alive and in one piece."

"How about we start up there then?" Rosemon suggested.

Everyone's gazes followed his pointing finger up to a higher tower, where Terence and Taps were still taking on Piedmon and Machinedramon, plus a newly arrived MetalSeadramon.

"Crap!" Curtis yelled. "I forgot! We have to get up there and help them!"

Krista immediately began running back to her plane. "Alright then Knights, you know the drill! Let's move!"

* * *

A blurred, fragmented world slowly began to come into focus. As soon as he realized he was conscious once again, Cody's eyes popped open. He bolted upright from where he lay on a carpeted floor and took in his surroundings. He was in an office building, from the looks of it, still Atuma's office tower, just a lower story. The windows in the room flashed and glowed with every attack that was being launched in the ongoing fight outside and the walls rumbled with every explosion.

Cody gingerly rose to his feet and did his best to ignore the multiple epicenters of pain coursing throughout his body. Not even in his roughest kendo tournament had his body ever felt so abused. He began to scan the room, searching for a way out. How had he gotten here? The last thing Cody remembered was seeing that thing heading for him; that thing that had interrupted his fight with Jade, his chance for vengeance. The notion of his father's killer immediately caused his thoughts to become more narrowed. He began to move faster around the room. He had to get out of here, hunt her down again- Cody suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. The silhouette of a giant beast stood near the room's doorway.

"About time you woke up." The shadowed being growled.

Cody resisted the instinct building up within him to run. He'd prepared himself for the possibility of this meeting when he was first making his way from the Chamber to Atuma's office.

"Are you….Sato? Sato Kobe?"

The creature nodded and moved more toward the middle of the room, where the light from the windows could reach him. Cody stifled a gasp as he took in the creature's scaly orange skin, reptilian head, and dominating physique.

"So you figured it out eh," The thing muttered in a raspy voice. To Cody, its sound was reminiscent of a combination of a snake's hiss and a lion's roar, if that made any sense. "The fact that Hitachi was using prisoners t' make us?"

"Um, yeah. With the help of my friends. Kai- The Assassin told me what they did to you, how they set you up to take the fall for my father's murder."

"They only did what I allowed them to do. They manipulated me because of my anger. I was blinded by my own rage, my own desire for vengeance. That factory of mine the councilman had bulldozed, it was my livelihood, my only source of income."

"Money." Cody shook his head. Something about that just didn't add up. "You allowed them to use you, to convince you to kill a man, just for money?"

"People have killed for less, kid. And it wasn't really about the money anyway. It was about my wife. I needed every cent I earned to pay for an experimental procedure to remove an inoperable brain tumor she had. Docs had given her about three months to live, 'cause it had been discovered way too late." Sato laughed sadly, but it sounded more like a loud cough in his animal-like voice. "'Make sure she's comfortable' they told me, as if I was supposed to just sit there and take it. Well, that wasn't me. I kept searching for another way until someone approached me about a radical new procedure offered by a brand new medical corporation, GenTech."

"Hitachi's company?"

Sato nodded, conveying all the sorrow his limited features could muster. "They were playing me from the very beginning. There was never any procedure. They set the price well above my financial means, forcing me to double production at my factory if I wanted to meet their demands before my wife died. I mean, they just don't give out loans for the type of cash these guys were asking for. A couple days later, I received a cease and desist order from the government telling me I had to move my factory. I'd never make my necessary quota by the shutdown date they gave me. I snapped. And that's when The Assassin came along…"

"I know what happened from there. Did your wife-?"

"Passed while I was on trial."

"I-I'm sorry."

"It was my mistake. I have to live with it. The only part I regret is that an innocent man died as well."

"It wasn't your fault." Cody turned and looked out of the window as even more rage and anger filled him than before. "It was theirs."

"No kid. You can't do that. I didn't save you so you could go around, acting just like I did. They'll use it against you. Just like when you were fighting that woman upstairs, not knowing that she had sent a silent command signal for me to come help her."

Cody raised a brow at that particular fact.

"Look, you gotta be smart. You kids give me hope, you and your friends. You give the world hope. You can stop all this. You got real power and no one tells you what to do or buys you off. Maybe, just maybe, if you come out of all this on top, everything can turn right again. And then maybe I can get this reversed." Sato looked down upon the abomination that was now his body. "Go back and be a father to my kids, if they'll have me. I still got a chance if I can just make things right."

Cody gave Sato a slightly confused look. "But you're on the inside. You can do more than any of us."

"Nah. I can't even tell you where HQ is. I'm genetically imprinted to follow their voice commands. If the Assassin showed up right now and told me to kill you, I'd do it in a second. I got no control. None of us mutants do. That's why they were willing to put the Bayside Butcher in charge of our outfit."

"Bayside Butcher? The guy that killed all those people down by the docks a few years ago? He's the Red mutant? A serial killer?"

Sato nodded. "And it don't matter to them how crazy he is, as long as they can control him."

"They're absolutely sick and twisted. They don't care how much blood they shed, how many innocent lives are taken, to get what they want." Cody felt his burning desire to find Jade return in full force and his voice dropped a few octaves. "They have to be stopped."

"Did you listen to anything I said kid? You can't go running into this stuff all crazy and half-cocked. You know what that'll make you?"

"What?"

"A dupe. Nothing more than their dupe. Is that what you want?"

Cody simply stood there and seethed rather than providing an answer.

Sato went on. "Because I was a willing dupe, y'know. Oikawa was a willing dupe. And now you're falling into the same trap, kid. Don't let 'em control you. They use people, use their emotions. Hitachi used Jade and the Assassin, then they used me, so they could all use Oikawa, and then even he used your friend Ken. You gotta stop the cycle."

"But my father's murderer is somewhere in this building, possibly only a few floors away from me."

"And your friends are out there, and you know exactly where they are." Sato reached out and presented Cody with his improvised weapon and his father's sword. Cody supposed that Sato must have grabbed them during his fall. The well-crafted blade and iron bar seemed tiny when nestled between the mutant's massive fingertips. Cody snatched the weapons up and looked back out of the window, down to the street level, as Sato continued. "The decision is yours. Just make sure it's the right one for you, not them."

Cody considered his words as he peered closely out into the battle. After a moment, he spied a certain ebony haired young girl down at street level, cowering in fear as attacks flew over her head, left and right, and armed men ran back and forth all around her. His decision was made.

"I'm going down there." Cody sheathed his weapons and began to sprint across the room, towards a door outside that had a stairwell symbol painted on its front.

"Wait!" Sato reached down to the utility belt on his thigh and pulled out a couple of gleaming, silver firearms. "You'll need more than just that sword."

Cody paused at the door and shook his head. "No I don't. Guns killed my father and started this mess. I refuse to resort to using them."

"I suppose I can understand that." Sato replaced the weapons. "Then go. And be careful, Cody."

"I will. You do the same." With one last glance back at the former convict, Cody burst through the door and began tearing down the stairwell on the other side.

* * *

She closed her ears against them, closed her heart against the terrified and anguished screams of the people. Noriko felt the iciness building up within her soul, tearing at who she was, at everything she'd built herself up to be over the past seven years. She couldn't escape. She wouldn't be able to, not this time. Noriko had felt this before. She was well acquainted with the unyielding grip of torment that the dark spore held over her. She knew what was happening better than anyone. None of the others could help her. That's why she'd left them. She was alone in her private hell, once again.

At the moment she'd given up hope, a familiar voice called out to Noriko and pulled her out of her dark reverie with a jolt. Noriko jerked her head around and looked upon who had beckoned her. Impeccable stature, carried a sword in one hand, another blunt ended weapon in the other. Both weapons were suspended from well built arms that extended upwards into a pair of broad shoulders, a steady countenance. And a set of powerfully concentrated coal black eyes.

"C-Cody?"

The person nodded.

Noriko felt a cold chill descend around her, an encouraging sign of her mind's separation from the dark atmosphere that had penetrated it. She could still feel the influence of the spore within her, but now found its effect tempered by the arrival of an anchor to reality, a savior. Noriko gratefully ran to Cody and clasped her arms around him.

"Don't leave me, please."

"I won't." he assured her with a gentle stoke through her hair. "But we need to get you out of here, okay?"

Noriko nodded. "Okay. Please, just don't leave me."

The sudden sound of rapid gunfire on the air interrupted Noriko's voice and thoughts, causing her to bury her head deeper into Cody. Even as he guided her to safety, she sought comfort in his warmth, his scent. He was real. He was her anchor. She would never let him go.

* * *

Izzy and Joe grunted in unison as they dragged yet another Odaiba police officer out of the street and to the relative safety of the sidewalks.

"Mimi!" Joe shouted over his shoulder. The girl in question ran to his side, her arms laden with medical supplies.

"Compress please, and hurry."

Mimi shuffled through what was in her arms as fast as her nervous hands could manage until she finally found the right package. She thrust it towards Joe, who took the small bag with a mumbled thanks and pressed it firmly against the man's shoulder wound.

He wiped a hand across his forehead and motioned to Izzy, who stood nearby. "Here, hold this." Joe indicated the compress with a nod. "They're pulling in more policemen down there. Just hold this right here and slow down the bleeding. I'll be back."

Izzy nodded and dutifully took up Joe's position, allowing the digidestined of Reliability to sprint down the sidewalk as fast as he could to where Matt and Sora were dragging a rather portly patrolman out of the street.

"What-" A nearby explosion caused the three to flinch in unison. "What's going on here?"

Sora shrugged. "We're not sure. He was collapsed in the street but we couldn't find any wounds or signs of trauma."

"Okay." Joe bent down to check more closely on the unconscious man, who seemed to be laboring greatly just to breathe. "I believe may just be having exhaustion issues. Likely passed out due to a mixture of exertion and anxiety. We need to get him out of the street and sit him upright against one of the buildings."

The experienced doctor then turned and let out a shrill whistle. "Izzy, hand that compress to Mimi! We need your help over here! And bring the smelling salts from the kit!" He turned to Matt. "You and Izzy move him and make sure he sits up against the wall there. Sora, come help me find more wounded."

Sora nodded and began looking around. "Yeah okay-" She paused. "Hey, where are the others?"

Joe grimaced and adjusted his shoulder sling. "I sent them to take cover. Ken, Kari, and Noriko were just too far out of it to be of any use here. TK and Yolei are looking after them."

"Damn it, Joe." Sora sighed. "_We_ have to look after them. We shouldn't split up."

"Sora, you're not their mother and these aren't the old days. They'll be okay."

"I'll be the judge of that." She left, sprinting across the street and out of Joe's vision around a pile of rubble.

Joe turned around with a shrug and began scanning the streets for more wounded. He had to act quickly before he lost yet another assistant. It would be only a few moments before Matt noticed Sora's absence and went to find her.

* * *

Yolei looked across from the car she and Ken had taken cover behind, to where TK was kneeling and holding the entranced Kari as they huddled beside a toppled bus.

"Is there any way to properly quantify just how stupid this was?" Yolei yelled over the din of several explosions.

"But we had to come-" TK ducked when a bullet ricocheted off of the ground mere feet away from him. "We had to come to help! All these people Joe and the guys are saving would have been killed!"

"And _we'll_ get killed, soon enough!"

Ken let out a groan and Yolei pulled him closer to her. She nodded towards Kari. "I don't suppose she's in any shape to DNA digivolve?"

TK shook his head. "But I am. Unfortunately, I have no idea where the hell Cody is."

The mention of Cody brought another alarming absence to Yolei's mind. She looked around frantically. "Where's Noriko?" She asked. "Oh my God, she was just right here!"

Yolei released Ken and looked up over the car behind her. "I can't see her anywhere!" Her voice grew gradually more hysterical. ""No, no, no, oh no, she's in trouble! We have to find her!"

"Yolei!" TK shouted. "Yolei! Stop! We can't do anything for her! What, you want us to just leave Ken and Kari?"

"We can't just let her wander out into the middle of all this, alone. She'll be killed, if she isn't already-"

"Who'll be killed?" A voice interrupted Yolei's panicked postulations.

Sora had arrived back onto the scene. Her hair had become matted and her skin glistened with sweat. She took a look around as Yolei struggled to give her an answer. "Where's Noriko?"

"We don't know." TK responded. "She was here one second, then things really got hectic and we couldn't keep track of everything-" Sora's raised hand stalled him from speaking any further.

"I'm going to find her." The Digidestined of Love looked around for a moment, as if forming a plan of action, then, in a sudden movement, resolutely reached down to Ken's waist and removed one of his firearms.

TK protested. "Sora, you can't. Stay here, I'll go."

"No, TK, you have to protect Kari." Sora took the safety off the way Ken had showed them earlier and held the weapon out, pointing away from the group. "The both of you are where you're supposed to be. I'll go find her."

With that, Sora ran around the edge of TK and Kari's bus and back out into the streets. Yolei barely had time to register the girl's departure before another of the digidestined ran up behind her.

She now found herself looking up at a matted blonde mane and a pair of concerned blue eyes that practically mirrored TK's.

"Matt?"

"Yeah." Matt huffed. He looked much like Sora had, out of breath and covered with sweat. "You guys okay here?"

Both Yolei and TK nodded.

"Good. Where's Sora?"

Yolei glanced in the direction that Sora had gone, only seconds before. Matt acknowledged her glance and took off before she had a chance to give him a response.

"Don't worry," he called back over his shoulder as he ran. "I'll be back! I just need to make sure she's okay!" He disappeared around a corner into the night.

An incredulous expression blanketed Yolei's face as she looked in the direction that Matt had disappeared. She turned to TK. "Is that- is that what they were like…before?"

"Yeah," answered TK offhandedly as he peered around his cover to catch a glimpse of his brother. "Especially Sora. I'm telling you, Yolei," He turned his attention back to his entranced girlfriend and flinched as a loud pop rang out over the air. "It's starting to feel just like old times."

"I take it that isn't a good thing."

TK shook his head. "That's never a good thing."

* * *

"Taps, man this is so messed up." Terence and Taps both jumped as MetalSeadramon swept his digizoid armored tail across the entire surface of their rooftop, then darted to the sides to avoid yet another of Piedmon's sheets and a volley of Machinedramon's missiles.

"Tell me about it." The huge Boltmon growled.

"I mean, seriously." Terence was able to leap forward at Piedmon and deliver a crushing punch to the clown digimon's face. He had to immediately jump backwards however, as one of MetalSeadramon's River of Power attacks almost hit him dead on and instead took out a chunk of the roof surface. "How the hell can Curtis and Clara just leave us here and expect us to get out of this, two against three?"

"Simple!" Someone shouted. "We don't!"

Terence turned towards the sound of the voice and saw his brother hovering in the air, a few feet away from the roof.

"When did that boy get the ability to fly?" Piedmon snarled.

Curtis shrugged. "Never did. But it's not me you should be worrying about."

Three figures, two human and one digimon, descended down upon the fight like hell from above. Rosa and Clara both slammed into an unprepared Machinedramon at full force and knocked the robotic dragon well clear of the edge of the roof. He fell, limbs flailing, with a desperate metallic roar that eventually ended with a faint crash.

Meanwhile, Rosemon grabbed the now fleeing MetalSeadramon by the tail with his thorned whip attack and swung the giant serpent android around his head before releasing him forward like a shot put. The Dark Master screamed when he flew out of control and crashed into a set of high voltage power lines some distance away, creating quite a spectacular show of lights, then fell down into the streets below with only a whimper.

Curtis then jumped onto the roof and joined the others as they began to encircle Piedmon. Terence was shocked when he saw what had been giving his brother the illusion of flight. He had been standing atop a small stealth jet, a jet that appeared to be being piloted by what Terence could have sworn was a very familiar looking woman. "Tell me that is not Krista. No friggin' way!"

"It is sweetheart." Clara assured him. "Now would you mind helping out over here?"

Terence quelled his surprise and ran over to her side, filling in the last gap in the circle the others had formed around Piedmon.

"So you think you have me beaten, don't you?" The clown jeered.

With a grin, Terence cracked his knuckles. "No, the beating hasn't quite started yet."

Piedmon made a face. "Then I'll have to take my leave of you all."

Everyone in the circle stepped back when the Dark Master began to spin at an extremely high rate of speed and created a mini tornado out of the air around him.

"I've read about this in the CADE files!" Shouted Curtis over the noise. "It's a technique that allows him to transport laterally up to fifty feet!"

Terence processed the information and came up with a plan of action. "Everyone turn around and face outwards! Let's see where this bastard pops up!"

They all did so, and after only a few seconds had passed, Taps shouted, "I see something!"

Everyone else keyed in on the direction he was facing, all with their arms raised and at the ready. There was a disturbance in the midair there, a small distance away from the roof, like a blurring of the air and light, then Piedmon's form suddenly took shape and appeared. The leader of the Dark masters wore a small grin on his face as he initially apparated, but quickly allowed that to transform into a frown when he saw his enemies already waiting to attack him.

"Hit him now!" Terence yelled.

Blasts, energy weapons, and even missiles streaked out towards Piedmon at once, all hitting him together in a brilliant flash of light and explosion of force. When it all dissipated, there was nothing left in the area but a trail of smoke identifying the trajectory which Piedmon's body had fallen from the sky.

Everyone on the roof looked at one another and shared expressions of relief.

Curtis walked over to the edge and looked down. "Well, so much for them."

"Can you believe it?" Terence grinned as he walked over and draped an arm around his brother's shoulders. "The nerd came though y'all."

"Funny." Curtis allowed himself a small smile. "Now what?"

A mechanical whirring signaled that the pilot compartment to Krista's aircraft was opening. When it did, she called out, "We must help the others!"

Terence nodded and turned serious again. "Right. Whatever happened to Puppetmon?"

"The same thing that just happened to the other three Dark Masters." Rosa answered.

"Damn. We took them all out?"

"For now." Said Curtis. "They'll be back, of course, and by that time Apocalymon will probably have recovered from his injuries enough to join them."

"Joykill."

Clara ran up beside Terence at the edge of the roof. "Need a ride down?"

"You kiddin'?" He said, nodding towards the high tech jet hovering in front of them. "I'm riding down on that thing with Curtis."

The Protective Knight gave him a slight smile. "You're such a kid."

Together Clara and Terence looked down at all of the flashes and explosions transpiring far below, down in the streets. Screams and gunshots wafted up to them as they echoed off of the surrounding buildings.

Curtis and Rosa joined the couple in their solemn observance of the ongoing battle.

"It sounds really bad down there." Curtis observed. He turned to Rosa. "You sure you're ready?"

"Yeah. I'm fine." She levitated into the air. "Let's do it."

Terence leapt from the roof onto one of the wings of Krista's craft. The plane rocked a bit with the sudden addition of his weight, but steadied when Curtis came down on the other wing. Krista gently banked the plane away from the roof and Rosa and Clara flanked it. Rosemon, holding Taps, brought up the rear.

"Alright y'all!" Terence shouted when the group began to go into a dive. "It's time to take control of this damn fight! Let's ride!"

* * *

"Come on. This way. Don't worry, I won't let you go." Cody continually spoke the comforting words to Noriko as she kept her arms tightly wrapped around his waist. He supported her and carefully guided her through the horrific maze of fallen soldiers, mutants, and debris that littered the street. Cody wasn't sure what their destination was, just that they were heading away from the Assassin's tower, which stood at the center of the night's chaos.

"C-Cody, promise you'll stay, th-that you'll never leave. I need you."

"Trust me Noriko, I'm not going anywhere. Just hold on okay?"

"Mm-hmm." Noriko's grip grew even tighter, if that were possible.

Cody gritted his teeth against the bite of the cold wind and tried to shut the menagerie of noises around them out of his head. He had one goal. He had to get her to safety, no matter what. At some point, all of the motivations and emotions that had been running through him throughout the night had been replaced by this one, singular ideal.

There was a disturbance. Cody felt it before he saw anything. A silent figure, approaching from behind them quickly, with stealthy footfalls that steadily increased in their frequency. Mustering up every ounce of instinct he had, Cody forcefully pushed Noriko to the ground and dove on top of her just before the _shing_ of a metal blade slicing through the air rang out and Jade's katana passed over the top of them. Cody wasted no time in rolling to his feet and drawing his sword and rod. He stood in front of Noriko in a protective stance.

Jade grinned. "What is she to you, your lover?"

Blood still trickled from the cut on her forehead, but she smiled nonetheless, even licking a stray rivulet that ran near her mouth. "I wonder how enraged you will be once you have witnessed my blade cleave through her throat."

"This has nothing to do with her, murderer. I'm your problem, not the girl."

"Oh I'm well past the point of simply desiring your death, boy. I will see you suffer in every way imaginable before I extinguish your life. I started with your father, and I'll continue with her."

Cody stared down his adversary and remained mindful of Sato's words. He had to stay in control. She could make all the threats against Noriko she wanted, but the only way she'd be able to follow up on any of them was through him.

"Well then," Cody said. "I suppose I'll just have to stop you then."

Jade wasted not another breath and came forward, swinging her blade in a wide swath.

Cody ducked the arching strike easily and swung for Jade's feet with his own blade. Predictably, she jumped to avoid the blow, allowing him to swing upwards with the bar and catch her in her side before she landed. Jade took the hit full on and fell backwards, but rolled back to her feet quickly. Her eyes began to dart back and forth as she kept her body oriented towards Cody.

"Looking for a digimon to charge your sword, aren't you?" He observed.

"Shut-up, boy."

Jade swung and Cody leapt back to avoid it.

"I promise," She said. "I will kill her just as easily as your father."

Jade then feinted towards Noriko and Cody quickly reacted by knocking her katana aside with his rod before spinning into a strike with his own sword, which Jade was forced to back-flip to avoid.

"Your weakness in dangerously apparent." Jade's eyes darted from Cody to Noriko and back. Her tongue passed slowly over her lips, languishing there as she allowed her face to contort into a small grin. "It's only a matter of time. I have plenty."

Cody poised his weapon in front of him and angled it so that its point was aimed directly at Jade's head. "So do I."

"Perhaps," Her infuriating smile never wavered. "but she doesn't."

Almost on cue, Noriko let out a small whimper and doubled over. Cody glanced at her on instinct and immediately knew he had done the wrong thing. Even during the split second that his eyes darted to Noriko, Cody could feel Jade's weapon already heading for his neck, ready to cleanly separate his head form his body and punish him for his momentary lapse.

A loud crack rang out.

Cody turned to see Jade's katana blade, mere millimeters from his neck, drop away from him as his adversary began to slowly back away. The ruthless mercenary was staring at something behind Cody very intently as she continued to step backwards. Cautiously Cody moved himself and Noriko out of the deadly killer's range before turning around to see what had so raptly grabbed her attention. Cody did his best to squelch his surprise at seeing Sora standing there, smoking gun in hand. She kept her face stern and her eyes never wavered from Jade.

"One move lady, and I promise I won't miss next time."

Cody allowed his moment of incredulity to pass, placed an arm around Noriko's shoulders and guided her to where Sora stood

"You guys alright?" The Digidestined of Love asked, sparing Noriko a worried glance.

"Yeah, we need to get her out of here though."

"I know. Who's the woman?"

"My father's murderer."

"What?"

"Long story. What's important right now is Noriko."

"Okay." Sora sounded a little unsure and she kept her weapon trained on Jade. "I agree. So what do we do with her?"

Jade stood in the street with her katana hanging limply at her side. She remained calm and leveled her gaze at the two digidestined without any real expression of emotion. Cody knew she was just biding her time until help arrived.

"Take Noriko to safety." He told Sora. "I'll handle her."

"No!" Noriko clasped her arms around Cody once again and tears began to cascade down her cheeks. "Don't leave me! I need you!"

Cody and Sora shared a look of desperate exasperation.

"You can't Cody. She needs you to stay with her. Ken's going through the same thing that she is and Yolei can't leave his side either."

Cody gave Sora a confused frown. "But Ken and Yolei are-"

A bright flash, accompanied by a loud explosion interrupted his next words, just before a jeep full of black-cloaked mercenaries rounded a nearby corner.

"Right there!" Cody heard one of the men shout. Immediately, the vehicle screeched to a halt and several men leapt out with their weapons already drawn.

Cody wasted no time. Having sheathed his sword as soon as he saw the jeep approaching, he grabbed Noriko around the waist and carried her to the nearest curb. Sora followed right on his heels. No sooner had the three taken cover behind the burned out husk of an upturned van that did their shielding begin to be wracked by the automatic machine gun rounds of the mercenary soldiers.

Cody kept Noriko down and covered her as best he could with his arms.

"Now what?" Sora exclaimed.

Bits of metal and ricocheting bullets flew dangerously around them.

"I don't know! We need help!"

"Damn." Sora put a hand to her forehead and sighed. "We're in serious trouble." She looked at Noriko, who was cowering in Cody's arms, and her expression immediately transformed from one of forlorn to one of set determination.

"We're getting her back to safety."

She situated herself toward the end of the burning car.

"Sora, what are you doing?"

"I don't know, trying something out."

She raised her firearm and peeked around the edge of their cover, then jerked back just before several bullets ripped through the steel frame where her head had been.

"Sora, you're being stupid! Don't get yourself killed!"

Sora didn't appear to have heard Cody. Instead she glanced down at the base of their cover, originally the top of the van, and dove down to the ground. She peered through the partially crushed driver's side window frame, then brought her gun up in front of her face and sighted through it.

"I think I have a shot at them through here."

"Sora, come on-"

BLAM!

Sora cursed as her shot apparently missed its target. She wasted no time in shooting again, accompanied by another curse.

"Sora, they're going to figure out how you're shooting at them soon."

"I know." She fired again and grimaced.

"This was a lot easier for the guy in that movie."

"A movie?!" Cody exclaimed. "Are you kidding me?! You're going to get us killed because you're trying something you saw in a movie?!" His eyes flared.

Sora ignored him and set her sight once again. "Quiet. They just spotted me. I have one last shot." She squeezed the trigger again, emitting another loud blast.

"Sora, please-"

A loud explosion interrupted Cody's next words. He ducked down and shielded Noriko as several shards of glass, hot metal, and a couple of smoking bodies, sailed over their heads.

"What the-?"

"Shot the jeep's gas tank." Sora explained. A fleeting smile crossed her face and she holstered her weapon before rising to her feet again and offering Cody a hand. "Come on. We need to get out of here before more of them come."

She helped Cody and Noriko to their feet and together the trio began to head off.

"Stop right there." The deadly, even keeled, voice prompted Cody and Sora to turn around immediately.

"Amusing trick, girl." Jade said. "But I have yet to perish."

She no longer held her trademark katana, having replaced the old fashioned weapon with a high tech alternative, one of the mercenaries' Sub Machineguns. "I've really tired of your persistence. This game is over. You and your friends can die now."

Everything moved in slow motion for Cody as he watched Jade's finger flex fractionally over her weapon's trigger. There was no time to react this time, no reserve of martial arts training or instinct that would allow him to dodge a bullet, much less hundreds of automatic rounds released in a wide spray.

An ear-crushing boom echoed over the area, accompanied by a violent, earth-quaking shockwave that knocked everyone standing off of their feet. Cody protected Noriko as best he could during the event, then looked up as soon as the tremors faded away.

Between he, Sora, and Jade now stood a giant hulking beast. Surrounding the giant's clawed feet were a pair of massive craters in the concrete street from which several jets of steam and water shot from various broken underground pipes. Cody peered closely at the digimon, whose turtle-like, shelled back was turned to him, and sighed in relief. "Ankylomon."

"You guys alright?" Boomed Cody's champion-evolved partner.

"Yeah, I think." Cody looked at Sora, who was grimacing and rubbing her lower back.

She noticed his look and assured him that she would live with a small nod.

"Move beast!" Jade hollered up at Ankylomon defiantly. She got up and walked right up to him. "Before I kill you along with them."

"What are you, nuts? Cody, who is this crazy little woman?"

Cody considered how he would answer the question, then glanced at the vulnerable girl in his arms and decided that he had more pressing matters at hand. "No one." He said. "Just some soldier."

"Do not brush me aside boy!" Jade yelled. She leveled her gun again and squeezed off several rounds. She had no line of sight with Ankylomon standing in front of her, so the bullets simply ricocheted harmlessly off of the asphalt street.

Ankylomon let out a furious roar at Jade's action, and started to swing his massive clubbed tail around at the woman. With alarm, Cody noticed that Jade didn't seem ready to dodge the attack. Instead, she was reaching down to her side, where her empowered sword was sheathed. Cody realized what she was trying to do immediately. "Ankylomon, no!"

His shout came too late. Cody's partner continued his attack, and predictably, Jade pulled out the sword the Assassin had given her and easily blocked it at the last second. The blade began glowing brilliantly almost as soon as it came into contact with Ankylomon's tail.

The giant digimon recoiled in surprise at the way Jade was able to fend off his attack. "What? How did you-?"

"Out of the way, fool." Jade swung her weapon and the resulting shockwave practically picked Ankylomon up off of the ground before slamming him into the side of the building directly behind Cody and Noriko.

Cody reacted quickly. He picked up Noriko and dove forward into Sora, knocking all three of them clear of the brick and mortar falling as a result of his partner's crash. Jade was already drawing her sword back for a second strike at them as they all recovered back to their feet. Cody looked around. No options. He could dodge Jade's attack, but it was dicey how Sora would fare. Noriko was completely out of the question.

A loud bang rang out and Jade jerked her sword back to block an incoming bullet. Several more shots came. Jade blocked a few of them, but was forced to dodge and run when the onslaught continued and Sora joined in. She took off down the street and disappeared around the side of a building.

Cody turned to catch a glimpse of the first shooter. He saw Matt standing behind Sora, his arm raised and holding a smoking Beretta.

"Cody," He said, still staring in the direction Jade had gone. "You'd better go grab Armadillomon before that crazy lady with the weird sword comes back."

Cody simply nodded; he no longer felt surprised by these unexpected rescues. This was just an incredibly insane night. After assuring Noriko that he would be back, he ran over and picked up his unconscious devolved partner from the rubble surrounding him. Matt had been optimistic. Jade's attack was so strong that it had actually knocked Ankylomon all the way back to his in-training level of Upamon.

Cody quickly returned and allowed Noriko to grab onto one of his arms while holding the unconscious Upamon in the other. The group began to head off with Matt and Sora taking flanking positions and looking out for any incoming threats. They didn't get far, however. Only a couple of minutes had passed before a group of six gray mutants appeared out of nowhere and blocked their path. Matt and Sora opened fire as soon as the interlopers showed up, but were only able to take out a couple before all of their rounds were exhausted. The group tightened up as the remaining four mutants began to surround them.

"Okay, I'm all out of ideas." Matt said. "Anyone got any suggestions?"

"Yes." Cody coaxed Noriko towards Sora and left Upamon in her arms, then stepped forward and drew his sword once again. If these creatures' hides could be pierced by bullets, then they would certainly succumb to the finely crafted edge of his father's blade. "Stay out of the way."

One of the mutants immediately began to laugh as he closed in on Cody. The laugh quickly turned into a hacking cough, then a sick gurgling, before he fell to the ground, silent. It was likely he never even felt the cold steel of Cody's sword as it sliced cleanly through its neck. Cody knew what these things were now. They were convicted killers and rapists that had probably already taken at least five lives each on this very night. Cody kept a mental count of their ranks. _There were three left_. He would not hold back. He whirled, barely dodging a lightning fast punch from one of the mutants, and plunged his sword directly into another that was attempting to sneak up behind him. _Two_. As that one fell, Cody used his bar to block an attack from another mutant approaching from his side. Though blocked, the force of the blow still almost knocked Cody completely off of his feet. These creatures were incredibly strong, but fortunately, not invulnerable. Cody spun off of the blocked blow and caught the attacking mutant in the side with his sword's edge. _One_. As the creature howled in pain and fell to the ground, Cody jerked his weapon free of it a scanned for the last one.

"Look out!" Matt yelled.

Cody moved, but Matt's shout had come a half-second too late. A clawed hand raking across Cody's back told him exactly where the last mutant had gone. He screamed out and stumbled forward initially, but forced the pain aside and spun around, sword held out, using every ounce of force and quickness he had left in his reserves. The mutant was unable to react before Cody's blade cleanly separated its head from its body.

_None_.

Cody's back felt as if were absolutely on fire. He knew it had to be bleeding profusely. He turned to glance at Noriko and saw a hint of horror in her already pained expression. Whether it was a result of his fighting performance or his current condition, Cody didn't know. But the last thing he wanted to do was give her cause to worry. He straightened up and held back his grimace as best he could while Matt and Sora ran over to him.

"That was amazing, Cody." Said Matt. "Even the knights don't take care of those guys that quickly."

"I think they were made to withstand blunt things, like punches and attacks from powered up digimon," Cody explained. "Not weapons as precise as bullets and sword edges. Precision is always more deadly than force."

"Sounds like one of your Grandpa's sayings."

"Yeah-" Cody winced as a wave of fire passed up his spine.

"You okay? I saw that one get you from behind. Looked like he missed though-"

Cody waved Matt off. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine. We should get back to wherever the others are."

"You're right." Matt didn't seem entirely convinced by Cody's bravado and kept a concerned eye trained on him. "Alright, let's get going."

It took the group only a few moments to reach the makeshift sheltered alcove between a car and an overturned bus where they found Ken, Yolei, Kari, and TK huddled together.

"You're back!" Yolei exclaimed upon seeing the group. "And you found Noriko and Cody? Good job."

"How are Ken and Kari?" Sora asked as she helped Noriko take a seat up against the bus, near TK. Cody settled down next to Noriko, careful to keep his burning back turned away from everyone, and allowed himself a furtive grimace.

"Still out of it." Yolei answered. "Ken keeps mumbling something about 'the God's return,' or something of the like. I dunno."

"And Kari keeps saying that 'it ends here.'" TK added. "Whatever that means."

"That's weird," said Matt. "I don't like the sound of it."

"Tell me about it-"

TK's words were cut off when some kind of dark, pervasive, substance began to surround the car Yolei and Ken sat up against.

"Guys, look out!" He yelled.

Yolei turned around and let out a scream when she saw that the vehicle had turned a completely liquid black. With Matt and Sora's help she was able to move herself and Ken away from it, just before the vehicle was picked up by an invisible force and tossed aside through the air like a children's toy.

"What the-? What's going on?"

"Oh no."

A large mega evolved digimon descended down upon them from midair. He sported an elaborate tunic, a pair of impressive horns that jutted out from beneath it, and a hood that concealed everything but his glaring yellow eyes.

"Daemon…"

The Dark Ocean master chuckled as he looked over their assembly. "Fortune smiles upon me. I have been longing for my chance for vengeance against all those that defeated me when I was here last, and to find you all huddled together like this, like cockroaches trying to escape the cold? I will not let this opportunity pass."

Cody, because of a mixture of fatigue and blood loss, found himself drained of the ability to display any more fear on this night. He could only watch dispassionately as his latest opponent lifted his arms to form an attack. It only made sense that Daemon would show up here. He, Ken, TK, Yolei, and Kari were prime targets on the vengeful digimon's hit list. Cody cursed quietly and his back lit up with pain like a Christmas tree. Had he come this far tonight, only for them all to die here, like this?

"You forgot one, asshole!"

Something small, dark, and seemingly moving at the speed of light, slammed into Daemon from the air and drove the mega digimon right through the surface of the street with a massive crash, into a subway tunnel below. Before the gravel kicked up by the impact had even fallen back to the earth, Kuri landed right in the midst of the group of stunned digidestined with a sudden gust of wind.

"Yeah, that was Davis." She said as she immediately pulled out a glowing purple crossbow from her back. "He's pretty pissed. Are any of you hurt?"

"We're okay, for the most part." Matt answered. He glanced at Cody out of the corner of his eye.

"Good. I'll stay here and protect you." Kuri loaded the bow and began scanning for any attackers.

"Um, what about Davis?" Yolei asked.

"Did you _see_ Davis? Well, I guess not, at the speed he was going, but trust me, he'll be fine. I'm staying out of his way for now. If he needs me, I'll know."

Cody leaned back and let out a sigh of relief. With Kuri and Davis here, they would be all right. Noriko would be safe and taken care of. He could stop fighting now and finally succumb to what had been calling out to him for a while now. Cody allowed his eyes to close and the pain in his back immediately began to ebb away. Everything began to ebb away and the world started to pass from his consciousness. At first there was darkness, nice and welcoming; And then…nothing.

* * *

**The Catacombs**

The malformed beast that was Hitachi held Scott high in the air while his darkly blotted arms gleamed with an aura of palpable malevolent energy.

"Mr. Barke, it would appear you have a decision to make. Would you like to stand up for your son, take position as one of the few people foolish enough to stand between myself and my ultimate goal? Or, will you stand at my side and support my eradication of this blight on your otherwise immaculate reputation?"

Barke just stood there, uselessly glancing between his boss and his son. His expression was unreadable.

"Save him, you bastard!" Hatori shouted. He struggled futilely against the grip of his captor. "He's your son!"

"My…son." Barke glanced at Hatori for a moment, and then looked to Hitachi and Scott. "My son."

"Dad, don't let him control you. You can break his hold on your mind. Try to remember!"

Hitachi began to chuckle quietly, but offered no words of argument to Scott's plea.

"My son. My blood…" Barke's eyes narrowed. Hatori could see recognition dawning upon him. "Traitor to my blood!"

"What?"

"I've done nothing but raise you proper, cultivate you to be a worthy heir to the Barke empire; so that you could take your place as a leader in our New World Order, and this is how you repay me?"

"Dad, I-"

"You joined with my enemies! You're in league with the very people that want to tear down everything I've worked so hard to build. How can you call me dad, claim me as a father? I was foolish before, when you betrayed me in Spain, when you began associating yourself with digimon sympathizers. I thought you were confused, that you would change once you saw the true path. But no more. I wash my hands of you. The New Order won't have any room for such treacherous disloyalty."

Hatori recognized exactly what those words meant and knew that he didn't have much time. He strained forward as hard as he could, but still had no luck in gaining any leeway from the guard's hold. Instead, he was forced to look on while Hitachi's eyes faded into complete inky blackness and watched as Scott's skin turned a mottled gray and an aura of dark shadow enveloped his entire body.

"Hitachi! Don't do this! He's only a boy!" Hatori knew it was no use, pleading on a basis of ethic principle to a man already responsible for the deaths of millions of innocents, but he had no other options.

Hitachi's face contorted into a grin and his coal black eyes narrowed. "Burn."

Scott screamed, loud and absolutely blood curdling, as the entire surface area of his grayed skin was suddenly covered in malignant boils. They pulsated and grew large, popping here and there and oozing black pus.

"What are you doing to him? Barke!"

The screaming continued for a couple of minutes and all the while, Hatori kept fighting unsuccessfully against his captor's hold. Then, just as suddenly as Hitachi's twisted torture of Scott had begun, it suddenly came to an abrupt halt and the boy's incessant screams gradually quieted into low groans.

"What's happening?"

Scott's body hung limply in the mutated dictator's hands. The inky black liquid dripped from his skin in a slow, molasses-like flow. Hatori watched as the barely recognizable young man's head lolled from side, like a fish stranded ashore. A barely audible mumbling noise permeated the room. He was still trying to speak.

"D-daaad…"

Hatori turned an angered gaze upon Barke, who looked upon the scene with a wholly impassive expression.

"Do you believe the punishment has fit the crime, Mr. Barke?" Hitachi, still maintaining his cruel fanged grin, glanced at his second in command.

"Yes sir. I believe he has thoroughly learned his lesson tonight."

Hatori's stare between the two men hardened. Was that what they viewed as "punishment?" Using an incredibly painful mutating process to transform Barke's own son into some otherworldly, unrecognizable creature? It was by far the sickest thing he'd ever seen in his life.

"Good." Hitachi said. "Then I shall end this."

With those words and no further warning, there was a thunderous clap and Scott's body suddenly exploded into a fine mist of black liquid and blood. The spray covered the walls and everyone standing in the lab, save for Hitachi and Barke.

Even the hired mercenaries seemed taken aback by the unexpected event. The guard holding Hatori faltered in his grip, allowing the special ops veteran to easily twist out of his hold. In one swift move, Hatori reached back, wrapped his arms around the man's head, and twisted until he heard a loud snap. He then dove over a lab table just before the other men opened up fire. He knew he had to get out of there. He had to get his newfound information to the Knights. They were the only ones that could possibly stand up to Hitachi now. He owed it to Scott.

"Men, I must leave this situation in your hands." Hatori heard Hitachi say over the sound of the guards' automatic gunfire. "I have more pressing matters to attend to now on the other side of downtown. Do not fail me."

"Yes sir!" One of the mercenaries responded.

There was a wooshing noise, signifying another of Hitachi's portals opening and closing as he left.

As he crouched behind the lab table, his mind still reeling at what he'd just witnessed while bullets whizzed around him, Hatori inspected the materials underneath the table. Vials, slides, disinfectants- then he spotted something useful; A canister of propane intended for the Bunsen burners above. Hatori quickly calculated a plan. If he threw the canister into the air, Hitachi's trigger-happy goons would surely fire upon it. The only question was whether he could reach the laboratory exit before the resulting explosion's flames engulfed him. Hatori pulled himself up into a crouching stance. He would try. He had to.

* * *

Kuri did her best to pick off any incoming mercenaries, mutants, and digimon, but even she was finding herself overwhelmed by the sheer number of her enemies. She hadn't spotted any of the Dark Masters in a while, which was good, but it didn't change the fact that the others were beginning to swarm the streets like a plague of locusts. It seemed that the inevitable had happened and Hitachi's army had finally worked their way through the relatively meager resistance of the Odaiba Police Department. They were closing in more and more, and for every cluster Kuri took out with her arrows, more kept showing up.

"God," She muttered as she continued loading and firing at a rapid pace. "The digimon aren't done with those damn evacuations yet?"

Just as she uttered the words, several combat vehicles turned a corner up the street and began weaving through debris and soldiers as they bore down on her. The walls and street around Kuri became filled with the pockmarks of countless bullets from the vehicles' roof mounted machine guns. Kuri turned her sights onto the cluster of jeeps and fired, only managing to knock one of the vehicles slightly of course.

"Damn." She reloaded her weapon. "Sure could use one of those timely saves right about now."

At that moment, a camouflaged jet streaked down over the street and launched a couple missiles from its wing bays right into the advancing horde. They fell back amid cries of confusion and fear and began to scatter in all directions. The plane began to bank away, around the corner of a high rise, but not before a shadowy figure leapt down from one of its wings. The figure was joined by three more from the air, and together the four began beating back Hitachi's army.

"Humph." Kuri looked at the scene in mild surprise. "I guess I should have added something about winning the lottery too."

Abruptly, something grabbed Kuri's attention; footsteps approaching her from behind. She whirled around with her crossbow at the ready to take out whoever was attacking.

"Whoa Kuri!" Clara exclaimed as she came to a sudden halt and put her hands up in a defensive gesture. Her eyes didn't waver from the archaic digital weapon held in the girl's hand. "We're the good guys."

Terence, who was beside Clara, held his hands up as well. "I'm not aiming to be a shish kabob either!"

Kuri sighed and let her guard down a little. "Terence, Clara, it's about time some of you others showed up."

"Yeah, nice to see you too."

There was a sudden scream, followed by the three Knights being rocked off of their feet by something smashing into the ground at incredible velocity. The impact created a shockwave that knocked back even Hitachi's forces and sent fissures racing up and down the street.

Terence looked around. "Anybody know what in the hell that was?"

Kuri looked into the air in the direction the thing came from. What she saw there confirmed her fears. "It was Keyan. He knocked her down."

Clara and Terence both turned to look up at the Assassin as he descended down towards the street. The former digital Guardian looked absolutely God-like as he came in for a landing. With electric arcs and a swirling wind surrounding him, he made his way over to the crater that Keyan's crash had created.

"Hey!" Kuri yelled out in an attempt to get the powerful being's attention. "Over here!"

The Assassin paused and turned towards Kuri incrementally.

"The hell are you doing that for?" Terence exclaimed. "You feel like we haven't received enough ass kickings tonight?"

Kuri ignored him and leveled her cross bow right at The Assassin's face.

"Smile." She whispered, before letting loose an arrow and watching it streak across the air while leaving behind trail of pure electricity. When it reached its target however, the Assassin knocked the powerful attack aside as if swatting a fly. He turned his attention back to the young avatar lying at the bottom of the huge crater before him.

Kuri frowned. "Well, damn."

"He's going to kill her!" Clara shouted. "We have to do something!" She started to take off towards the Assassin but Terence grabbed her by the arm and pointed into the air.

"Here comes the cavalry."

"Assassin!" A dual voiced shout came from the air. A figure cloaked completely in white was streaking down toward the scene.

"Are Tai and Jun that fusioned evolution thing again?" Clara asked as she watched J'ai dive down towards the street.

Kuri nodded. "But I'm not sure if even they're, er- its, powerful enough to take this thing on."

The Assassin turned to face his newest challenger and echoed her thoughts. "And what will you do, fool? You must know that you can't possibly do any real damage to me."

"No." J'ai responded with a shake of its head. "Because I won't have to."

J'ai darted to the side milliseconds before a large and dark sphere streaked across the spot where he had been hovering. The attack continued on and slammed directly into The Assassin with a terrific blast. The one time guardian was blown back and crashed though the side of his own shipping tower.

"No!" Ineg suddenly dove down into the fray and landed on the sidewalk near the hole The Assassin's crash had created. "I didn't mean to-" He turned from the damage and looked at J'ai with genuine anger. "Resorting to cute tricks to stay afloat in this battle now?"

"It is preferable to falling for them."

Terence chuckled. "Sounds just like something Tai or Jun would say."

Before either J'ai or Ineg could throw an attack, the ground between the two powerful combatants burst open and a digimon cloaked in red came flying out, trailed by hundreds of chunks of rock and gravel. The being's body flew through the air in a high arc before it came back down on the street hard, on its back, some distance away. Davis came zooming out of the newly created hole in the street and immediately began firing positron blasts as soon as he saw where Damon's body had landed.

"This is crazy." Sora said as she took in the unfolding scene with wide eyes.

Matt nodded his head in agreement. "Absolute chaos."

Even Kuri had to forcibly remind herself to stop gawking at what was going on in front of her and reload her crossbow. Ineg, The Assassin, and Daemon were the three most powerful beings the Knights had ever faced, and they were all in this area. She had to be ready.

Ineg screamed and launched himself at J'ai, who dodged the punch the dark guardian threw and drew his sais in one swift move. He turned and fired at Gennai's darker half, but barely missed. Ineg turned around and fired back, but the quicker J'ai easily avoided the attack.

"I'm tired of your games!" Ineg screamed out. "Stop your running and face me!"

Just as he said this, a disheveled looking Keyan climbed out of the crater that her fall had created. Her face bore a look of fury and her eyes were glowing brightly. Since The Assassin was nowhere to be seen, she seemed ready to take her frustrations out on the first opponent available. "I'll face you."

Ineg began to back away from her. "Avatar, I-"

"Shut-up!" Keyan flung herself right into the Dark Guardian, who was forced to go on the defensive and flee as both she and J'ai began launching attacks at him. As their fight continued out of her field of vision, Kuri turned her attention towards an alarming movement. The Assassin was crawling out of the smoking hole his crash had created in the building and his expression looked every bit as angry as Keyan's had. He stared directly across the street at Kuri and the others.

"Uh, Clara," Terence said. "You're on."

"Are you kidding me?" Clara looked at him incredulously. "I've never blocked anything that powerful before."

"Well, you're about to," said Kuri. She didn't at all like how The Assassin was beginning to approach them while raising his hands.

"But-"

Terence grasped Clara's hand. "You can do this, Clara. When the stakes are higher, you step up to the plate."

"Stakes couldn't be much higher right now." Kuri used a tone meant to urge Clara to hurry up.

"I know you can do this." Terence pointed to the digidestineds huddling behind them. "Look at them, they need you to protect them. They need you to do what you know full well you can."

"But we _don't_ know if I can-"

"Yeah, yeah." Kuri interrupted while loading another arrow. "If we're screwed, we're screwed, but I'd appreciate it if you at least _tried_ to save our asses sometime soon."

Both Terence and Clara spared Kuri a cross glare.

"Okay," Terence took Clara's hand into his. "You don't have a choice. Go to work."

With a sigh, Clara closed her eyes and bowed her head. Immediately, her shield began to glow brilliantly and a bright yellow dome appeared around them. Kuri noticed the Assassin wielding a white energy sphere and sent out a warning. "Alright, here it comes!"

He reared back and launched the attack forward with a loud roar. It streaked through the air and collided with Clara's shield with an ear splitting blast. The girl was launched backwards, but Terence managed to keep his grip on her arm and prevented her from flying back and colliding into the others.

Kuri fired an arrow at the still approaching Assassin, which the super-powered guardian knocked aside without even breaking stride.

Kuri grumbled. "What the hell is the point of even evolving when we're facing these guys? Clara, we're gonna need another shield."

"I can't." Clara was on her knees and gripping Terence's hand. "I don't think I've ever felt anything like that before. I can't take another one."

Kuri looked at the Protective Knight with surprise. "Clara, you don't have much of a choice-"

Terence shook his head and stopped her from going any further. Her turned to his stricken mate and helped her back to her feet. "That's okay, sweetheart. I understand. We'll just have to fight him ourselves. I know we won't stand too much of a chance against him, and there's a good chance he'll get through to hurt the rest of these guys, but we're Knights. This is our duty, right?"

"I know what you're trying to do," said Clara. Her shield was already beginning to glow brightly again.

Terence smirked upon seeing how set her expression was as she began to measure their oncoming enemy. "Looks like it's working."

"It is." Clara gripped his hand and closed her eyes again. The yellow barrier reappeared.

This time, Kuri put away her ineffective crossbow and pulled out her energy sword. If The Assassin blew away Clara's shield again he'd be close enough for melee fighting. He was already building up another attack.

Kuri called out another warning. "Here comes round 2!"

The Assassin swung again and launched another energy sphere at them. This one collided with Clara's shield with even more force than the last, but the effect was different this time. Instead of disappearing, the barrier shook a bit, abruptly turned orange, then to a deep shade of red.

"What's going on?" Kuri turned around and saw that Clara and Terence's shields had formed a connection of light, much like hers and Davis's often did. "You both can form shields now?"

"No." Terence responded. His voice sounded much more intimidating than usual and his even his eyes had taken on a slightly red glow. He stepped forward. "I think I can do something different."

He raised his hands and the shield quickly coalesced into a single sphere of intensely red light overhead. Terence then thrust his arms forward and the ball shot forward like a bullet before slamming right into The Assassin's chest. Kuri could tell fallen Guardian clearly hadn't expected the blow, as he wore an expression of complete shock just before the blast knocked him all the way back through the outer wall of his own tower once again.

Kuri looked at Terence and raised an impressed brow. "Threw his attack back at him?" She sheathed her sword and drew her crossbow again. "Nice."

"Nice?" Terence sounded insulted. "That's it? You can't tell me that's not the most badass shield combo power yet!"

Kuri allowed herself a small smile. "Really? Because, you know, Tai and Jun can morph into a _single person_."

"Yeah, well…" Terence shrugged. "Anyway, we need to get these guys out of here before he comes back. Let's-"

A scream interrupted him. Everyone turned to look upon the owner of the startling yell, a hysterical Noriko.

Clara rushed to the panicked girl's side. "What's wrong?"

"It's C-Cody! H-He's not-"

Gunshots raked the side of the bus, cutting Noriko off as Clara forced her down and erected another shield. Kuri tore her attention away from the girl, back to the streets. The mixed army of mutants and mercenaries was advancing again. Curtis and Rosa were doing their best to hold them back, along with Rosemon and Taps, but weren't having much luck against the advancing horde. The plane from earlier made another pass over and unloaded another two missiles into their midst, this time with much less effect than before. The throng immediately scattered and fired back at the craft. A few of their shots clipped its wing, causing it to veer off course and disappear around the side of a building.

Kuri grimaced and turned back toward the others. "This isn't looking too good guys! We're going to need more support if we want to get them out of here!"

"I-I don't think that will be a problem." Said TK.

"What?"

TK pointed down the street in the opposite direction and Kuri's gaze followed the gesture. What she saw there filled her with a new level of hope and determination; all of the digimon had finished their evacuations and were marching down the street to rejoin in the battle with SaberGreymon at their lead. Kuri did a quick count of their ranks and came up with about fifteen heads, more than enough to give the Knights the edge in their fight.

She smiled. "Clara, I don't think that shield will be necessary. We're about to take care of these guys, once and for-"

The sudden feeling of a cold wind seeping to her very core cut off the end of Kuri's sentence. She doubled over and squeezed her eyes shut in an attempt to force out the invasive presence. Noriko let out an extremely high pitched, ear splitting scream and Ken collapsed to the ground, moaning terribly, as if he were at death's very doorstep. Kuri forced her eyes open again and tried to take and inventory of what was going on. The others looked much the same as she did, and Clara's shield around them wavered greatly for a moment before disappearing altogether. Kuri noticed that the only person that wasn't affected by the new mysterious force seemed to be Kari. Instead, the Child of Light continued to stare straight forward into space, as if nothing had changed at all.

"Regroup! Regroup!" The shouts came from J'ai, who was hovering in the air over the middle of the two warring factions. The fusioned being wobbled in the air momentarily, then fell straight down to the ground only a few yards away from Kuri. She started to go help her leader, but stopped when a light surrounded J'ai and the being split apart into its two separate components. Kuri could hardly make out the forms of Tai and Jun before Curtis and Taps fell from the air to roughly land on the ground beside them. Rosa and Rosemon, who had apparently carried them there, then joined the two on the ground and immediately dropped to their knees. Rosemon immediately devolved back into Gotsumon.

"W-wh-what's going on?" Kuri wasn't directing the question at anyone in particular, but instead addressing the incredible alarm and fear she felt building up within herself. She had never felt such a pervasive intangible presence before. It affected her to her very core, draining her strength and even causing her to question her very existence. Kuri fell forward a bit, so that she now was supported only by her hands and knees.

"He's here!" Someone shouted. "The Dark One is here!"

Kuri looked upwards out of the corner of her eye and saw The Assassin, Ineg, and Daemon streaking through the air, away from their respective battles. They were heading back toward the crowd of mutants and mercenaries, but at an upwards angle. Whatever they were rushing toward had to be in the air. Kuri used as much of her remaining strength as she could and forced her head to tilt upwards, in the direction they were heading. There, she saw something entirely disturbing; a creature, perhaps a man, but most likely not, was hovering over Hitachi's assembled forces. His body was especially well built, covered in black. His eyes seemed to either be entirely black, or completely nonexistent. Kuri couldn't help but feel that within the creature existed the capacity for pure evil. All of the mutants, Dark digimon, and guardians were gathering around the figure as if it were some sort of deity that required their worship.

"Welcome, my subjects!" The thing's booming voice echoed off of all the surrounding buildings as if it were coming everywhere at once. "Witness the power of only the first stage of the transformation!"

The creature's next words were cut off as Kuri suddenly felt something underneath her arm, pulling her. She looked up was overjoyed upon seeing that it was Davis. Like Kari, he seemed entirely unaffected by what was going on.

"Get up." He whispered.

Kuri did so, using his arm for support. "Wh-what is that thing?" She asked, trembling with the effort it took her to stand. "Another one of Hitachi's mutants?"

"I believe that _is_ Hitachi."

"What? How do you know that?"

"I'm…" A look of confusion crossed Davis's countenance. "not sure."

"Okay, fine. B-but how do we fight him?"

Davis looked up at the creature he claimed to be Hitachi and Kuri did the same.

"This battle was not expected tonight!" The dark being's echoing voice continued. "But you have acquitted yourselves well! It will not be long now before all of our plans come to fruition and this world crumbles at our feet!"

A ferocious cheer went up among all of Hitachi's followers and shots rang out from guns wielded by particularly festive mercenaries.

"But first, there is an order of business that must be taken care of…"

The creature turned his attention to Davis, Kuri, and the other Knights. Kuri felt a restrictive force around her body such as she had never imagined. She couldn't move any part of her own body, even the smallest extremity, and the constricting grip seemed to be growing progressively tighter.

_Come with me._

It was Davis, communicating to her through their connection.

_What?_

_Come with me._

_Davis, in case you hadn't noticed, none of us can go anywhere. We can't move. If something doesn't change soon, we're going to die._

Davis didn't seem overly concerned with this. _That is why you must come with me._

_Come with you where?_

_Do you trust me?_

_Yes._

_Then we will go._

Kuri's vision began to glow brightly and world blurred before her eyes. Everything turned completely white, as if in a slow motion camera flash. The glow never quite fade away afterwards. Instead, Kuri found herself immersed in a world without boundaries, no walls, ceilings, or floors; just an endless white emptiness. She noticed that her freedom of movement had returned and took a look around. Davis was beside her, as expected, suspended in the void just as she was, but he looked markedly different. His expression now looked much the way Kari's had, blank and devoid, and his eyes had taken on a glowing gold coloration.

"Davis?" Kuri asked unsurely, "Where are we?"

"Do not worry." He answered.

Kuri did just the opposite. Davis's voice sounded in no way his own. His body was still there, but it was as if something, some other being, had overtaken it. Kuri performed a quick mental scan for their connection and found it still there, but somehow compromised, as if nothing was on the other end.

"What is happening?"

"Quiet. She approaches."

Kuri followed Davis's blank stare out into the vast expanse and noticed a figure there. As it came closer, it became larger and more familiar looking.

Kuri squinted, as if that would help in this strange place. "Is that…Kari?"

The figure eventually hovered close enough that Kuri could confirm her hunch. It was Kari, or some kind of approximation of her. Like Davis, her face was completely devoid of emotion, and her eyes radiated a brilliant white glow, rather than gold.

"Why is Compassion accompanying you?" She asked in the same type of bland voice that Davis was speaking in. "Hope is not here."

"She's necessary to me." Davis replied.

"Very well. Why are you here?"

"Darkness has found his way into this world. He no longer has to use digimon."

"I am aware of this."

"And?"

"That does not concern me."

"It used to."

"I have absolved myself of this purposeless struggle."

"Then you have absolved yourself of me?"

Kari hovered there for a long period of time before providing a reply. "No. But this has become a hopeless situation. We have created the tags, the crests, the guardians…all of them perfect, and yet, when all is taken into account, because of _their_ imperfections, all have ultimately failed."

"Because your intentions were not perfect."

"Lies!" Though the anger in Kari's voice was apparent, her expression never changed.

"Truth."

"What is it that you want from me?"

"I want you to help them."

"I have told you-"

"I can't overcome such powerful darkness alone. He is here. I need you to grant me the means by which to defeat Him."

"I cannot grant you those means. If I could, this problem would not exist." Kari's gaze shifted to Kuri for a moment, then to Davis again. "You are their champion."

"And you are their goal. Will you forsake them in their time of need?"

"They have forsaken me countless times."

"Light, I implore you."

Kari looked away. She seemed to delve into her own thoughts, as if in the throes of a very involving daydream. To Kuri, it seemed that an eternity passed before the girl finally responded. "Very well. This once, because of my love for you, I shall grant you the means to break from His grasp. But know this, this will be my last involvement in this futile fight."

"Understood."

Everything went white once again and suddenly Kuri felt the sensation of being back within her own body in a world with air, gravity, and dimensions. The cold of the atmosphere and hopelessness of their situation came crashing back down around her like an insurmountable weight. She still could not move, and neither could the others. But this time, there was something in her periphery, something that was growing brighter by the second, something that was emanating from the spot where Davis should have been.

The dark being that was binding them saw it as well. His expression transformed from one of menace to that of surprise and fear. He began to back away. The light that Davis was emitting continued to get brighter, blinding even, and just when Kuri felt the need to close her eyes, lest she lose her eyesight forever, control of her body was returned to her. She felt her energy restored to a higher level than it was at even before the being had taken control. She looked around to see how everyone else was doing.

Tai was the first to get back to his feet and all of the others quickly followed his lead. "Okay, I don't know what just happened," he shouted, "but I know I didn't like it! Knights, let's take this bastard down!"

Kuri forced aside her confusion at what she had just witnessed and reached down for her digivice so she could evolve once again. The action proved unnecessary however, as Hitachi's forces and their dark god immediately began to retreat.

"The time is not right!" The being bellowed. "We must return to the original plan!"

He raised both of his arms in to the air, and with a single sweeping gesture, he and his entire army disappeared into the night.

The streets were now completely deserted, save for the bodies of countless policemen, mutants, and rescue workers lying in the streets. It was as if they had never been there at all. The only sounds remaining were the crackling of many fires as they consumed various overturned cars and partially destroyed buildings and the distant wails of police and ambulance sirens approaching the scene.

"Okay." Terence scratched his head. "Anyone want to tell me what the hell just happened?"

"Me too, while you're at it," said Davis, rubbing one of his temples.

"What?" Kuri looked at him, startled. "You mean you don't know?"

Davis glanced at her. "Should I?"

"I-I don't know." Kuri looked down in consternation. "Maybe not."

Clara walked over to Kuri and put a hand on her shoulder. "Kuri, is something wrong? Did something happen?"

"Yes, but…" Kuri looked around the empty streets, at all of the people lying there in need of medical attention and help. She turned back to the group, over half of which was looking back at her curiously, and her gaze lingered for a while on Kari. Kuri shook her head, hoping to free the disturbing thoughts seeping into it. "I'll tell you later. Right now, we need to help these people."

The sounds of footsteps carried over to the group and saved Kuri from having to answer any follow up questions.

"Is everyone okay?" Joe asked as he, Mimi, and Izzy ran over to the group while carrying a bunch of medical supplies. "Somehow, we were temporarily paralyzed back there."

"Yeah, so were we," said Tai. "I think we're all okay though."

"Check Ken and Noriko." Matt suggested. "They were the ones having the most trouble earlier."

Joe did as he suggested and walked over to check on Noriko, then dropped the supplies he was carrying and gasped. "Cody!"

Everyone turned towards the scene. What they saw was horrifying. Cody was lying on the ground, next to a quietly weeping Noriko, in a pool of his own blood.

"No." Tai ran over to the two, with Yolei and Sora right behind him. "No... Joe, is there anything you can-"

Joe cut him off with a shake of his head. "No. It's too late-"

Noriko let out a wail that seemed to pierce all of them to their very cores.

"I told them." WarGreymon bellowed with a shake of his massive head. "I told them…"

Kuri felt an incredibly powerful wave of guilt wash over her. It was a transferred emotion from Davis. She immediately went to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, knowing exactly what he was thinking. He had shown Cody the truth about his father's death, prompting him to come here and set tonight's events in motion. Kuri wanted to tell Davis that he couldn't blame himself, but that would be pointless and ineffectual at the moment. The most she could do was continue to hold him, to let him know that she was there.

Everyone remained silent as Noriko and Yolei sobbed over Cody's immobile form. The sirens in the background grew louder and louder, and by the time emergency vehicles arrived on the scene, it seemed no one cared to take notice that they were even there. They had lost one of their own. Nothing else seemed to matter.

"War is hell." A voice said.

Kuri whirled around and saw a completely dismantled and beaten looking Hatori Kageru approaching the gathered assembly of digidestined and Knights. Even his uniform was singed and torn in several places. He ignored many of their accusing glares and limped as he forced his way through the group, only stopping once he had managed to get a clear view of Cody's body.

"Bring him to the Chamber." He said.

Joe stood up. "We can't. He's –"

"Just do it, no questions. And hurry. He doesn't have much time."

"Time for what? It's too late-"

"No, it's not. Just do as I say, if you ever want to see him alive again. We don't have much time."

Kuri immediately went into action. She pulled out her digivice. "Peko!"

The multicolored Patamon immediately flew to her side. "Yes Kuri?"

"I'm going to evolve you to Prairiemon. Can you get Cody to the Chamber as fast as possible?"

"Of course."

Kuri pressed her digivice and Peko immediately flashed into the Champion level evolution. Kuri nodded. "Okay, go."

Peko gently scooped up Cody's body n her arms, ignoring the blood that trickled from his back onto her fur. As soon as she had him stable, Peko disappeared in a gust of wind.

"What makes you think you can save him?" Joe asked Hatori. Kuri knew that he meant to sound skeptical, but the hope in his voice seeped though. It was almost tangible.

Hatori shook his head. "Nothing really. His chances are slim, but our medical technology is very advanced. It wouldn't be the first time we brought someone back from over the brink."

"Yet another thing you've kept from us." Said Jun. Tears were streaming down her cheeks and it was obvious that it took her some effort from her just to formulate words.

"I know." Hatori hung his head and Kuri could see that his own tears had begun to fall. "The secrets have to end here, tonight. I don't want anyone else to end up like Scott."

"Scott? Scott Barke?" Said Curtis. "What happened to him?"

"CADE staged a secret raid on one of Hitachi's strongholds tonight. It was unsuccessful."

Curtis continued to give Hatori a questioning look. "And Scott?"

"Hitachi happened. That's all I have to say."

The words were more than enough to illustrate to everyone what must have happened to the young Barke Construction heir. Curtis need not push him any further. Silence descended upon the group once again.

"Something happened to transform Hitachi," said Terence after a moment. "He's stronger than any of us would have ever thought he could be."

"He has joined with a very powerful darkness," said Keyan, who had been keeping a fuming silence up until that point. "And a very ancient one, at that."

"Then we must face the facts," Said Tai, his voiced sounding very heavy and weary, "tonight was an unmitigated loss for all of us. The only reason that we survived was because, for some reason, Hitachi let us. If don't find a way to combat him, and soon, nights like this one will become the norm, rather than the exception. Hatori, it's time we and CADE saw eye to eye."

Hatori nodded slowly. Kuri couldn't shake the notion that the man seemed broken, beaten, and defeated. "I agree, because as of right now, there is no CADE here. There is only us, a group of people that want to save the world from the tyranny of one evil man."

The sound of approaching helicopters drifted over to the group.

"Media." Kuri grumbled. "Some authorities must have given out an all clear."

"We should be at the Chamber, praying for Cody." Noriko said quietly. Her voice sounded incredibly hoarse and desperate. "If what Mr. Hatori said is true, he still has a chance."

"She's right. Let's get out of here, people." Tai ordered. .

Davis evolved Veemon, and those that could fit climbed onto Imperialdramon's back. The rest hitched rides with other flying digimon. Before a throng of reporters and city officials could descend upon them like vultures circling a kill, they all took off into the waning night, entirely unsure of what tomorrow would hold for any of them.

Davis carried Kuri in his arms as he flew, and she kept her arms wrapped around his neck. She looked at him, thought about what had almost happened to them, what would have happened had that mysterious presence not overtaken Davis and saved all of their lives. He truly was the key, and he didn't even know it. Kuri reflected on what Kari had said in the other dimension. She, the Light, was ready to give up on their fight, ready to throw in the towel and leave humanity to its own devices. Kuri knew that was something that Davis would never do. He loved his fellow man too much to ever give up on anyone. No matter how strong Hitachi became, no matter how invincible his forces seemed, Kuri believed that as long as Davis remained the key to defeating them, the world would be in good hands. She would have to believe that, because after tonight, that was all any of them really had left to hang onto.

_To be continued…_

* * *

Next up: **Seppuku**. Now trapped in a war that they cannot find their place in, or figure out how to win, the Knights are confronted with a crucial decision that may cost them their very lives. How far will they be willing go to achieve their goals and what ultimate price will they have to pay? Find out in the next chapter of Digital Knights!

Additional AN: Ideally, there should be about five chapters left to this story. (**Seppuku**, plus an ending three-parter and an epilogue. _Ideally_. I have a flair for writing more than originally intended, so we'll see if it stays that way.) (Additional AN, post final editing (2012): This is so friggin' hilarious in hindsight, knowing that there are 13 more chapters after this. lol)

Don't forget to review! I'm really interested who all have stuck around for this entire tale so far. I hope you're pleased with it!


	22. Seppuku

So I understand that you guys have been looking for me to finally get around to finishing this story? Don't worry, I didn't forget you all. Just after posting my last two chapters in February (man, was it really that long ago?), I began another writing project that demanded I take all of my time and attention away from this. Now I'm back and fired up to complete this tale. For those of you that actually stuck around and haven't cursed my name to all damnation yet, I'm sorry. For the rest; hey, that's mean. Anyway, here you go:

* * *

**Seppuku**

**The Chamber: Infirmary**

_Beep._

_Beep._

_Beep._

The unyielding rhythm of a heart rate monitor permeated the infirmary, its constant cadence providing a strange mixture of assurance and discomfort to those seated within the darkened sterile room.

Jun and Sora sat side by side in a corner, both with their gazes firmly trained on the girl that remained dutifully at the patient's bedside. Her chair was turned toward him and she leaned forward, so that her elbows rested on his mattress. Her head was buried in her hands and her entire body was slumped in posture. Despite the fact that she was sleeping, she remained the very picture of fatigue.

"How long has Noriko been here?" Jun whispered to Sora.

"Since he first arrived. She won't listen to me when I tell her she needs to leave once in a while, so I've pretty much settled for bringing her meals and changes of clothes."

Jun smirked and glanced at a few dirty Tupperware dishes on the floor beside Sora's chair. "So I see."

"At least she's eating today."

Jun put a hand on Sora's shoulder. "You're doing a good job Sora, all that you can really. She won't recover until she can stop blaming herself for what happened to him."

"And she won't do that until he wakes up."

Jun nodded. "Yes."

"But that's just the problem. When will he wake up? I heard what happened to him. Is it true? They really combined his DNA-?"

"According to Hatori, yes. It's basically the same principle that created us Knights…taken to something of an extreme."

Sora shuddered. "I don't know. It just seems unnatural, like the way Hitachi created those mutants."

"But it's a bit different. Those partnerships were unnatural and forced. This one was entirely voluntary."

"Still…"

"I know. They made him like the very creatures that killed him."

Sora nodded. "The fact that they could even do that-"

"Is completely logical. Considering what we now know about CADE, it makes perfect sense."

There was a rustling noise and both girls looked up to see Noriko awakening from her not so restful slumber. With weary eyes she glanced at Cody's monitors, frowned, then turned to Jun and Sora. "What makes perfect sense?"

Jun shook her head. "Nothing. We were just talking about some new intel we received from CADE. You know, Knight stuff. How's he doing?"

"He's still stable, which is good, I guess."

"It could be worse." Jun offered.

"It could be better."

"It will be, Noriko. You heard the doctors. His body has gone through a big metaphysical change. It will take him some time to recover consciousness."

"It's been almost a week Jun, and he has barely even moved."

"I know, but he _will_ wake up. There's no doubt about that. It's just a matter of when."

"You sound so sure."

"Because I am. Cody is a fighter, as you full well know, and he'll get through this, just as sure as any of us will."

"I know. I just wish I could've…" Noriko allowed the words to trail off into nothing as she stared down at Cody's lifeless form.

"There are things we all regret about that night." Jun said, rising from her seat. "But I think you'll find the one out of all of us with the least regrets would be him."

"Yeah, that's Cody," said Sora. "He's really one of a kind."

"Trust me," said Noriko, gently dabbing at the unconscious boy's brow with a small towel. "I know."

The trio fell silent and the sound of the heart monitor filled the room once again. After a moment had passed, the girls all abruptly shared surprised glances.

The monitor's cadence had just sped up.

* * *

Tai walked into the loading dock and took in the assortment of digidestineds that were already there; Izzy, Matt, and their digimon partners.

"Hey." Matt stood away from the crate he was leaning on and threw the cigarette he'd been nursing to the ground.

Tai's eyes followed the butt's descent to the concrete floor. "Those things are bad for you, you know." He said half jokingly.

Matt jutted a thumb toward the airlock. "No worse than anything else out there."

"Yeah." Izzy added, jumping down from the crate he'd been sitting on. "And come on, he's a rock star. We're lucky he's not smoking something worse."

Matt gave the young genius a glare as he stomped out the last of the dying ember on the ground.

"Yeah, I guess." Tai shrugged. "What are you guys doing here? Where are the others?"

"Taking their shifts either sleeping or helping out in the surveillance room with Terence and Clara."

"We're supposed to be taking our sleeping shift," Izzy said, "but we wanted to see how the patrol went before we turned in."

Tai nodded. "I understand. Jun would be here too, but she's in the infirmary with Sora, looking after Noriko."

"Noriko's still there?"

"Hasn't left. Not once."

"Wow." Izzy shook his head. "Incredible."

A loud buzz signaled the opening of the dock's airlock doors. Moments later, four Knights and their digimon partners stepped through the massive entryway and walked into the loading room with blank looks.

"Nothing?" Tai asked with a less than hopeful expression.

"Nothing." Curtis confirmed. "At all."

"It's as if they just dropped off of the face of the earth." Rosa added.

"Tell me about it." Tai shook his head despondently. "They're getting ready for something. It's the only thing that makes any sense."

Kuri nodded her agreement. "Considering the amount of power Hitachi had the last time we faced him, that's the only plausible reason for him to be taking this long to make a move."

"Well," Izzy pondered with a hand to his chin. "I suppose he could still be manufacturing weapons with the nuclear materials you said he stole."

"But why take so long to fight us then?" Rosa asked. "He came close to beating us last time. Seems like a really dumb time to just disappear."

"It could be that he's scared of Davis." Tai offered. "If he joins up with the Light again-"

"I told you guys," Kuri interrupted, "that's not likely to happen." She sounded more than a little defensive. "Kari- I mean, The Light, said plain as day that she wasn't going to help us anymore. We have to do this ourselves."

"Forgive me Kuri," Said Izzy. "But I still find that hard to believe-"

Kuri glared at the Digidestined of Knowledge. "Are you calling me a liar Izumi?"

"No, I-"

"Because I was there, not you. I'm the only one who was there that can remember anything that happened, and I know full well what she told Davis. She said she was 'absolving herself of our purposeless struggle,' like I said, plain as day."

Davis, his own expression bearing just as much frustration and weariness as Kuri's, if not more, put a comforting arm around her shoulders.

"It's okay." He told her.

"You have to understand, Kuri." Matt said in an apologetic tone. "Since we've been kids, we always fought against darkness in the support of the Light. It's kinda hard to hear something like this. I mean, you're pretty much saying that she's given up on us."

Kuri took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I know. I just wish I wasn't the only one that saw it, so I wouldn't be the one that everyone questions a million times a day about what happened."

"That's neither here nor there," said Tai. "I wasn't exactly looking for the Light to save us in the end, anyway. Remember what Gennai said when we first went to the Academy? This isn't like before. This has everything to do with the evils of men, not digimon. We have to do this ourselves."

Rosa raised a brow. "But the prophecy-?"

"Is nothing more than a collection of words." A voice interrupted.

All heads turned to the dock entrance to see Keyan walking into the room.

"I didn't know you were here," said Tai. "I thought you were still with Ms. Lee."

"I decided to visit. It has been very uneventful around here as of late. I have been bored"

"What do you mean about the prophecy?" asked Curtis, typically focused only on the new piece of information. "Gennai said-"

"Gennai has told you a lot of things, many of them lies."

Tai groaned inwardly. She was barking up this tree again. "Keyan, I understand how you feel about your parents, but you-"

"This has nothing to do with my parents, Tai. It has everything to do with your destiny, and how you are in control of it."

Rosa cocked her head curiously. "Meaning?"

"Gennai told me once that the Guardians' roles were to protect the prophecies. Do you know what that means?"

"Sure," answered Curtis. "They kept evil entities away from the temple, so that they couldn't destroy them."

"That would make the most sense, but it is not true. By 'protecting' the prophecies, all they did was make sure that the ones they found favor with happened, and that the ones they did not, never transpired."

"What? That can't be true."

"Is that not what happened to you, to the original digidestined? Gennai did his best to make sure that events transpired as he wished they would, as he told you they were predicted, rather than face the alternative."

"The alternative?"

"I have learned that each prophecy has a dark opposite, just as potent and likely to take place as its counterpart."

"You're serious." Tai observed. It was a moment of dawning on his part. He knew that Keyan wasn't one to joke around about such matters.

Keyan nodded. "Of course."

"And how do you know all of this?"

"After you all left the Academy, I had plenty of time and opportunity to…"procure" certain secrets Gennai had hidden within his office. I was tired of being fed the 'truths' that he would have us believe."

Rosa cautiously stepped forward, poised to put forward the question that was now on the tips of everyone's tongues. "Keyan, do you know what our…dark prophecy is?"

Keyan nodded again, but did not speak.

"What the hell?" Kuri exclaimed. "You know, but you're not going to tell us?"

Keyan bit her lip and averted her gaze from the Compassionate Knight. "I am not sure if it is my place."

Kuri stepped toward Keyan and put her hands on her hips. "Maybe a minute ago it wasn't, but it for damn sure is now that you've told us all this."

Davis gently pulled his agitated girlfriend back to his side. "What she means is, it would only be fair that we knew both sides to the prophecy, if only to find out what all the possibilities are. Please Keyan."

Tai turned to look at Davis. He couldn't put his finger on it, but something about the Miraculous Knight's tone was off, as if he were considering the dark prophecy to be some kind of viable alternative to the one they already had.

"Fine. I suppose Gennai owes you this much, regardless." Keyan crossed her arms and stared at the assembled group under the bangs of her white locks. "The alternative to your prophecy was simply these words; 'The Chosen will fail as one. The world will fall into darkness. All things will die.'"

Silence followed the words as everyone exchanged grave glances with one another. Kuri was the first to speak.

"Tell us something we don't know." She muttered. It was a blatant attempt to lighten the impact of Keyan's words, and as such, it was ineffective.

"All things will die?" Matt said in a whisper. "What does that mean?"

"The whole world will be destroyed?" Veemon asked.

Keyan shook her head. "I do not know. In all of my searching through Gennai's recorded prophecies, it was by far the darkest and most foreboding of the alternates."

"And why would Gennai not tell us about this?" Asked Curtis.

Keyan looked at him as if the answer was the most obvious thing in the world. "Because he excels in crafting lies."

Tai shook his head. "No. Actually, I think he didn't want us to know there were any prophecies at all. I mean, we practically forced the first one out of him. At first I thought that he kept them to himself because he didn't want us to be overconfident, but now…now it seems that maybe this was just too important for us to mess up. There's no margin for error-"

"Tai, you cannot think that way. You all must understand that your destiny is yours to control."

"We do understand, Keyan," said Curtis. "You have two opposite outcomes, huge and possibly catastrophic in scale, and both based on the decisions that we make. If that isn't controlling your destiny, I don't know what is."

"You place too much faith in Gennai."

"Maybe I did, once. But now I understand who he is and that he is fallible. I still believe that he is good at heart, and soon enough, you will too." Curtis looked at Keyan for a moment and contorted his face into a pondering pose. "Or maybe you still do."

"Perhaps," Keyan seemed uncomfortable and shifted her weight. "But still-"

Before she could continue, the doors behind Keyan burst open and an excited Mimi ran into the room. She didn't stop until she was in the midst of the group and bent over to catch her breath. Izzy rushed to her side as she placed a hand to her chest and took a few deep gasps.

"Is that really Mimi?" Tai asked. "She never _runs_ anywhere."

"Obviously." Rosa quipped.

"What's wrong?" Izzy asked.

"Nothing," Mimi panted, looking upon him with a slight smile. She turned to the rest of the room's occupants. "Cody's moving! He's awake!"

* * *

**Somewhere in Japan, Underground**

The Assassin checked his watch once again and confirmed that it was almost time for the meeting to commence. He took a look around. The new boardroom looked much the same as the old one, save for the complete lack of windows lining the walls. They were underground now, of course, but no longer below the streets of downtown Odaiba. Their plan had accelerated and forced them to move to a locale underneath a much more populated area, where they had long ago set on making their last push for world dominance

There was a long conference table in the room, as usual, around which sat all of the usual stalwarts, Barke, Chavez, Jade, The Assassin, Ineg, the Catacomb's doctor, the requisite technical support staff. One difference was that the group was now surrounded by a standing contingent of blue and gray mutants, who seemed, by the way they looked upon the room's inhabitants, to be there less as participants and more as enforcers. As would be expected, at the head of the table was Hitachi, no longer seated in a regular chair, as he had been on previous occasions, but now in an ornate jewel encrusted black throne.

His appearance was even more domineering than it had been a week ago. He was larger, now comparable in size to the larger mutants, his eyes were blank voids, his skin a smooth and glassy black, permeated here and there with armor-like plates and impressive jutting spikes. His hair descended in tightly wound dreadlocks that fell down to his lower back. The dark aura he projected created a bone chilling cold that could be felt throughout the entire room.

It was a cold that The Assassin himself could feel permeate to his very bones. A chill that felt both powerful and welcoming, that heralded the end of all things and the dawn of a new era.

"Gentlemen," Hitachi began, speaking in a voice that managed to sound both coldly distant, and at the same time incredibly present and fearsome. "My joining with the dark God has gone as far as it can at this point. It is time that we enacted the final steps in our plans. It is time that I reached my destiny."

"That is all fine and well," Ineg said, sounding a bit irritated as he interrupted his boss. "But what of Gennai's Knights? This policy of non-engagement has allowed them to regroup and bolster their ranks, no doubt. How can we sit idly by and-"

Hitachi raised a hand with a quick and dynamic flourish. "That is enough. I appreciate your desire for revenge, dark guardian. It is an admirable quality. Your distrust of my methods however, is disturbing. Have you forgotten who I am?"

An expression of sudden fear came over Ineg's face and he bowed his head deeply. "No, my Lord. I apologize."

"That is better. Now, I understand that all of you have grown impatient with our perceived lack of activity over the past few days, but understand that it was necessary and will now come to an end. The time for us to engage and eliminate our enemies has arrived."

"Forgive my impertinence, lord," Barke said, lowering his head to the point that he seemed to be particularly enamored with the taste and smell of the marble conference table. "But are you sure that is wise? They were able to overcome your power last time."

Hitachi made a face as if he had just tasted something remarkably bitter. "Something that will not happen again. I have enough of the Dark God's power within me to thwart such attempts in the future. But I will not waste my time with doing battle with them myself, anyway."

"Lord?"

"The Digital Knights are nothing more than a cute trick, a desperate attempt by a doomed world to save itself. They are beneath me and I will not waste time with them."

"But sir, our armies have tried on multiple occasions to defeat them and failed miserably each time."

Several of the mutants standing around the room snarled.

"How can you expect us to fare any better against them without your involvement?"

"I don't."

"I-I don't understand…"

"Of course you don't. Doctor." Hitachi nodded to the Catacombs geneticist.

He arose from his chair and addressed the room. "The Dark God has granted us the use of a weapon that will rid us of the Knights forever in one fell swoop."

He pulled a remote from his pocket and pressed a button. A holographic display appeared at the center of the table, illustrating what looked to the Assassin to be a small, highly compact explosive.

"As of now, we have only had the ability to obtain one, the creation of which, as many of you know, took months to complete. The raw dark power this incredible weapon unleashes allows us to use it only once before it is exhausted. Thus, we will need them all in one place to ensure they're within its blast radius."

"And this weapon, it will kill them for sure?" Asked Chavez.

The Doctor gave her a reproachful glare. "Do you doubt the power of the Dark God?"

"No, of course not." Chavez glanced back and forth from the doctor to Hitachi apprehensively. "B-but, how will we get the Knights into one area so that we may use this weapon?"

"Simple. The answer to that is also provided within the dossiers placed on the table before you."

Everyone looked down at the brown folders, each stamped with the gold pentagram that was the Hitachi Inc. corporate insignia.

"Which you may now open." Hitachi commanded.

Everyone did as he directed and immediately began pouring over the data within the folders silently. For a minute or two only the flap of turning pages could be heard around the room.

"You can't be serious." Chavez said abruptly. She allowed her folder to drop back to the table and looked to Hitachi with an expression of shock. "This plan. It will cost millions, if not billions of lives."

"Ms. Chavez, I thought you were on board with our stated goals."

"I was. I am. And in exchange, you promised to make me a ruler of the New World Order, Lordship of the South American provinces, answerable only to you."

"Yes, and?"

"Well, when I look over this outline, I cannot see where there will be much of a world left to rule over. This plan essentially calls for the eradication of the human race."

"And you take issue with this?"

"Well sir, I must. What can you honestly expect me to do? This was not the deal we agreed upon."

Hitachi nodded. "I see. And so you believe that without some contingent of pathetic humans to keep underfoot, you cannot be a ruler? Digital subjects are not to your liking? Are they not good enough?"

"No. No sir. It's not that. It's just- Is this really necessary? Isn't there another way to-"

"Oh, dear Ms. Chavez," Hitachi cackled. "Please don't tell me that you're developing a conscience! It's a little late for that, don't you think? I mean, look at all of the atrocities you've already funded. What's a few billion human lives to the likes of you?"

"I-I have my limits sir. I entered into this with the promise that we were creating a world, not destroying one."

"Ah, but does not the fire purge so that the forest may grow anew?"

"Perhaps, but this isn't just some forest fire. This is a holocaust."

At that, a wide grin crossed Hitachi's face. "Semantics, Ms. Chavez. Do you honestly believe that concerns me in the slightest?"

"I-I just thought that-that you were something different than this."

"Smith, how are we looking on the financial end of things?" Hitachi sounded particularly bored as he posed the question, as if his conversation with Chavez was no longer capable of holding his interest.

A small man, seated inconspicuously near the end of the table, adjusted his spectacles. "We've reached flashpoint sir. No outside investors are any longer necessary."

"Thank-you." Hitachi nodded. "Assassin."

A concussing blast reverberated around the room followed by Chavez's eyes rolling into the back of her head and her prone body slumping from her chair to the floor with a muffled thump.

The Assassin blew away a few tendrils of smoke that wafted up from his fingers and smiled slightly as he looked over the aftermath of his fatal attack. He turned to a couple of mutants standing behind him and nodded towards the body. "Clean that up."

Hitachi chuckled and clapped his hands together, creating a hollow booming effect. "Anyone else here have any objections?" He made a point of looking in Barke's direction.

The construction baron remained stoic and didn't even give Chavez's corpse the barest of glances. "No sir." He calmly took a sip of water from the glass on the table in front of him and cleared his throat. "So, what's the next step?"

"Such a ruthless killer instinct." Hitachi's face spread into a wide, gruesome smile that allowed several rivulets of inky black liquid to dribble down his chin from the gaps between his large canine teeth. "I knew I was wise to choose you."

"Thank-you, sir."

Hitachi turned to address the room. "The next step, gentlemen, is simple. As you can view for yourself in your dossiers, I will give Gennai's Knights no choice other than to willingly die at my feet. You will see for yourself when you receive my beckon tonight."

* * *

**The Chamber, Infirmary**

Jun watched raptly as Cody blinked furiously, as if he was seeing light for the first time. For Noriko, who sat at Cody's bedside not daring to breathe, Jun was sure the sensation the movement brought within her was very similar.

"His eyes are opening!" Noriko exclaimed. She was clutching one of Cody's hands between both of hers and was spellbound, observing his every twitch. "I think he's waking up!"

Jun and Sora stood silently behind her, both smiling excitedly, but doing nothing to disturb the moment.

A low groan escaped Cody's parched lips and his eyes fluttered around the room before coming to a stop and focusing on Noriko's tear stained countenance.

"N-Noriko?"

Noriko nodded vigorously. "Y-yes." Unable to say anything more, she allowed her head to drop down to the bed beside him and began to sob onto his hand.

Cody instinctively cradled her with his free arm and looked over to Sora and Jun in confusion. "Wh-what's happening? Where am I?"

He tried to move himself into a sitting position and grimaced in pain. "And why do I feel so sore all over?"

"I'm not sure you should be moving just yet Cody." Jun said. "You just woke up."

"Woke up? Woke up from what? How long have I been out?"

"You don't remember what happened?"

Cody shook his head. "I don't know. Maybe. I remember we were fighting…I was trying to protect Noriko… That woman that killed my father…Jade…yes, that was her name. I fought her, but no…she ran. I was fighting the mutants…convicts…killers. One of them..."

Cody gasped and doubled over with his eyes closed tightly. Abruptly, his skin began to undulate and move all over as if something was stirring just underneath its surface. He let out a scream, pulled his arms more tightly around himself and began to rock back and forth.

"Cody?" Noriko broke from her sobs and looked up at the unexpected transformation taking place within him. She turned to Sora and Jun, her eyes now full of fear. "What's happening to him?"

Jun rushed to the bedside, pushed Cody down onto his pillow and held him by his shoulders. "Doc said this might happen." She looked up at the door. "Where the hell is he anyway? Sora, go and alert the staff. He might need a shot of painkillers."

Noriko glanced at Sora as she tore out of the room and looked back to Jun and Cody.

"What? What's happening to him?"

Jun grimaced as she struggled to keep Cody down while he screamed and bucked hard against her hold.

"Side effect of the transformation. The doctors warned us this could happen when he finally woke up."

"Transformation? Why didn't anyone tell me any of this?"

"You wouldn't be a fan, Noriko." Jun said grimly. "And once Cody calms down, neither will he."

The doors to the room burst open and Tai ran in, followed by a host of Knights and digidestined. "We heard he woke up-" He began, before taking note of what was going on. His expression dropped and he rushed to the bedside, where he immediately began to aid Jun in keeping Cody still. "The side effects?"

Jun nodded. "Yes. A bit more violent than we planned for."

"Has the staff been alerted?" Curtis asked.

"Yes, we have." A dour looking man in a white lab coat entered the room and forced his way through the group. In his hand he held a syringe filled with a clear liquid. "You all are not supposed to be here. Three visitors maximum, remember?"

"Yeah Doc." Tai grunted. "Would you just give him the shot already?"

"Fine." The doctor held the syringe up and thumped it to release any air pockets. "But I expect you all to leave as soon as he's sedated."

"Doctor," Jun pleaded. "Just hurry."

The doctor harrumphed as he maneuvered himself between Jun and Tai. "I told them to put this specimen in a holding tank." He mumbled. "But noooo, he had to be treated 'differently."

"Specimen?" Noriko repeated with an insulted glare.

The doctor ignored her as he brought the needle to Cody's exposed shoulder. Just as he was set to plunge it in, Cody's arm suddenly changed, transforming from one of flesh and skin to something else entirely, something rock hard with golden plate-like armor.

Noriko recoiled and covered her mouth with her hands.

"No!" Cody screamed. His arm broke free of Jun's grasp and caught the doctor squarely in the chest, sending him flying across the room into a wall, where the older man then slumped to the floor, unconscious. The syringe lay harmlessly at his side.

"Damn it!" Tai looked at the scene with a frustrated frown. "Davis and Curtis, help us hold him down! Kuri and Rosa, check on the doctor! Where the hell is Joe when you need him?"

"Back here!"

Jun turned and looked over the sea of worried faces to see that Joe was outside the room, waiting with all the others that hadn't arrived with Tai's group.

"Well get in here! Everyone clear a path! Terence and Clara, you come too!"

They did as she said. Joe immediately went and picked up the syringe from the floor while Terence and Clara helped restrain Cody.

"Hurry, Joe!" Jun shouted. "He's getting stronger!"

Joe rushed to the bedside, but stopped short with a look of confusion. "What am I supposed to do with this? His body's covered in armor!"

"Damn it all." Jun grunted as she looked down. Joe was right; all of Cody's appendages were now covered in the armored transformation. The only normal part of his anatomy left was his face, which was still fluctuating back and forth between its natural and mutated states. "We have to calm him down somehow."

"What?" Terence exclaimed, struggling with one of Cody's legs. "Isn't that what the damn shot is for?"

"We just need to calm him for a moment. The shot will keep him that way."

"And how do you suggest we do that?"

Jun shrugged. "Sing?"

Terence's jaw dropped. "You have to be kidding me."

Cody kicked out his other leg and sent Curtis stumbling across the room. The Meditative Knight turned angrily and seemed ready to strike back for a moment, but he took a deep breath to collect himself and resumed his position.

"Come on Terence," Jun pleaded, "just try it."

"This is so stupid-"

"_Somewheeeere, over the rainbow…"_

The interrupting voice belonged to Clara, who belted out the well-known tune with her usual perfect clarity. All heads in the room turned to her with more than curious glances at her choice in song. She shrugged, without breaking stride, as if to say that it was simply the first thing that popped to mind.

"_Way up high…_"

"It's working." Jun observed. "Cody's not struggling as much anymore."

No sooner had she said in than Cody's leg kicked out again at Curtis, sending him stumbling backwards.

Curtis scowled as he rubbed his chest and resumed his position. "Yeah, right."

Jun frowned. "Well, not as much anyway."

Terence joined in singing the tune with Clara, creating a beautiful harmony of their mingled voices. It was ruined seconds later however, as the rest of the digidestineds that knew the song joined in. Even the digimon that stood outside could be heard singing the tune.

Jun looked up at Tai and had to bite her lip not to emit an inappropriate chuckle.

"What?"

Jun shook her head. "Nothing. Just, it's not quite as good as your Moon River rendition."

"Shhh!" Tai's eyes darted back and forth frantically. "Cody looks calm now." He said hurriedly. "Joe, administer the shot."

Joe sighed. "It's still no good. He isn't fighting, but the armor's still there."

"Damn it." Davis muttered. He looked up at his sister. "Well, now what?"

Without uttering any words, Noriko leaned across the bed, over Cody and hovered with her face only inches above his.

Tai began to reprimand her. "Noriko, you-"

Jun reached out and grabbed his arm while giving him a quieting look. While the others continued the song in the background, Tai and Jun watched as Noriko whispered something into Cody's ear. After a moment, she backed away from him and returned to her position at his bedside. Almost immediately, the armor plating that covered his body began to ebb away, sinking back beneath his skin from wherever it had come.

Without hesitation, Joe plunged the needle into Cody's arm and injected the syringe contents into his bloodstream. The song on everyone's tongue ebbed away and was quickly replaced by complete silence.

Cody's breathing normalized, his body became perfectly still, and his eyes gradually fluttered open again. He took in all those assembled in the room, the relieved expressions on their faces, then raised both of his arms before his face and inspected them closely. He slowly rotated them, looking at every inch of their length with an expression of shock tinged with fear.

"What…what just happened to me?"

"Yeah." Noriko echoed, looking at Jun. "What happened?"

Jun rubbed the back of her neck nervously and looked over at Tai. "It's a little complicated-"

"Hold that thought!" Cody interrupted. He threw his sheets aside and leapt from his bed, revealing himself to be wearing nothing more than a pair or scrubs. "I'll be back." Without any hesitation, he ran between Tai and Terence, across the room to a door marked with a simple silhouette of a man, and barreled through it.

"Well," Said Terence. "I suppose when you've been laying somewhere as long as he has, having to pee would be more important than finding out why you've been turned into some kind of circus freak - ouch!"

Terence rubbed his arm in the spot where Kuri had punched it and scowled at her. "What?"

"He's not a freak, just-" She faltered as the proper words didn't come to her immediately.

"Mutated," Said a voice at the door.

The room's occupants moved aside to allow Hatori and two members of the Chamber's medical staff to enter. The medics tended to the unconscious doctor as Hatori walked to the center of the room and stood beside Cody's empty bed.

"So, he's awake?"

"No, we decided to roll his mutant ass out of here to get to the free mattress."

Hatori turned to Terence with a cutting glare.

Terence shrugged. "It was a stupid question. He's in the bathroom."

Hatori turned to Jun. "Have you told him the details of his transformation?"

Jun shook her head. "Not yet."

A look of disappointment crossed Hatori's face.

She glared at him. "Hey, it's not as if your conspicuous absence helped matters much."

"You're right. I should be the one to tell him what we've done. If you all will just leave me alone with the boy…"

"I'm not going anywhere until someone tells me what's going on!" Noriko exclaimed.

Jun crossed her arms. "And seeing as CADE doesn't possess one bit of tact between all of you combined, I'm not leaving either."

"Fine." Hatori huffed. He turned to face the others "Anyone else that desires to intrude upon what should be a private moment for Mr. Hida?"

"If they're staying, I'm staying." Yolei said from the doorway. "He's practically my little brother."

"I will too," said Davis. "Since I am at fault for what happened to him."

Kuri put a hand on his shoulder. "Davis-"

"Kuri, I am. Just, let me be here for him."

She looked at him for a long time before she gave in. "Okay. But this isn't over. We need to talk about this. Seriously."

Davis replied to the statement with only a very slight nod that hardly conveyed any commitment.

"Well, that's more than enough. Everyone else, let's go." Tai commanded. He opened his arms wide and began ushering the throng back towards the door. As the group was reluctantly filing out, Tai turned back to Jun. "Make sure they tell him everything. _Everything_."

"Don't worry I will."

Tai nodded and exited with the others. No sooner had the door closed than did the bathroom door open and Cody peeked out apprehensively and scanned the room.

Jun smiled. "Don't worry. It's just us now."

Cody looked around the room, his eyes darting from Jun to Yolei, Hatori, Davis, and settling on Noriko.

"Would anyone like to tell me what is going on?" He stepped into the room, wearing an expression most of them had never seen in his eyes. None of his usual stoic and confident nature was apparent. Instead he seemed entirely confused and frightened. "What just happened to me?"

"Mr. Hida," Hatori began. "Perhaps you should sit down."

"Call me Cody. And I don't want to sit down. I want to know what's going on. I want you to tell me what just happened to me."

"It is a complicated thing to simply tell someone-"

"Then just do it!" The shout came from two voices, rather than just Cody. His gaze shifted back to Noriko, who was breathing heavily after the outburst.

"Please," she continued. "I- we- want to know."

Hatori put his hands in the pockets of his slacks and looked down at the ground pensively. "How to tell you this…" He muttered while letting out a sigh. "How…"

"Hatori, if you don't, I will." Davis said. "And I won't sugarcoat it either."

"Fine." Hatori brought his head up and looked at Cody with a pained expression. "Cody, you aren't quite…human anymore."

"What?"

"The process that we used to save your life, to bring you back from the dead, actually, changed you metaphysically."

"Wait, what process? What are you talking about?"

"Perhaps you would like to have a seat."

"No, I'm perfectly fine where I am. Just answer the question. How did this 'process' change me?"

"Well, I'm sure you noticed the plates that covered your skin moments ago-"

"I'd have to be an idiot not to."

"Yes. Well, those plates are digital properties that we grafted into your genetics."

"Grafted into my genetics? Wait, are you saying-?"

"I'm saying that we combined your DNA with that of a digimon in order to bring you back as an entirely new being altogether."

Cody raised his arm before himself once again and balled his hand into a fist. Small plates began to cover his skin surface almost immediately. He gave the mutation a scrutinizing stare for a moment, then his expression fell like a stone. "Where's Armadillomon? Oh god, what did you do? Where's is he?"

Cody ran over to Hatori and grabbed his uniform by the collar. "Where is he?! What did you do?!"

Davis and Jun rushed to intervene and each grabbed hold of one of Cody's armor plated arms.

"He's fine Cody!" Davis shouted. "He's fine! Let Hatori go!"

Hatori, to his credit, maintained a calm exterior, though a few beads of sweat forming on his forehead gave away his inner anxiety.

"Cody, please." Jun pulled hard, but found that Cody's remarkably strong arm wouldn't budge at all. "Armadillomon is okay. We promise."

Cody allowed his grip to slacken a bit, but kept his intense stare trained firmly on Hatori. "You're sure?"

"Of course." Davis assured. "Now come on, let him go."

After a moment's pause Cody did as he requested and released Hatori, who immediately cleared his throat and straightened his collar as if he had been only slightly inconvenienced.

Cody looked down at his arms again, then back at Hatori. "He better be okay."

"I assure you, Cody, he is." Hatori cupped a hand to his mouth and turned around. "Bring him in!"

The door to the room opened and a CADE agent walked in carrying an Upamon in his arms.

"Cody!' The digimon shouted, leaping from the agent's arms into his partner's as soon as they were close enough. "You're awake!"

A faint smile crossed Cady's face as he took in Upamon's appearance. "Yes. Are you okay? Did they do anything to you?'

"Well, they did a few things, but they said it was to save your life."

"A few things like what?'

"I don't know. They said they were running some tests, then they put me in some kinda machine and took away my ability to digivolve."

"What?"

"Well, I can still Armor digivolve, but they said my natural digivolving energy was needed to save you, so of course I didn't care."

Cody shook his head in disbelief and looked up at Hatori. "How is that possible? How did you do that to him? How did you do this to me?"

"Cody, there is something you should realize about CADE," Jun said, "about all things really."

"And that would be?"

"No one is truly good or evil. There are simply motivations that drive us all, some more destructive than others."

Davis gave his sister a less than supportive look at that.

"What are you getting at Jun?" Cody asked.

"What she is saying is that the process that was used to save your life was the same one used to create Hitachi's army of mutants." Said Hatori.

"No." Cody shook his head again, more demonstratively this time. "That can't be true. I still look human, I'm not a monster."

"For now, but you can trigger the mutation and completely change your appearance with the simple addition of adrenaline to your bloodstream."

"So I become like them when I get mad or anxious?"

Hatori nodded. "But you only posses approximately half the power that they do in your mutated Ankylomon-powered form. This is because the process you underwent was a early precursor to the process that Hitachi's mutants were put through."

"Precursor?" asked Noriko. "What do you mean? How _do_ you know how to do this? Why do you know so much about it?"

Hatori took a deep breath. "Because the entities that CADE is primarily composed of were the ones that showed Hitachi how to do it."

"What?!"

"It's true. Most of CADE was once companies that existed under the umbrella of Hitachi industries, through joint ventures, mergers and the like."

"No." Cody whispered.

"The companies that created CADE also originated the process of combining Digimon data with human genetics to create hybrids. They invented the process of using existing digimon partnerships to bond digimon and humans together. And all the while, they worked under Hitachi, faithfully showing him how to reproduce the process. Once he determined that they had sufficiently progressed in the process, he shut down the entire division, by either buying out the labs he didn't already own or forcefully shutting down the ones he did. I'm sure you remember the explosion at Genetic Solutions a few years ago…"

"Yeah." Yolei nodded. "Some of Ken's friends worked that case. It went unsolved."

Hatori nodded. "But I digress. The fact is, once Hitachi had enough research in his hands, he took only the top geneticists under his wings and continued on by himself. In our experience, he has always been like that; taking what he doesn't know, learning the most he can about it, then destroying it."

"I don't see what's so bad about all this." Said Yolei. "It's not as if you guys helped him to create homicidal mutants. You just helped to save a life."

"For once." Said Davis. He shot an accusatory glare in Hatori's direction.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Asked Noriko.

Hatori shrugged. "We didn't do anything to Cody that CADE geneticists hadn't done hundreds of times before. He completed the first step for them, but the rest had been practiced a thousand times."

"Completed the first step?"

"I died." Cody answered. "That's what you mean, isn't it?"

Jun and Davis looked up sharply. This hadn't been discussed at the previous meeting.

Hatori didn't respond. Cody pressed further.

"Normally you would have to kill your subjects yourself before starting the treatment. That's it, right?"

"Yes." Hatori admitted with a sigh. "Subjects do have to be temporarily deceased in order to go through the procedure."

Davis entwined his arms with a haughty grunt. "And I bet you found that out after some trial and error, didn't you? Most likely you killed plenty of people in the name of this…procedure."

"That is one very technical way to see it."

"Oh really? And what's the other point of view? Yours? Are you guys the ones that gave Hitachi his idea to use convicts to do these procedures? Is that why their deaths don't count to you?"

Hatori raised a brow in surprise.

"Yes, we know what Hitachi has been up to," Cody continued, "creating mutants out of convicts that have no choice. Now that we know about your role in this, I can't help but to think that he got the idea from you."

"My God," Said Jun with one hand to her mouth. Her eyes darted from her brother to Hatori. "Is that true?"

He nodded reluctantly. "Well, to put it bluntly yes. But you have to understand-"

"Understand what?" She interrupted. "That you're no better than they are? CADE is nothing but a bunch of murderers with an axe to grind. You're not fighting against evil. You're fighting for revenge. You only want to take Hitachi down because of what he did to you."

Hatori bore a look of offense that bordered on anger. His jaw clenched and his left eye began to twitch ever so slightly.

Jun amended her comment. "Well, perhaps not you personally, but certainly the people you work with and for."

"And what choice did we have?" Said Hatori. "The technology and knowledge we have received from the companies that created CADE have been the only thing to give us a fighting chance against Hitachi. Intent does not matter so much as the results. The ends justify the means."

"Intent is what separates us from him." Said Jun, quietly. "He'll go to any means to justify his goals. We cannot be like that…unless you believe that the outright torture and murder of teenager is an appropriate action for us to take if the situation calls for it."

Hatori had been ready to supply a retort until Jun had spoken that last part. His hand hung in the air, whatever argument he'd been prepared to make completely lost in the moment.

"You have a point." He finally conceded. "Still, that does not mean that using this technology makes us as bad as him. We just saved a life with it."

"But how many did you take?" Said Cody. "How many people died so you could take the laws of science and twist them to your will?"

"Yes, a few men, convicts, died so that my employers could advance this technology, but that is nothing compared to the literal millions Hitachi killed over sixty years ago to invent this technology in the first place. We are not him."

"You are no better. You took lives that were not yours to take."

"Lives of killers!"

"Lives, nonetheless. And those we think are killers may not be. The man accused of murdering my father was mutated by Hitachi. I talked to him. I now know that he is innocent of the crimes of which he was convicted. He was framed by a woman named Jade and a man named Kai, better known to you as The Assassin."

Davis bit his lip apprehensively at Cody's words.

"You can't fault us for that." Hatori argued.

"You gave Hitachi the means to do it. You gave him technology that he is using to spread terror throughout the world. You restored me to life, but as an abomination, as a freak of science and nature, and you harmed my partner in the process."

"It didn't hurt, Cody," said Upamon. "I'm okay…maybe a little tired, but okay."

Hatori looked down at Cody, a slight hint of confusion in his weathered features. "I don't understand how you could be so unappreciative of what we've done. You were dead-"

"There are things in this world, Mr. Hatori, more important than living and dying. There are principles. There is right and wrong, no matter what side you're on. This battle we are all in is against evil…and I'm no longer sure CADE is equipped to fight in it." Cody turned away from Hatori and began walking towards the door. "I'd rather be on the side of good. I'd rather go home."

"Cody!" Yolei called out.

Davis raised a hand to quell her. "No, he's right." He watched as Cody calmly opened the door and walked out of the room. "I'm starting to wonder myself if joining up with CADE was the right thing to do."

"I believe it was, Davis," said Jun.

Davis turned and looked at her with an expression of surprise. "Jun, they killed people! How can you support them?"

"Because we must. Without us, CADE has no direction. They would be governed by the thoughts of the same men that allowed them to help create Hitachi's empire in the first place."

"Oh, cut the crap, sis. This is the real world. Us leading CADE isn't going to change what they are, a bunch of greedy murderers out for revenge against the guy that screwed them over."

"That's not true!" Hatori cut in. "We are trying to make up for past sins."

Davis glared at him. "And you're doing a horrible job."

"And how do you figure that one? By saving your friend's life?"

"By not understanding that he'd rather be dead than allow you to use an unnatural procedure, something built on the deaths of countless others, to save his life!"

"So you'd rather we had just let him die?"

Davis seemed at a loss for words for an answer to that question. Instead, he seethed, balling up his fists and glaring daggers at Hatori. Jun put a hand on his shoulder.

"Davis. I know it's hard, but that's why I said you have to understand that all these things exist in shades of gray. Good and evil are relative terms."

Davis thrust his shoulder from her grasp and rounded on her. "To you, maybe. But I know that good and evil exist."

"I'm not arguing that."

"But you're trying to blur the lines, trying to say that what CADE does is somehow better than what Hitachi does, just because it benefits us at the moment."

"Davis-"

"No, Jun, that's not right! It's not right to simply kill people like that, no matter how you try to justify it. I mean, how do you expect us to win the war when we can't even be sure which side we're fighting for?" Davis's chest was heaving. "Hitachi knows what side he's fighting for and he doesn't waffle about it either. That's why he's changed into what he is. That's why he has so much power. Because of his dedication-"

Jun placed both of her hands on Davis's shoulders and looked him sternly in the eye. "Davis, it's not your fault she left, okay. It's not your fault. Everything isn't on you to be perfect, to save everyone."

He shrugged away from her hold again. "Just…just shut up, Jun. You don't always know everything, you know."

"I know you."

"You think you do. But the truth is- Hey," Davis paused. His eyes darted around the room and his expression turned to confusion. "Where did Noriko go?"

"Where do you think?" Answered Yolei, who stood near the door, observing the scene with her arms crossed. "She walked out while you all continued arguing."

"After Cody, of course." Jun muttered. "Well, it's just as well." She looked at her brother and Hatori, both of whom were still fuming. "She's better equipped to talk to him than any of us are, at the moment."

"Obviously." Hatori grunted and stormed out of the room, apparently done with any further conversation for the day.

Davis watched his departure with a furious glare and seemed ready to give pursuit when Jun decided to step in front of him.

"Davis, I know you're frustrated right now, but you have to stop taking it out on everyone like this-"

"You're lecturing me? I'm not the one that's benefiting from killing thousands of people, Jun! I'm not the bad guy here."

"I _know_ Davis." There was a pleading tone in Jun's voice that surprised even her. "And you never are! Sometimes we all play that role, but not you! That's what makes you so special; it's why you're you. I'm just trying to make sure it stays that way."

Jun knew that her words sounded somewhat nonsensical, but she was sure Davis would grasp their meaning. To her chagrin, the look on his face said otherwise.

"And just what the hell is that supposed to mean? Jun, if you think for a second that I could be like them-"

"No Davis, that's not what I meant. I'm just saying that if you take all this upon yourself-"

"You know what sis, screw it. I'm not in the mood to play shrink with you today okay, and unlike everyone else here that thinks you're some kind of friggin' oracle, I don't have to."

"Davis-"

"No, Jun. Whatever is bothering me- whatever you _think_ is bothering me, you can't fix it. So just swallow your pride and leave me alone for once."

He stormed out of the room then, in identical fashion to Hatori, but making sure to slam the door shut behind him afterwards.

"Wow." Yolei muttered after watching the dramatic exit, mouth agape. "I don't think I've ever seen him like that."

Jun shook her head. "There's just too much pressure on his shoulders, too much for one person to take anyway. I fear he's going to lose himself before he finds out what makes him so unique in the first place."

"I guess…" Yolei said, looking at where the wall had splintered from the force of the closing door's impact.

The girls walked out of the room together, and found a very large group of digidestineds outside waiting to greet them.

"What happened in there?" Tai asked first. "First Cody storms through here without a word to anyone, then Noriko, then Hatori and Davis stomp out. Is everything okay?"

Jun shook her head. "Honestly, no. We found out some disturbing things about CADE and now I think tempers are starting to come to a head."

"But why was Davis mad?" Curtis asked. "He already knew CADE was responsible for inventing the mutating process."

"Yes, but what he didn't know was that the mutating process always first starts with the death of its subjects."

Several gasps echoed around the room, accompanied by a few expressions of confusion.

"I don't get it." Mimi said. "Davis is mad that they saved a lot of people's lives?"

"These were experiments, Mimi." Izzy explained. "I doubt they were just coming across recently deceased people randomly."

"So you're saying they must have killed them?"

"Most likely." Jun said.

"Then why are we staying here?" Sora asked, sounding slightly frenetic. "These people are horrible!"

"_Were_ horrible." Jun stressed. "They're trying to pay for their past sins now. CADE has been an extremely valuable asset in our fight against Hitachi and may be the only reason many of us and our families are alive right now."

"Still, it's pretty distressing." Said Joe, adjusting his glasses. "I can see why Davis was so mad."

"Yeah." Tai's voice sounded somewhat distant and Jun knew that he was starting to entertain serious reservations regarding CADE's motivations, just as Davis had.

"The one we should all really be worried about is Cody." Said Ken, his voice low and graven. "I know what it's like to go through what he did, to have yourself changed so much by forces beyond your control. For a while, he's going to not want to deal with any of us. He'll shut himself off."

"That's how you were with your spore?" Asked Clara.

"When I was the emperor, yes."

Jun could see the surprise evident on several faces in the room that Ken was actually openly talking about his less than ideal past.

"How did you deal with it?"

"As you all know, I didn't really. Even to this point, I haven't been very good at it. There was one point after the Chimeramon battle that I was able to synthesize a serum that counteracted the effects of my dark spore-"

"You WHAT?" Exclaimed Curtis, his eyes wide.

Ken recoiled a little at the unexpected reaction. "I uh- created an anti-spore serum."

Cody ran up to him, a slightly wild expression in his eyes. "How? Can you still do it?"

"Well I still have the raw formula, but I can't make head or tails of it without the super-genius intellect I once had."

"You have to show it to me."

Ken raised a brow. "Okay…"

"Now."

"Well, I have the files archived on my laptop, but I can't see what use they'll be. Not even Izzy could make anything of them."

"We'll see."

Curtis gestured towards the door that led to the outer hall. After a perplexed glance at the rest of the room, Ken followed his lead and left with Curtis anxiously trailing behind.

Yolei scratched her head after watching the two depart. "Okay, what was _that_ about?"

"Huge nerd." Both Terence and Rosa said simultaneously. It sounded like very rehearsed response.

* * *

Davis couldn't believe it. Why couldn't they all see what was going on? If CADE was bad, they needed to go. This wasn't the time for redemption, it was time to act. They needed to quit waiting on abstract ideals and prophecies and start taking things into their own hands.

_You're going to wear a hole into that floor if you keep that up._

At the mental interruption from Kuri, Davis stopped what he was doing, pacing incessantly back and forth across the already thin carpet of his room. She appeared at his doorway and walked into the room seconds later.

"What?" He said aloud. "You're going to try to lecture me too?"

Kuri rolled her eyes and sat down on his bed. She looked up at him as if amused. "Davis, when are you going to stop this?"

"Stop what?"

"Stop holding this from me, instead of just talking about what's bothering you."

"Oh, so you are going to act just like Jun, like you know every little thing about me-"

"Davis I _do_ know every little thing about you! Do you really believe that you can keep something you think about all the time, practically 24/7, from me?" Kuri tapped on her temple with a finger for emphasis. "Now I've been extremely patient and respective of your privacy in waiting for you to bring the subject to me, but over the past few days you've only grown more distant, not less."

"Look Kuri, I'm sorry. I've just been under a lot of stress lately."

"I know. Everyone knows. You don't need a mental connection to figure that out."

Davis frowned. "Nice to know that everyone realizes how miserable I am."

"You think you feel bad. Have you seen or talked to Kari lately? She's a basketcase! Or at least she was a couple of days ago. Jun tried talking with her and now she just walks around in a mildly better depressed funk."

"Really? Why?"

"Davis, her crest deserted her!"

"She thinks Light deserted _her_? She had nothing to do with that."

Kuri gave him a piercing look. "And now we come to the real core of our little issue here; you think Light deserted _you_."

"She did. She abandoned all of us, and only now am I starting to realize why."

"Oh really? And why is that?"

"I'm starting to realize that she was right. This struggle is useless. I mean, look at the people we're working with. They're just as bad as the ones we're fighting against."

"What?"

Davis filled Kuri in on the conversation he'd had with Hatori in the infirmary. Once he'd finished, she gave him an incredulous stare.

"Are you serious? I honestly didn't think CADE was capable of something like that."

"Yeah, me neither. Now can you see why I understand why Light left us? Even the good guys are bad in this world."

Kuri took a slow deep breath and steadied herself. Davis could tell that she was compartmentalizing her thoughts, filing away her opinion on CADE's true motivations away for a later time so that she could focus on him.

She sighed. "Yeah, the world can be a pretty twisted and screwed up place. I should know, I used to live in that world. But you showed me a way to rise above that kind of pessimism , to be more than what people thought I was, what I thought I was."

"Yes, but-"

"No buts, Davis. You're better than that. It's what makes you, you."

"Yeah, that's what Jun said."

"And she's right. Look, whatever reason the Light left, that's her problem. You're not the luminous Knight, you're the Miraculous one."

"Yeah, that's just the problem."

"What?"

"Not only did Light take off, but remember a while back when I told you I didn't know what I was supposed to do to be this 'key' the prophecy says I am?"

"Yes. And I told you I would help you. You don't have to do it alone."

"Well, that's fine and well, but the truth is I know even less now. Whatever happened when we faced Hitachi, I had nothing to do with. It wasn't me at all. I can't even remember being there. You and Jun keep saying there's supposed to be something special about me that makes me this key, but in the last week I've realized that that isn't true."

"How so?"

"Because we concern ourselves so much with this Darkness and Light and Miracles nonsense that we don't even see the truth anymore."

Kuri bit her lip apprehensively. "And what is the truth?"

"There's good and there's evil. One has to kill the other. The more you waste your time trying to find balance or whatever you want to call it, the more time wasted not fighting your real enemy. You heard what Keyan said about prophecies. If the guardians had just killed off Hitachi and all of his followers the moment they found out what he was up to, instead of waiting on us and trying to be guided by the light, we wouldn't be in this situation now."

"So you don't believe that there are shades of gray anymore?"

"No. And what's the big deal?" Davis glanced at Kuri with a raised brow. "You didn't used to either."

"I know, and then you showed me different. You showed me how there could be good and bad in everyone, and it was up to us to choose our own destinies."

"Yeah, well, I'm not so sure I feel that way now. I'm starting to think you had it right the first time."

Davis suddenly felt an onslaught of emotions flood from Kuri's mind and realized that something he had just said had pained her immeasurably. He went over his words again and abruptly realized his mistake.

"Kuri, I didn't mean-"

"Save it, Davis." Her eyes were welling up in anger, but no tears fell. "You didn't give up on me before, and I won't give up on you now, no matter how thick-headed and hurtful you can be."

"Kuri, I'm sorry. I wasn't talking about you."

She waved off the attempted apology and got up from the bed. "Whatever. Just stop trying to do this alone, Davis. You're letting the pressure the prophecy has put on you change who you are, and every passing day now, you're becoming a little less of the person I fell in love with and a little more…something else."

"Kuri-"

"I'm done talking to you for now."

Davis watched his love depart from the room and was surprised that he didn't feel the level of regret that he thought he would. Sure, he was disappointed in himself in that he hadn't been more tactful in expressing his new beliefs, but he found himself being more disappointed that she refused to see things his way. She was acting just like the others, far too lenient and indecisive. As long as they continued to associate themselves with people that hardly knew what the right side of good and evil really were, the Light would never turn to their aid.

Davis smashed a fist into his palm and gritted his teeth in frustration. This was mostly Gennai's fault. If he hadn't wasted so much time preaching balance and prophecies, the others would understand better. As it was, Davis was going to have to find a way to fix things on his own.

* * *

**New Tokyo Trade Tower, Tokyo**

The Assassin, now looking every bit the part of his previous Digital Guardian persona of KiAdjae, walked leisurely across his new headquarters, the upper floor of a brand new high-rise office building built in the heart of downtown Tokyo. Hitachi had diverted the funds for its construction covertly and gone to a Barke Construction competitor to ensure that no one, not even CADE's most skilled undercover agent would be tipped off as to its location. As far as anyone else knew, it was officially supposed to be the luxurious new economic headquarters of the local treasury and stock exchange.

Of course, that was before all non-essential government activity had been called off due to a recently severely heightened national threat level just before the building was to be opened. For The Assassin, it was truly an honor to have his base of operations placed here, at what would soon be the focal point for so much more.

He opened a cabinet near the massive sliding patio door that lead out onto the tower's open rooftop garden and inspected the bottles neatly lined within for a moment.

"Ah." He said, picking out one and emptying its contents into a couple of large glasses on a nearby countertop. "This will have to do."

He grabbed the glasses, walked out of the door and headed toward a figure posted at the rail lining the edge of the roof, looking out over the awe inspiring view of the city with a disdainful grimace.

"The most potent saké this world has to offer."

Ineg grunted as he took a glass from him. "I doubt its potency will have any effect on me." He downed a swig of the drink and barely even blinked.

"One of the few drawbacks of the loss of my frailer identity." The Assassin took a swallow of his own and predictably felt no effect. "The few times that I did drink to excess in my old form were quite enjoyable."

"Yes well, standing out in the open, consuming liquor was not quite how _I_ pictured spending the night."

"Patience Ineg. The call will come soon after the attacks begin. Everything must be done in order and precise."

"That does not explain why we are now moving about openly. There is nothing precise about that."

"The time for sneaking about everywhere is past us now. You must get used to that. Our victory is at hand."

"So you say…" Ineg looked away and downed another substantial gulp of his drink.

"You were bold in the meeting tonight, brother."

Ineg said nothing in reply. There may have been a slight twitch in his features, but nothing more.

"Am I to understand that your time is running short?"

"I have felt myself, my essence, wavering in and out of reality already. Our bargain was that he would help me attain the other pieces of my soul. He has not followed through."

"You must understand, he is in the middle of accomplishing something great. He is awakening the God."

"I understand that KiAdjae. I would like to be here to see it, however. I would like to look upon the eradication of these unworthy blights with my own two eyes."

"Which I can sympathize with. Still, it is bold to question his motives. You know that."

Ineg grunted. "It is bold to question the _God's_ motives. _He_ is simply a man. A simpering fool of a man that thinks he has true power…"

The Assassin gave a slight nod. "True. However, we can't risk altering the course of events. He came too close to losing everything a week ago. We must stick to the plan. Hitachi must fully join with the God. It is the only way to bring Him into our world."

"He will die if he is unworthy."

"Oh, he is worthy. I have no doubt in that respect. Hitachi possesses a ruthlessness even you cannot imagine."

"That does not explain how will I obtain the missing pieces of my soul. I cannot simply retrieve them. The Willis boy has installed countless countermeasures to keep me out of the realm. Countermeasures that I do not have enough time to circumvent." Ineg's glass began to pop and formed hairline cracks as he squeezed it tightly. "How I would love to slowly strangle the life out of that impudent little bastard."

A smile crossed The Assassin's face as he brought his glass to his mouth for another sip. "Patience, brother. You know that I would desire your rejoining, as well. To reconstruct Gennai with your aspect in control would be the ultimate revenge against what he did to me."

"Then why do you not help?"

"Because I am biding my time. Once tonight's events are underway, Hitachi will be too busy to keep tabs on all of his staff, especially those specializing in inter-dimensional travel. They've already done their jobs. We'll simply 'recruit' them to your cause."

"Still, it will take time for them to out-maneuver the boy's defenses."

"He is only one boy against legions of technicians."

"Yet he created the Knights, who have thwarted Hitachi's creations constantly."

"And after tonight, the Knights will no longer exist, but the mutants still will."

"You certainly are confident, Assassin."

"I believe in the God."

"As do I, but as I have said, is this the God's plan we're executing, or the man's?"

"Frankly I don't care," a feminine voice suddenly interrupted, "As long as we do _something_. I can't stand another minute of this boredom."

"As I was just telling Ineg here, you must have patience, Jade." The Assassin said with a smile as his understudy walked over to the railing and stood beside the two dark guardians. "Our Armageddon is just around the corner."

"It had better be." She muttered. "And when it does arrive, I swear that boy will die at the end of my blade."

The Assassin chuckled. "Honestly, you two and your obsessions with the young boys that constantly thwart you."

"It is preferable to the young girl that thrashed you last week." Said Ineg dryly.

The Assassin's smirk quickly faded and his expression became as dark and brooding as it normally was. "It doesn't matter. They'll all be dead soon enough anyway."

The three stared out over the city in silence, their thoughts dominated by notions of final vengeance.

* * *

**The Chamber, Living Quarters**

Noriko reached the right door in the hall and took a steadying breath. She had to have given him enough time to himself. He had to be ready to talk by now. She gently pushed the already cracked door all the way open and found him sitting on the edge of his bed, staring across the room into a full length mirror. A partially packed bag lay at his side. His expression was introspective, an almost unintelligible mix of anger and depression.

"Cody, are you okay?" Noriko winced as soon as the words came out. She'd practiced a thousand things to say on her walk to his room, and that dumb and painfully obvious question hadn't been on the list.

Cody didn't turn, opting instead to view his visitor through the mirror's reflection. "For the first time in my life, I don't know."

"What?"

"If I'm okay- if I'm even going to be okay. I just don't know."

Noriko cautiously approached the bed and settled down beside him, making sure to make as little noise as possible so as not to disturb Upamon, who was sleeping near the end.

"Why?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Why don't you know?"

"Why _would_ I know? I mean, look what they did to me, how they changed who I am."

"Oh Cody, I don't see any difference in who you are."

He gave her a sideways glance that conveyed plenty of skepticism.

"Well sure, there's a slight difference in _what_ you are, but it's like you tell me all the time, you can't let the actions of men change _who_ you are. What's the big difference between a dark spore implant and a genetic mutation?"

Cody sighed and picked up the sheathed sword and kendo stick lying on the bed beside him. He carefully laid them in a case next to his bag.

"I just don't feel like I belong here, Noriko. I already didn't like the person this place, this constant need for vengeance, was turning me into. It goes against everything I was taught."

"You saved my life, Cody."

"If I was the man I'm supposed to be, you'd have never been in trouble in the first place. Instead of pursuing my own interests I should have been there earlier, before you were in the middle of that street, in the midst of all those murderous…"

Cody looked down at his hands. Noriko knew he was thinking of his earlier transformation- thinking that he and they were now one and the same. She covered his hands with hers.

"Cody, you aren't them."

"I have the same blood on my hands. They did it for power, me to survive, but the fact remains, we both benefit from the deaths of others."

"But they decided to embrace it. You didn't."

"There isn't much of a difference. People still lost their lives."

"But they were criminals."

Cody shook his head adamantly. "Not all of them. I'm sure of it."

"I don't get it. On that night, you killed a lot of them yourself. Some of its fuzzy, because I was so out of it, but I can definitely remember that much."

"Only to protect you…and Matt and Sora. They would have killed you all first. They can't choose not to kill someone unless directly ordered to. I did what had to be done."

He partially zipped up his bag and slung it over his shoulder.

"So that's it? You're just going to leave everyone?"

"Just for a while. I just need to get away from here. This fight is too political, too compromised. CADE and Hitachi may as well be one and the same. I need to place this, to find some guidance."

Noriko knew what that meant. He would seek out the advice of his sensei, his grandfather. He would train, he would meditate, and he would try to find some type of enlightenment that he thought was eluding him here. The same kind of enlightenment she always found in him.

"But they need you, Cody…" Noriko brushed her black bangs away from her eyes, using the movement as an excuse to break eye contact as she finished her statement. "_I_ need you."

When she turned back she was startled to find Cody's eyes looking directly into her own. For a moment there was an intensity there that made her expect him to drop his bag right there and declare that he'd never leave her side again, but the moment was fleeting, and with a blink, Cody redirected his gaze to the door.

"You can walk me to the airlock if you want to." He got to his feet and strapped his weapons to his back, then picked up the slumbering Upamon and gently placed him in unzipped portion of his duffel bag.

"Um, y-yeah. Sure…"

Noriko got to her feet ungainly, too distracted by the flood of emotions running through her head to concentrate on putting both feet down on the floor. Cody caught her by the arm as she stumbled.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"No." She replied truthfully with a nervous chuckle. "Not really."

He gave her a small sympathetic smile. "I'll be back, Noriko."

"I know. But there's so much out there."

"From what I can gather, nothing has happened since I…I was…" A pensive look crossed Cody's face, as if he was seeking a way to come to terms with what had actually happened to him.

"Sleeping." Noriko offered. She gave Cody an understanding look and a half smile.

Cody gave in to the creative term with a slight nod. "Okay. While I was sleeping. Either Hitachi was scared into hiding or they're planning their next move. This is the best time for me to return home, before the opportunity passes. I have just been through a bit more than I expected the past few days-er weeks- and I need some grounding."

There was so much Noriko wanted to say. She wanted to tell him that _she_ was his grounding, that she could help him, but as right as the words felt as they circulated through her mind, she knew they'd never sound quite as appropriate on her tongue.

"Okay." She gave in, feeling wholly inadequate. "I understand."

"I knew if anyone would, it would be you."

He flipped the light switch and she followed him out of the room. They started the walk down the outside corridor in silence, Cody moving forward in is usual stoic manner while Noriko hung her head and stared at the carpet as it passed underneath her feet. She sighed.

Much to her surprise Cody's hand suddenly reached out in front of her invitingly. A moment passed before Noriko took the hint and grasped it. Cody adjusted the grip so that their fingers entwined more intimately. She looked up at him, hoping to rekindle the brief eye contact they'd had earlier, but found that he remained staring forward, as if singularly focused on his goal of leaving. Noriko didn't take her eyes away from him during their entire journey to the exit airlock, hoping he would falter for just one moment, but he never did. True to form, Cody was unwavering in sticking to his decision.

One they'd arrived at the doors that would lead to the outside Noriko had pretty much resigned herself to the fact that, hand holding aside, she really had no affect on his decision at all, much less getting him to stay.

"We're here." He announced with a hint of surprise in his voice, as if he'd been consumed with his own thoughts as well. He turned to look upon Noriko with an unexpected hint of regret in his eyes. "I guess this is goodbye…for now."

"Cody, you don't have to go. It's dangerous out there."

"Noriko, we've been over this. I'll be fine. I know how to stick to the shadows. And I'll be back in no time."

"You say that now..."

"And I _mean_ it. When have you known me to say things I don't mean?"

Noriko shuffled her feet dejectedly. She almost felt like a kindergartner being lectured by her teacher. "Never."

"Right. Look, as much as I may dislike this place and these people right now, I will come back for you, if nothing else. I just need time to place things. I think that I've lost myself lately while I've been here. I've done and thought things that were never a part of who I was."

"Maybe who you are is changing."

"If so, I don't like what I'm becoming." Cody looked at his hands once again with a frown. "Or what I've become."

"Cody-"

"Noriko, please. Don't make this harder than it is. I just need some time-"

"Fine, I know." She crossed her arms. "Just leave me then, Cody. Just leave as if I don't need you at all."

Cody looked slightly taken aback at the outburst. But after a moment a wan smile crept across his face. "I know you need me, Noriko, and truth be told, I need you too. You may be the only person I know that really understands me. But the fact is, I don't think I understand myself right now, and I'm not going to figure anything out as long as I'm in this place."

Noriko wanted to provide some type of argument against him, but found she couldn't. The truth was his words were starting to make a lot of sense. How could anyone not lose themselves when caught in the middle of this war? They probably all needed to do as Cody was, to escape it any way they could, if only for a moment. An idea struck her.

"Then why don't I come with you? It would only take a sec for me to pack, and I'd love to see Bearmon-"

Cody shook his head, cutting Noriko off. "It's much safer for you here. If Hitachi makes another move and affects your spore again, I'd much rather know you were safe here."

"But I'm safe with you."

"I can't guarantee that, Noriko-not like this place can. And if something happened to you…" He looked down at the floor.

"What?"

"I don't know what I would do. Just stay here and stay safe."

Noriko turned away from him and made sure to make her disappointment evident in her body language. Cody walked over to her, placed a hand on her shoulder, and gently turned her to face him again.

"Please. For me, Noriko."

His eyes conveyed the plea much more effectively than his words ever could. Noriko was so overtaken by the depth of emotion and concern that she found there that she suddenly found her options for a response severely limited.

"Okay," She acquiesced. "I will. But please… come back to me Cody."

"I promise I will."

They were so close and their gazes so intense at this point that Noriko knew exactly what was coming next. She was sure that they both did. There was no need to say it directly, they knew each other's feelings acutely by now. She leaned forward, allowing her eyes to close as she drifted closer to him, to his scent, to his warmth, to his stabilizing presence- then abruptly felt them disappear. Her eyes jolted open as she heard the sound of the airlock opening and she was stunned to find Cody now standing next to the massive sliding door.

"Wh-what?" She stammered, flummoxed as to what had just happened.

"I should leave quickly." Cody explained, his back to her as he watched the door's slow progress. "You never know when the status quo out there may change."

"I, um…O-okay." Noriko wrapped her arms around herself, feeling strangely exposed by Cody's sudden change in demeanor. "Just- just be safe out there."

"I will." He assured. He still didn't turn around as he crossed the airlock's threshold, but did stop for a moment as the door began to close. "And I will be back Noriko. I promise."

Noriko didn't say anything as she watched the door close on his retreating back. There was too much confusion running through her head to formulate any real words, and by the time she finally managed to whisper, "I love you, Cody," he was already long gone.

She turned and began to head back to the chamber, still wondering what had just transpired. She couldn't imagine why Cody had just turned away like that, not when they were _so_ close… It just didn't make sense.

A couple of loud sets of footfalls interrupted Noriko's thoughts and she looked up to see two CADE agents sprinting down the outside hall. Something must have been up. She had dismissed the lack of a customary agent posted at the airlock due to the fact that so many had been lost during the events of the prior week, but now she began to suspect that he had been called away from his post. She hurried to hear the running agents' anxious conversation as it echoed through the hall.

"…can't believe he's making his move like this," said one man. "What the hell can we do?"

"Don't know," came the reply. "What are the estimates by now? Hundreds of thousands, maybe a million dead?"

"And rising."

"Are we really sure he's behind it?"

"Know anyone else that's been stockpiling nukes lately?"

The conversation faded as the two men rounded a corner.

"Oh no." Noriko placed a hand to her chest and turned back towards the airlock. Cody was quick and probably a long way gone by now. She could try to just meet him at his house however, but she'd promised him she'd stay behind. If anything happened to her on her way there, he'd torture himself with blame. She couldn't let that happen.

But she could find out what in the world was going on. She ran out into the hall and headed for the common areas.

* * *

In the conference room, almost all of the Chamber residents stood in a large semicircle around a wall of wide screen televisions, absolutely silenced by the news reports that were coming in from the various screens. Only snippets of each report could be heard at a time over one another, but the cohesive picture they were coming together to create was becoming more clear and increasingly terrifying with each passing minute. Tai listened to sections of each one with a growing grimace.

"…south of the city of Portland, Oregon, virtually gone…several massive explosions on the outskirts of Djibouti…The Yucatan Peninsula literally bombarded by gargantuan blasts that, from the locals' descriptions, we can only conclude were nuclear explosions…Australian outback devastated by an attack just over an hour ago…obliterated areas around Cheyenne Wyoming…impacted North Africa…Utterly annihilated northwest Canada…area just outside Seoul virtually gone.. in what is believed to be the most widespread terrorist attack, well attack of any kind, in human history…perhaps in connection with the digital world phenomena of late?…"

The door to the room burst open and a flustered looking Noriko ran in. She anxiously glanced around the room. "I just heard-"

"Welcome to our worst nightmare." Terence muttered dourly, gesturing toward the television lined wall. "Hitachi made his move."

"Oh," Noriko turned to the televisions and took a moment to register what was on the screens. "Oh my God…"

"No matter how much intelligence we gathered," Hatori said, his voice a mixture of anguish and awe. "I never thought that it would come to this."

"But what is he accomplishing?" Izzy asked. "Is there anything strategic about the areas he's hitting?"

"He's making a statement. From what we've gathered, this is just the tip of the iceberg as to the amount of weapons grade nuclear material he's gotten his hands on."

"Did a lot of people die?" A smallish voice asked from somewhere in the middle of the throng.

"I'm afraid so, Veemon." Jun said. "A lot of people _are_ dying. This seems to be an ongoing attack."

"Then we have to stop this." Agumon said, stepping forward determinedly. "We have to find Hitachi and end this."

"That's just the problem." Tai said with a grimace. "We have no idea _where_ to find Hitachi."

"Maybe we should do another patrol sweep…" Clara suggested.

"And what the hell would that accomplish?" Davis lashed out. "We've been doing patrol sweeps for the past week and haven't uncovered a single damn thing!"

"Davis, that's not helping right now." Jun cautioned;

"Well, neither are you, or anyone else here! He's killing innocent people and we, the only ones that can do anything about it, are just sitting here!"

"And what would you have us do? Just go out there, busting heads and blowing things up at random?"

"Something! I don't care! We have to kill him. We have to kill him and everyone involved before it's too late."

"Davis-"

"He's partly right." Hatori interrupted. "We are working on a very limited timetable. Remember, the world governments have no idea who's really responsible for these attacks. It won't take long before they begin blaming each other and eventually spark an all out nuclear war."

"Are you sure they would respond so rashly?"

"Just look at the targets Hitachi hit. South Korea but not North, India, but not Pakistan, Iran, but not Israel, North America and Europe, but not any other Arab nation or Russia, Taiwan, but not China. He attacked nations with nuclear capabilities and left them with reason to blame their greatest enemies."

"The sum of all fears." Izzy said.

"What?"

"Don't you guys watch movies?" Asked Sparks. "Nuclear winter, Armageddon, the end of the world."

"Is he right?" TK asked Hatori. "Is that really what could happen?"

"Look, I know firsthand that every single nation has a contingency plan for this specific event. And in each one, retaliation comes before investigation. They'll be launching ICBMs at one another before they can even entirely grasp what happened."

"Well then, we have to tell them the truth!" Said Rosa. "Before any of that happens!"

"That's not really an option just yet."

"Why not?"

"Because if we do that, it will give them all one primary target."

"Japan." Matt said.

"Considering the amount of paranoia and fear the world is facing right now, they'll have no problem coming together to completely obliterate this nation from the face of the earth in mere seconds."

Tai felt his heart pounding in his throat. This was so much more serious than anything he'd ever faced before, and as leader of the Knights, he had no idea what their next step could possibly be.

"Then what can we do?" He asked. "How can we find Hitachi before that happens?"

"I'm not entirely sure we can. Intelligence has been unable to uncover any transmitted communiqués of late and our few remaining field agents haven't reported on any unusual activity."

"Then we're just waiting for the inevitable?"

The door to the room burst open once again and a CADE agent ran in, partially out of breath. "Sir we've found something."

Everyone in the room gravitated towards him.

"What is it?" Hatori asked.

"There's been a sighting, several mutants and a large black creature exuding a dark aura leading them across Odaiba's Rainbow bridge."

"That's Hitachi!" Exclaimed Rosa anxiously.

"It would appear so." Jun said. "But why would he just make a sudden appearance like this?"

"We also uncovered an encrypted communication." The agent added, pulling an audio device from his pocket. "It was surprisingly easy to de-scramble."

Hatori put a hand to his chin. "That's suspicious. Play it."

"Yes, sir."

At first, there was an electronic hum and white static noise before a clear and unmistakable voice could be heard over it all.

"I await their arrival at the bridge. If they do not arrive, all eight of them, and only the eight of them, set off the bombs in more densely populated areas. They would be fools not to realize the leniency we've shown so far."

"Yes sir."

"They will be given one final opportunity to fight for their world, and this time, there will be no last second interruptions. Our new world begins tonight."

The room fell silent except for the persisting static of the ended communication.

"That's all we got sir." Said the agent.

"And that's all we need to know," declared Davis. "Let's go."

"No." Hatori said. "This isn't on the level. To this point, Hitachi has been meticulous in encrypting communications to his underlings. Why would he suddenly make such an error now?"

"You heard him." Rosa said. "He wants us to come, doesn't he?"

"But we would have come just from seeing him standing out there in the open on the bridge. Why give this additional information?"

"It's a ultimatum." Curtis said. "He wants to make sure we know how much worse this could have been, and how much worse it will be if the eight of us don't show up there together."

"It's a trap." Said Tai.

"Thank you, Ackbar. " Terence muttered sardonically.

"What?"

Terence waved it off. "Nothing. Look, if we go after Hitachi now, we're playing right into his hands. For some reason he's pretty damn confident he can beat us."

"Isn't he always?"

"But this time-"

"This time we'll kill him." Davis interrupted. "That's all there is to it. Now let's go."

"Davis, I understand your desire to-"

"No, there's no understanding, no time for talk here. We need to go to that bridge and we need to kill everyone there. It's as simple as that."

"I agree." Said Rosa. "The stakes are way up now. It's time for us to do what we have to do."

"Yeah," Said Clara. "But if it was that simple, he would have never sent us that ultimatum. Who in the world do you know that just invites people to come kill him?"

"We are if we just keep sitting here talking instead of doing. If we don't go there, how long do you think it will be before he brings the fight to us?"

"Davis, please." A small and weak voice said. Kari stepped away from where she was beside TK and stood in front of the conversing Knights. "You can't go now. We have to find out what happened to the Light. How are we supposed to fight without the spirits-"

"Don't you get it Kari?" Davis shouted. 'She's gone! She abandoned us! Spirits and crests and shields don't amount to anything anymore! What we have is one evil man with a lot of bombs versus us. One of us is going to kill the other."

Davis looked around the room at everyone's surprised expressions as Kari fearfully shrank away from him. "Why are you looking at me as if _I'm_ crazy? It is what it is! The longer we stay here, the more likely he is to drop one of those bombs on Mexico City, or Atlanta, or even Odaiba." He looked at Rosa and Clara, Terence and Curtis, and Tai and Jun respectively as he mentioned the locations.

Hatori stepped forward and took Kari's vacated position. "Davis, right now you're playing right into Hitachi's hands. He wants you to have this sense of abject desperation. He wants you to feel that you have no other choice than to meet him right now on his terms."

"Hatori, I have news for you. We don't have any other choice. Not unless you want a lot more people to die."

"Well maybe you should consider the grand scheme of things. You should consider the fact that the only way we can win this whole war is with the eight of you. If you die tonight…"

"Spoken like a true member of CADE. The ends justify the means, eh? We should let half the world die right now so you can have a higher chance of getting your revenge against your old boss in the future."

"Davis-"

"No. I'm done with this bull. I can't stand anymore of talking with you people. If you finally decide that you want to fight Hitachi instead of standing around here talking, come and get me. Come on, Veemon. We're out."

Grumbling a list of obscenities, he stomped out of the room with his partner scrambling to keep up behind him

Tai broke the silence that followed the explosive exit by looking at Kuri and asking, "Are you going after him?"

"In a second." She said in a less than urgent tone. "But right now, I want to know what our plan is."

"It doesn't really matter." Jun said despondently. "As long as my brother is behaving like this, our chances are reduced exponentially."

"Oh, come on Jun." Said Terence. "What's so wrong with what he said? It's not like it wasn't the truth."

"It's not what he said, it's the spirit he said it in!"

"Jun," Said Clara, "seriously, can you blame him? Hitachi is killing millions of people. We have a chance to stop him."

"Yes, I understand that, and if it were you, or Kuri, or Terence, or even Curtis acting that way, it would be understandable, but not Davis. Never Davis."

"What?"

"Don't you see, Tai? He's better than us in that way. It's the most remarkable thing about him. I think it's the reason the prophecies say he's the key."

The mention of the prophecy gave Tai pause. "So then, what are you saying exactly?"

"I'm saying that, I believe that so long as Davis is behaving the way he is, he can't be the key."

"And without him-"

"We can't win."

Tai looked at the door. "I should go speak with him."

"Don't bother." Kuri said, her expression suddenly turning fierce. "He just left!"

"What?"

"Our connection just got a lot weaker. The bastard left. He's headed to the bridge already. I _told_ him he didn't have to face this on his own!"

"So did I." Jun said. "But he just won't listen."

"Damn it Davis." Tai grumbled. He put a hand to his chin and looked back and forth between Hatori and the rest of the Knights.

Kuri must have noticed the brief look of indecision. "Hell no, Tai." She said sternly. "We're going after him right now. I don't care what Hitachi may have up his sleeve. I'm not leaving Davis out there alone. Come on Peko."

Kuri stormed towards the door.

"She's right," Tai gave in. "That's it. We're all out of options. Knights, let's go."

Clara, Rosa, and Terence sprinted out of the door after Kuri, pulling out their digivices on the way.

Instead of leaving, Curtis first walked over to Hatori and handed him a small data stick. "Something I put together earlier in the event that anything should happen to us." He said. "Didn't think we would potentially have to use it so soon."

Hatori took the device and pocketed it. "Whatever it is, I don't plan on needing to use it."

Curtis nodded in understanding, and without another word, hurried out of the room.

"Tai." Jun put her hand on her love's shoulder and he turned to look her directly in the eyes.

"I know." He said. "But we have no other choice, right?"

She shook her head. "I'm sorry. I can't see one either."

"Then maybe we should get moving?" Sparks said, looking up at the duo impatiently.

"Yeah." Added Agumon. "We don't have time to waste."

"I know guys." Tai looked up at the gathered digidestined and Hatori, who walked towards him.

"We'll have the surveillance feed patched into here and keep in radio contact. If you can stretch this thing out long enough, I'll try to scramble some kind of military support together for you."

"Thanks. Look, if anything happens to us-"

"Nothing's going to happen to you, Tai!" Kari screamed. She ran over to him and grabbed him around the waist fiercely. "You're coming back!"

Tai returned the embrace and kissed her on the top of her head. "Of course I am."

Kari released him finally but looked none too comforted. She turned to Jun after taking a step back. "Make sure you both do. Eventually I'm supposed to be getting an older sister out of all of this, remember?"

Jun smiled slightly. "I remember."

Tai looked away from the girls and over the heads of the others to his longtime rival and adversary, who'd also shared the distinction of being his second in command for so many years. If things went wrong tonight, there was a chance he would have to assume the latter role once again. "Matt-"

Matt nodded and cut him off. "I know Tai. Don't worry."

Tai nodded in return. "Okay, we're out of here." He tapped Jun and she turned with him. Together, the duo and their digimon sprinted out of the room, heading toward the most daunting unknown any of them had ever faced.

* * *

**Odaiba, The Rainbow Suspension Bridge**

"There they are!" Davis shouted, pointing down from where he and his partner were gliding high in the air.

He and Imperialdramon turned in their flight and began to descend down towards the expanse of the brightly lit bridge below them. There was a contingent of mutants, about twenty or so, surrounding a massive black being that Davis had no problem in identifying as Hitachi. All of them were looking up at the flying duo, but none seemed to be making any motions to fight.

"Got a plan of attack in mind?" Imperialdramon rumbled.

"Corkscrew! Leave nothing moving down there!"

"Got it!"

Davis and Imperialdramon broke into a direct dive down towards the bridge and began to circle one another, unleashing a rapid-fire hail of positron laser blasts as they descended. The entire area of the bridge that the group had been standing in was immersed in smoke and white-hot explosions.

Davis and Imperialdramon didn't slow their dive until last possible second, landing on the bridge with such impact that both were forced to their knees. As they stood up, Davis scanned the area for their enemies. The dissipating smoke of the now heavily cratered and scorched section of bridge revealed no lingering creatures, dead or otherwise.

"Good." Davis said. "We vaporized the bastards."

"My, isn't someone particularly aggressive tonight."

Davis and Imperialdramon both whirled around to see the massive dark creature that had been in the midst of the mutants approaching them from behind.

"And all over a few nuclear weapons unleashed on some relatively rural areas? You certainly do hold pea farmers and cows in high regard. I'd love to see your reaction when I start attacking the urban centers."

Davis narrowed his gaze. They were only words, attempts at distraction. "Shove it, Hitachi. This is where it stops."

"Oh really? Because I was under the impression that this was only the beginning."

"You're an evil monster and you and all your followers need to die."

Hitachi cackled methodically. "I like your anger and conviction. You wield your power as you should, as something to be feared. You'd make an excellent general in my new order."

"I don't think you're listening Hitachi. You won't have a new order, because I'm going to kill you."

"You insist on saying that, but as of yet, you haven't made a move. It's intriguing, to say the least."

Davis crouched into a fighting stance. Hitachi was right, the time for talk was over. "Imperialdramon, let's do this."

"Ready when you are partner." The mega digimon rumbled.

Hitachi didn't move at all, and instead seemed entirely impassive toward the unfolding scene. "Cute."

With a primal yell, Davis ran forward, firing several positron blasts in rapid succession. He leapt into the air, continuing to fire the blasts from one hand as he prepared the other to deliver his most powerful Giga Death attack. Davis concentrated hard as he descended. The light and explosions from he and Imperialdramon's incessant blasts had completely obscured his target. If the transformed billionaire was still alive somewhere under there, Davis wanted to be sure to provide a definite finishing blow. He let out a blood curdling scream as came down, bearing with his fist all the righteous fury that the night's events had imbued within his tormented mind.

Hitachi caught the blow as if stopping a five year old from touching a hot stove.

"Like I said, cute. Ineffective, but amusing nonetheless."

Davis grunted as he struggled to free his captured arm from his adversary's firm grip. The bridge had turned eerily quiet, as Imperialdramon had stopped firing attacks as soon as he saw his partner captured.

"Do you now realize what you're dealing with boy?"

Davis defiantly looked the powerful dark being directly in the eyes. "Do you?"

There was a fleeting moment where Hitachi's stone-faced expression faltered. To Davis, it seemed as if his opponent had suddenly shifted personalities altogether. His eyes narrowed and he concentrated on the Miraculous Knight as if staring straight into his very soul.

"It was you, wasn't it?" He growled. "It was you that broke my grip in our last battle."

Davis didn't respond, but was sure the way he continued glaring and acknowledged Hitachi's words without a hint of surprise was answer enough.

"So then you are the new child of Light? Doesn't fit her style. To my knowledge she has always picked females, weaklings with innocent souls that are too pitifully naïve to understand the way the world truly works. You certainly don't fit the criteria."

"No, I don't."

Hitachi examined Davis more closely. "Ah, I thought that shield looked familiar." A sickening smile crossed his face as recognition began to dawn upon him. "So _he_ has a champion now? Interesting." He raised Davis high into the air with one arm. "But, like all parents, I suppose even this father will have to punish his son for his blatant misbehavior."

Davis had barely a millisecond to try to process what Hitachi was saying before his body was thrust downward at incredible speed. He felt himself smash into and through the hard concrete surface of the bridge, then through several of the iron supports and beams beneath, before finally streaking through the air and slamming into the frigid waters of the Sea of Japan.

Everything turned extremely cold and black. Disorientation overtook Davis. He could not determine where he was or even what directions were up or down. All he could feel was his burning lungs, the crushing pressure and chill of the water that engulfed him, and the impending embrace of death that was threatening to take him at any moment.

_No. Not like this. Never like this. _

Davis stopped moving and pulled his limbs in tightly around himself. He allowed himself to begin sinking so that he could get a feel for what direction was down. As soon as he was able to orient himself he came out of his tuck and launched himself into the opposite direction. The pressure became lighter, the water less cold, he could see the bright lights and suspension wires of the bridge glimmering through he surface above him. Davis shot out of the water like a bullet, creating a terrific spray as he continued flying upward until he reached the top of the bridge and once again alit on its surface.

"You're okay!"

The shout turned Davis's attention to Imperialdramon, who was lying on the ground near him and struggling to get up after having apparently taken a rather rough blow from Hitachi.

Davis nodded despite the pain coursing throughout his body. "Are you?"

"I'm alright considering. Guy hits pretty hard."

"Yeah." Both looked up to where Hitachi still stood, next to the hole that his attack on Davis had created. "So we need to hit harder."

"Don't you get it boy? You can't hurt me. You don't possess near enough power to compete with what I have been given by the Dark God. Your benefactor is nothing but a weak, tired joke by comparison, as are you."

With a casual flick of his wrist Hitachi launched a half dozen spheres of black energy, which Davis and Imperialdramon had to scramble to avoid. The attacks hit a couple of the bridge suspension supports, causing the entire structure to rumble and undulate and several concrete slabs to cascade from its surface down into the waters below.

"And now you have sentenced untold millions to death." Hitachi continued once the bridge had steadied. "I left implicit instructions for you in that communication. The eight of you were to show up. I was merciful enough to give you all one last chance to fight for your pitiful world and you threw it away."

"I wouldn't say that." Said a voice from above.

Davis looked up and saw the rest of the Knights descending through the lingering smoke, WarGreymon carrying Sparks and Jun, while Marta carried Pings and Terence and Rosemon supported Curtis and Taps. Peko landed alone beside Kuri, whose anger Davis could feel a thousand times more acutely that the pain Hitachi had just inflicted upon him.

_You okay, idiot?_

Davis winced at how loud the mental shout was.

_Yes, I'm fine._ He responded, trying to sound as non-confrontational as possible.

"Okay, Hitachi." Tai said after giving Davis and Imperialdramon a quick once over. "You wanted one final battle with us, you got it."

"If I were you I'd have been more careful what I asked for." Said Terence as he placed his energy mace in front of him. "You should've just asked for money, like most other crazy nuts with bombs."

Hitachi remained completely unfazed. "It's nice to see the concept of Seppuku is still alive, in this day and age."

"Sep-what?" Growled Sparks. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Honorable suicide, fool. You honestly didn't think I invited you here if I wasn't certain that it was here that you would die. In fact, I brought an audience to witness the event."

His inky eyes drifted upwards, prompting the Knights to follow his gaze. High above the group's heads, on top of the bridge's many support spires, several dark swirling masses suddenly appeared.

"Portals." Curtis muttered. "Just great."

Predictably, shapes began to emerge from the constructs; familiar shapes that looked alarmingly like several Dark Masters, a couple of dark digital guardians, and a sword wielding assassin.

"You couldn't fight us without your friends Hitachi?" Clara said, staring up at the new arrivals. "I thought you were supposed to be so big and bad now."

"I told you, stupid girl, they are no more than witnesses. I plan to make an impressive example of you and your friends so that they may come to a better understanding of exactly who and what I am."

"Keep talking that noise." Rosa said in a warning tone. "It's going to make shoving it back down your throat that much more fun."

"Ah, the typical spoken bravado that I would expect from someone in your position." Hitachi pointed to Tai and Jun. "But just look at your leader and his mate. They, the eldest of you, don't know what is coming, but they know _something_ is. They know that I have something planned to destroy you all once and for all. They know that your decision to meet me here tonight was Seppuku, suicide to save face and spare others. You may not be disemboweling yourselves with katanas, but the concept's the same. Honestly though, what other choice did you have? How could you all maintain your honor if you allowed so many more to die?"

"Shut it Hitachi." Davis said. "If you wanted to fight us so bad, then fight us. Enough talk."

"You're not in control here, boy. I am. This was _your_ last option, to come here and put your lives on the line in hopes that I'll spare millions of others…" Hitachi looked away, toward the twinkling lights of Odaiba at the far end of the bridge, before turning back, his eyes suddenly burning with an intense white glare. "But if it's a battle you want…I'll gladly oblige!"

Hitachi moved, for the first time since Davis had arrived at the bridge, and he moved _fast_. Davis was barely able to register the blast emanating from the being's hands before he felt a concussing wave of force overtake him and send him flying backwards through the air. He felt a complete loss of control over his own body that didn't go away until he slammed into the bridge, some distance away, and roughly tumbled to a stop. He slowly got back to his feet, not without a great deal of pain, and looked around to see every one of his allies getting up from similarly sprawled positions.

"Okay," Terence said between laborious breaths as he clutched his ribs. "That hurt way more than it should have."

"I've felt worse," Tai said between clenched teeth.

"What's the plan?" WarGreymon growled as even he got up with some evidence of pain.

"This, for one." Jun grunted, taking out her digivice.

Evolutionary light enveloped she, Tai, WarGreymon, and Sparks and when it faded they were in their more powerful forms of J'ai and SaberGreymon.

"Well that's great for you," Curtis said. "But what about the rest of us?"

Davis looked up at where Hitachi was and was enraged at the way the powerfully enhanced being casually strolled towards them, as if he didn't have a care in the world.

"We hit him faster and harder!" Davis forced himself into a forward run. In his periphery he could see Imperialdramon and the other Knights flying or running beside him. As one, the group began firing their respective attacks and screaming out warlike shouts.

Hitachi grinned in the millisecond before the combined attacks would collide with him and at the last moment moved aside with effortless speed.

Davis tried to adjust his aim to coincide with Hitachi's movement, but before he could even fire again, Hitachi casually pointed a finger at him and blasted forth a beam of dark energy that sent Davis head over heels and crashing into the ground face-down.

This time, it took him a little longer to get over the overbearing pain of the attack and raise his head enough to see what was going on. By the time he did, Rosa and Terence were already lying on the ground, not moving, their large partners beside them. The others were desperately trying to dodge Hitachi's precise fingertip beams, which he was now firing simultaneously from all ten digits, an amused smile on his face all the while.

Davis's gaze settled on Kuri, who was just barely staying out of the way of Hitachi's attacks as she dove and swooped through the air, looking for an opening to launch an attack of her own. Imperialdramon and Peko, who flew beside her, weren't as fortunate, as both were too large to keep dodging Hitachi and took direct blasts before crashing to the bridge like stones. Davis felt a sudden wave of weakness wash over him when his partner was hit and he doubled over and grabbed his abdomen.

How in the hell was Hitachi so damn strong? Davis looked up at the man that considered himself a god and was overcome with a feeling he honestly had not felt in his entire life: Defeat. It was actually possible that they could not win this fight.

_We can't lose._

Davis forced himself up to his feet yet again.

_Put one foot in one of the other damn it._

He started to move toward the battle, forcing the numbing pain of Hitachi's attacks into the back of his mind.

_Come on Davis. They need you_.

He began to jog, but paused when there was a sudden scream and he saw J'ai take a beam to the back in midair and devolve back into the separate forms of Jun and Tai, who both crashed to the ground with loud thuds.

Hitachi rounded on Curtis next, firing a shot directly to the younger knight's head as he tried to rush to the unconscious Rosa's side. Curtis hit his knees first, wavered slightly, then fell forward onto his face and was absolutely still. Nearby, Taps also collapsed to the ground.

_Go!_

Davis watched as Clara abandoned trying to fight Hitachi, flew to the area where everyone lay, and hastily constructed a shield to protect them. Davis felt a small bit of relief at this. While she kept Hitachi away from the others, he could focus all his efforts on helping Kuri. He broke into an all out run.

_Faster!_

He hardly took a few more steps before Hitachi flicked away one of Kuri's oncoming arrows with one hand while simultaneously launching another attack at Clara with the other. Upon the beam's impact, the Protective Knight screamed out in pain as her shield completely shattered around her, as if made of glass. A second blast caught her directly in the chest and she immediately slumped to the ground with hardly a whimper. Davis slowed for a moment at the unbelievable sight. He'd have never thought Clara's shield was capable of being destroyed so easily.

Then another loud scream pierced his thoughts.

_Kuri_.

Davis rushed forward, all pain forgotten, as soon as he saw her limp form descending from the air. His power returned to him, his feet lifted from the ground and he took flight, gaining speed and getting closer to her with each passing second. He blasted past Hitachi without a second thought, concentrating only on reaching Kuri before she crashed violently into the hard surface of the bridge. He calculated her trajectory, watching as her unconscious body slowly rotated as it fell through the air and her limbs and hair flailed in opposite directions. Davis stretched out his arms as he got close. She was just within reach. He could save her…

And then he felt it, the same constricting paralysis that had overtaken his body a week ago at the shipping tower. He immediately fell from the air and skidded along the concrete, forced to only watch as Kuri continued to tumble downwards until she finally collided with the ground and her body twisted into a wholly unnatural position upon impact. When he slid to a stop only a few feet away from Kuri, Davis desperately tried with every ounce of strength and will he had to move towards her, if only to make sure she was still breathing, but found it useless.

"It's over, boy," said a cold and confident voice.

Davis couldn't turn to face Hitachi, but he could hear the dark being's loud footsteps as he approached.

"If you haven't gotten the point by now, then you're even more thick-skulled than I imagined. I defeated your entire team in what, less than a minute? And I didn't even break a sweat."

Davis didn't quit struggling to move as Hitachi talked. There had to be some fleeting moment where the he would lose his control, one last chance for Davis to fix everything…

"I suppose you now realize that facing a god is much different than fighting feeble digimon, or even my admittedly pitiful mutants." Hitachi raised his hand and waved it slightly, as if giving some sort of signal. "Pity, really, that they weren't as powerful as you all. I could have been saved the time and effort of having to kill you myself. Though, I must admit, I have enjoyed this."

A small portal opened in the air next to Hitachi, through which a black spheroid came levitating through. Hitachi snatched the orb and held it out in front of Davis.

"Do you know what this is?" He asked with a sadistic grin.

Davis ignored Hitachi and continued concentrate on trying to achieve some modicum of movement. Even if he could only gain control of one finger, he wouldn't give up.

Hitachi frowned. Davis was sure he could feel the restraint he was exerting against the powerful being's control. He looked back to the sphere and smiled.

"It is a gift from the Dark God himself. I suppose I could best describe it to you as something like one of Azulongmon's power cores, except a thousand times stronger, and instead of being used for evolution, it is meant for the sole purpose of destruction. Once activated, it unleashes a powerful wave of pure dark energy that will kill you and your friends in an instant. Personally, it's a bit too merciful for my tastes, but then again, I have much larger ambitions than wasting any more time on you children. You're certainly not worth the power required for me to do you in myself."

_I'll never give up._

Davis continued to persevere with every bit of mental strength he had against Hitachi's hold. As he did he began to feel something warm against his chest, he saw the familiar golden light issuing forth from his shield, saw the tendrils streak out towards each of the fallen Knights, who gradually began to stir once again. He felt the paralyzing hold Hitachi had over him began to loosen, then break altogether. His mental connection with Kuri, who groaned and rubbed her head as she recovered consciousness, returned to its full force.

Davis looked up at Hitachi and couldn't help but to allow a small grin to cross his face as he and the others quickly began getting back to their feet and preparing themselves for round two. "You didn't think you were the only one with power here, did you?"

To his surprise, Hitachi seemed entirely unfazed by the unfolding events. "Actually," He said. "Yes."

He casually tossed the sphere into the air, and before Davis could even think to react, the dark core exploded with a shockwave of energy that caused the entire bridge to thunder and quake with a force equivalent to an atom bomb and a noise louder than a thousand freight trains. Instead of being knocked back by the powerful blast, Davis immediately collapsed back to the ground, feeling his entire body instantly sapped entirely of energy. He lay utterly comatose as the entire structure continued to tremble, barely able to maintain any semblance of a conscience. His connection with Kuri completely shattered and he could feel his soul, his very life force, immediately ebbing away. Despite his efforts to keep his eyes open, Davis's world turned completely dark, and try as he might to fight it, he could feel reality completely slipping away from him. He could literally feel himself dying. Instead of trying to move or struggling to get back up, he now found himself in a battle to simply remain sentient.

"A fighter to the very end." He heard a voice say, disembodied and in a world somewhere beyond his grasp. "But it's time you joined your friends."

Davis sensed something, the sound of Hitachi firing another beam, then felt nothing, nothing at all. The world slipped away.

* * *

**The Chamber**

Hatori watched the feed, his jaw hanging slack and eyes wide with disbelief. The news reports from the other televisions and the various screams and cries of anguish from everyone in the room with him blended together in a cacophony of noise that he subconsciously blocked out. As much as he had known this result to be a possibility, he'd never actually expected this to happen. The Knights had an indomitable otherworldliness about them that had just about made him all but dismiss the likeliness of them actually dying.

And now they were gone.

The next thing Hatori saw on the feed, and all of the other screens in fact, were thousands of mutants and armed mercenaries emerging from countless portals opening all over the world. Then, one by one, each feed was lost, turning to snow under a hail of snarls and gunfire in a matter of seconds.

Hatori then did the only thing that came to mind. He reached out and numbly picked up the transceiver next to him and issued one last order. "Fall back men. It's over."

_To be continued…_

* * *

Next: **The End of All Things**. Hitachi begins his tyrannical bid to plunge the world into darkness and thus, under his control. Now who is willing to take him on? Who is left fight him? Are the Knights really gone? Find out in the next chapter of Digital Knights.

I thought about putting "The End" up there just to screw with you guys, but decided that would be somewhat cruel. ;-)


	23. Destinies Pt 1 1: The End of All Things

Yes, I know, I know. It's been FOREVER. What can I say? Life seriously got in the way this time. Broken engagements, car accidents, evictions, and general chaos can do that. Also, I'd like to thank Mimiko for her beautiful and inspirational review. It's what really motivated me to get back to this tale ASAP. This is one chapter split into two. As usual, I wrote entirely too much to leave it as just one huge chapter. Anyway, without further ado:

* * *

**Destinies Pt I (1): The End of All Things**

**The Chamber**

Things had gotten rough for Kageru Hatori. Really rough. Since the fall of the Knights nearly a week prior, the entire world had fallen into utter chaos. Hitachi had essentially accomplished what he'd always wanted. The world was in his grasp. And only a couple of days ago he had let everyone know it.

Hatori reset the video file and closely scrutinized the monitor before him. He'd done this at least a thousand times, desperately trying to find any clues that could help him find a direction out of this hopeless hell, and he'd keep doing so until he did. He briefly entertained the morbid thought that that pretty much equated to him going over this section of video until he was dead, and that could possibly only take a few days.

"Okay, I'm ready."

To Hatori's right sat the Chamber's new technical support staff. Izzy.

Hatori pressed play and waited as the device began to warm up and load the video on file.

"So, how are the others holding up today?" He asked as they waited.

"Not much better." Said Izzy. "Noriko's been mostly shut away, and no one knows where Cody went. Sora's starting to get rather temperamental, as is Matt. Kari's doing worse than anyone, of course."

Hatori grimaced. "She lost two best friends and her only sibling. It makes sense. How is the training coming?"

Izzy shrugged. "As well as it can, I guess. The digimon are progressing, Tentomon's able to attack without speaking finally. Ironically, he can't stop talking about it. Ken and a couple over your off-duty agents have been doing weapons and firearm training with us. Ms. Lee, the Knights trainer, helps out with hand-to-hand combat when she visits. Everyone takes part since we now realize the necessity of such training, but none of us get into it the way Sora and Noriko do. Once those two get a firearm in their hands, they're absolutely possessed."

"Vengeance can be a powerful motivator. Once you have seen people you love slaughtered, as Noriko and Sora have, it's only logical that they would cling to the only means of fighting back that they can imagine, no matter how futile."

"Um…" Izzy scratched his hair nervously. "Do you have to be so callous about it?"

Hatori groaned and ran a hand over his face. "Sorry. You're right. I've just been under some stress lately…"

"We all have." Izzy gestured to the screen. "Here, it's playing."

Hatori looked up at the screen. It was blank, save for countdown display in the bottom right corner. The stark white numerals flashed by in rapid order. 4..3..2..1…

The screen vibrated for a moment, swirled, then steadied as an amorphous black shape gradually came into focus. It eventually settled into a form that Hatori had regrettably seen far too often over the past few days. There were the strongly ridged brows, the crown of horns lining the forehead, the inky black liquid that oozed from the corners of the creature's mouth.

"Hello world." Hitachi said in the gruff yet calm voice that had become his trademark. "I know you have no idea who, or what, I am. But, I assure you, my celebrity precedes me."

"My name was once Myotis Hitachi. And I was once just a man, like all of you. But, unlike all of you, I rose above this debilitating limitation. Your history books state that I perished in the Hiroshima bombing, and many of you believe my most recent alias, Yukio Hitachi, to have died when my building exploded some time ago. Well, what can I say," A grim, sick, smile crossed the creature's face. "The rumors were correct. Myotis and Yukio Hitachi are dead, replaced by someone new and far more improved.

"I was not planning to address you all in this manner, but it seems some of my petty and insignificant enemies have decided to inform your world governments that I was the one responsible for the recent worldwide nuclear attacks. This, sadly, deprived me of the pleasure of watching you destroy one another in your predictable haste to blame someone."

"That's probably the one thing we've done right, as of late." Hatori lamented under his breath.

Hitachi continued. "Know this, any of you planning a retaliatory strike. Any advanced military weapon formed against me will not prosper, because it can't. You see, I made them all. They are mine to control, as are the satellites that guide your missiles, and the computer systems that coordinate your forces. Ironically, all the technologically advanced weaponry your world has stockpiled in order to defend itself, now becomes my means of subjugating it to my will."

There was the deep cackle, the sound of which sent chills up Hatori's spine.

"This was not unplanned. None of this was. All of my plans are precise, glorious and will come to fruition."

The creature stopped, picked up a glass of water from off screen, and took far too dignified a sip for his fearsome visage. He then continued.

"Also know this, if any of you still attempt to interfere, you will all die, just as your useless champions did last week. As of now, I have no need for any of you, but should you attempt in any way to confront me or otherwise compromise my glorious plan, not only will every other nuclear device I've planted throughout the world be activated, -yes there are others- but I will unleash my fierce army of mutants and mercenaries on those of you that somehow survive. The only things left unscathed by my fury will be my own shielded headquarters throughout the world."

The screen shifted, displaying the epicenters of the world's largest cities; Beijing, Paris, Cairo, New York, Tokyo, each with a massive pulsating black pyramid surrounding a tower in their downtown sectors.

"I leave you with this choice world, stay out of my way or be annihilated. Either one works for me. It's your preference that matters here."

The screen abruptly went black.

"And after this we lost all communications?" Hatori asked. It was actually less of a question that a statement.

Izzy nodded. "He wasn't kidding. He commandeered and broadcast this on every single TV, radio, and broadband frequency in the world, then proceeded to shut each one down. There's no way for the world to fight back if it wanted to. We can't even come close to coordinating an attack."

"And even then, we have no idea which of those pyramid shields is hiding his true headquarters."

Izzy nodded. "We'd have no idea where to attack."

"But there is still this 'Digital Band.'"

"Right. We digidestined can still use our digivices and D-terminals to relay messages around the world, but with the Knights falling here and the others being scattered throughout the world, no one's really eager to launch any kind of counter-offensives."

Hatori shook his head. "And they shouldn't be. We can't risk Hitachi setting off the rest of those devices. What we need to do is figure out what in the world his ultimate plan is. Maybe if we can throw a wrench in that-"

The door burst open, interrupting Hatori, and a CADE agent walked in.

"Sir, we have a visitor. There's a guy walking around the old factory above, as if he's looking for some kind of way to get down here."

Hatori bolted upright. "Are you serious?"

"Um…yes sir. This isn't something I wouldn't be serious about."

"Yes, right. Of course. Patch the feed."

"Yes sir." The agent pressed a button on the control panel on the wall.

Together, Hatori and Izzy turned to look at the bank of monitors on the wall beside them. The grainy surveillance showed a man, cloaked in a black overcoat, lurking around the abandoned factory, overturning the various pieces of old furniture that once littered the Green Room in an apparent attempt to find a secret door underneath.

"Who the hell is this guy?" Hatori mumbled. He spoke to the agent. "Can we get a zoom of his face?"

"Hold on sir."

The video warped and pixilated for a moment before a still image materialized on the screen…an image that caused Hatori to immediately stiffen and quickened his heart rate. He reached down and pulled out a drawer from his desk. From it he took a flash disk, which he thrust in the direction of his assistant.

"Izzy, take this to transmissions and place it in console 12 b. The program should run itself."

"I'm sorry, what? Aren't outside communications down?"

"Not this one."

"But how-?"

"Just do it, and hurry. We don't have much time."

The intense gravity of Hatori's words carried their desired effect. Izzy took the small device and hurriedly departed from the room. After watching him go, Hatori turned to the agent.

"Okay," he said. "Go up there and let this man in."

"Sir? Are you sure, sir?"

Hatori pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head. Why wouldn't anyone here take his orders at face value today?

"Yes, I'm sure. Just do it, ASAP. Bring him directly to me."

"Uh, yes sir."

Hatori settled into his chair behind his desk and watched the video feed. After a few minutes had passed, a figure entered into the darkened factory and walked over to the man that was snooping, who turned around, startled. The two had a short conversation, then walked off screen.

Hatori leaned back in his chair. He thought that he had a pretty good idea of what was going on. If _that_ man was showing up at their doorstep, then that meant Hitachi had likely taken the final step in his development as a power driven megalomaniac.

And in turn, that meant Hatori had a very limited amount of time to get what he wanted. The odds of anyone toppling Hitachi's empire or even breaking the stranglehold he held on the entire world were slim as it was. If he didn't act immediately, those odds would shrink to none.

Only a couple of minutes passed before there came a loud knock at Hatori's door.

"Bring him in." He said.

The door swung open and the agent entered, escorting a middle-aged, very harried and disheveled looking American man.

"Here he is sir, as you ordered."

Hatori nodded and regarded the new arrival with a grim frown. "Thank you, agent. Now go help with our other current operation."

"Other operation, sir?"

"You'll find out. Leave us."

"Yes sir."

Hatori turned to look upon his new visitor, who was futilely busying himself with trying to improve his mussed appearance, running a hand through his uncombed hair while simultaneously brushing dust from his frayed suit.

"Life doesn't seem to be treating you too well lately, Mr. Barke."

The man turned a weathered gaze on Hatori and let out a small gasp. "I-I did not expect to be talking to you. I thought you were dead."

"Well, as you can see, I am not."

Barke only responded with a slight nod and a nervous twitch of his eye.

"Sorry to disappoint you," Hatori continued, "but yes, you will be negotiating today with someone that knows the murderous extent of your greed."

"Just who said I was here to negotiate?"

"Let's not play these games, Barke. The only reason you have for showing up here is that you have no place else to go. Let me guess, you've fulfilled your usefulness to Hitachi, correct?"

Barke clenched his fists and averted his gaze. "That insufferable bastard. He promised me an empire."

"And what have you done that you should think that you deserve one?"

"He could not have accomplished any of this without me."

"Honestly. Do you really believe that? You were only there to provide the additional funding and credibility he needed. We already have the intelligence showing that he sought out many partners before settling on you."

Barke waved a hand dismissively. "Enough of this talk. I have something you need, and you have something I need."

"What could you possibly have that I need?"

"Detailed schematics of every structure I've built for Hitachi, plus information on the ones I haven't."

Hatori raised a brow curiously. "I thought you were responsible for the construction of all of Hitachi's buildings."

A scowl flashed across Barke's countenance. "So did I. But as I have recently found out, that isn't entirely true. Hitachi built his new headquarters without my knowledge, likely planning to rid himself of me like he did Chavez."

"Chavez is dead then?"

"Yes, and what does it matter? Look we don't have much time-"

"Ah yes," Hatori interrupted with a nod. "There is the fact that if you know where the Chamber is located, then it's to be expected that Hitachi does as well. Likely, he's planning a piercing strike against us sometime in the near future, right?"

"If you understand this, then why are you wasting so much time? Don't you have a private escape route?"

"Whether I do or not, I will not leave my men here alone."

"Trust me. You don't have enough time for that. He's making his move in minutes. If just us two leave now, you can rebuild your forces and use this information to-"

"Exact your revenge. Yes, I know." Hatori rose to his feet and walked around his desk. "What you don't understand Barke, is that CADE doesn't operate that way anymore. We're no longer making deals with murderers to further our own goals."

"What? I haven't murdered anyone."

"Not only are all the lives Hitachi has taken over the past few weeks on your hands, but also that of your son, whom you made no effort to save," Hatori leaned over him menacingly, "you sick bastard."

Barke leaned back in his chair, away from Hatori. "What would you expect me to do? Actually fight against Hitachi for the sake of that traitorous little-"

His words were interrupted by Hatori's fist smashing into his jaw, sending him sprawling from his chair to the floor.

"One more word from you about Scott and it will be your end." Hatori drew his firearm and aimed it directly at Barke's head. "Now, where are the schematics?"

"Like I'm going to tell you. That's my leverage-"

_BLAM!_ Hatori intentionally shot the floor, only an inch away from Barke's head. "Wrong answer!"

Barke's already bloodshot eyes widened and he struggled to pull himself into a sitting position. "I-I don't have them with me!"

Hatori knew better than that. There was no way Barke would have just wandered into enemy territory without his only bargaining chip. "If you don't tell me right now, I promise I will splatter your brains all over this floor."

"I thought you all weren't murderers."

"It wouldn't be murder, Barke." Hatori pressed the barrel of his weapon firmly into the frightened man's forehead. "It would be retribution. In fact, I think I'd prefer it that way."

"No, wait!" Barke hastily reached down into his coat pocket.

Hatori tensed slightly at the movement, but didn't budge. There was nothing Barke could try faster than he could put a bullet through his head. He waited as the man pulled out a small disk and held it up in the air.

"These are the schematics."

Hatori grabbed the disk with his free hand but didn't move the gun. "Thank-you."

"Hey, um what about your end? You can't still kill me!"

"Can't I?" Hatori's gaze settled on the man accusingly. "I mean seriously, after what you've done, can't I?"

The question hung on the air as Barke lay on the floor trembling, unable to come up with an answer.

Abruptly, Hatori pulled the gun away from his head and stood up. "No, I can't. As I said, CADE will no longer operate by the rules that your people created."

"Thank-you." Barke sat up and straightened his jacket lapel in a vain attempt to recover some amount of dignity. "Now we don't have much time. About that emergency exit-"

Hatori gritted his teeth and grabbed Barke by his collar. "Don't you get it, you worthless piece of trash!" He pulled the man across the room and slammed him roughly against a wall. "Just because you won't die by my hand doesn't mean I won't let you die by your own."

Hatori pulled a pair of handcuffs from his waist and placed one end around Barke's wrist and the other around one of the coils of a radiator that ran along the wall.

Barke jerked his arm against the restraint and looked up at Hatori, alarmed. "Wh-what are you doing?"

Hatori glared down at Barke, his face expressing every bit of the revulsion he felt at just taking in the sight of the deposed construction magnate. "I don't happen to believe the life of a man that would murder his own son is one worth saving."

With that, he pocketed the schematics disk and headed for the room's exit.

"It's too late to evacuate!" Barke shouted, a surprising hint of smugness in his voice. "You'll never get everyone out of here alive now!"

"You're right." Hatori admitted. "I wouldn't, were I just now starting the evacuation. Fortunately for us, it began as soon as we noticed your arrival."

Barke stared at Hatori, mouth agape, then looked at the bank of outside surveillance monitors on the wall. "I-I don't see any evacuation."

"Secret exits, remember?" Hatori said. He enjoyed the astonished expression on the man's face before turning off the lights to the room. "Enjoy your handiwork, Mr. Barke."

With that, he walked out of the room and slammed the door shut behind him. He looked down at his watch and broke into a run. It had been enough time since he'd given Izzy that command. Everyone should have been waiting for him at the loading dock by now.

* * *

**The Loading Dock**

Sora looked around the room desperately, over a chaotic mass of digidestined and digimon, all looking thoroughly confused and all anxiously speaking at once.

Matt appeared at her side. "Any idea what may be going on?"

She shook her head. "Just some kind of emergency. I was at the firing range with Noriko when the alarm started sounding."

"It's weird." Matt said. "Why should we meet here? Why not at one of the side exits? And what's with the CADE trucks parked in here?"

Sora shrugged. "Who knows?"

Izzy approached them then. "This is where the program told us to meet."

"Program?" TK, who was near enough to the others to overhear their conversation, asked. "What kind of program?"

Izzy shrugged. "Hatori saw some guy snooping around topside and told me to run it. That's what set off the alarms and told us to meet here."

Tentomon, who was standing beside Izzy, tugged at his partner's sleeve. "Oh no, do you think it's some kind of attack?"

"Can't be." Said Gabumon. "We would be leaving if it was, right?"

Izzy bit his lip pensively. "I don't know. I think this _is_ the evacuation."

Matt looked around. "I thought if we ever needed to evacuate, we would be going out of one of the quicker side exits. This is the loading dock. It takes like half an hour for those giant doors to open."

"Maybe it's not that urgent." Sora offered. "In any case, we should do a head count to make sure we're all here."

Matt nodded. "I agree."

At that moment, the doors at one of the room's side entrances burst open and Hatori entered with a look of urgency. A large duffel bag was slung over his shoulder. He was initially bombarded with a multitude of questions from all those gathered there, but raised his hands in a gesture that managed to momentarily quell the curiosity of the throng.

"I know you're all wondering what we're doing here." He said "This is an evacuation. It seems our position has been discovered by Hitachi and we now need to depart before he attempts to destroy us."

Gasps and murmurs ran through the crowd.

"Now we don't have much time people. Mere moments, possibly. Is everyone here and accounted for?"

"Wait." Matt said. "If we only have moments before the attack, why meet here? Those doors take forever to open."

"We won't be leaving through those doors."

A sudden booming noise echoed around the room. It was followed seconds later by another, much louder one. Then there was a third one, which was so loud it actually caused the room to shake.

"What's going on?" Mimi asked. She picked up Palmon and held on to her tightly.

Hatori grimaced and braced himself against the wall as a fourth explosion shook the room and actually caused dust to fall from the room's vaulted ceiling.

"The attack has begun!" He said. "They're missile strikes, breaking through all the layers of earth above us!"

Another explosion, rocking the room even more.

With a whimper, Kari fell to her knees. TK and Gatomon rushed to her side to help her up.

Matt looked up at Hatori. "How are we supposed to get out of here?!"

"I-I" Hatori looked around, obviously uncertain. "Just wait for it!"

"Wait for what?!"

The explosions grew louder and more intense. The dust that fell from the ceiling was replaced by gravel, then chunks of stone.

Sora held onto Matt with one hand, and Biyomon with the other. Any moment now, one of those missiles would break through, and it would be the end. She braced herself. It was a moment she'd consciously prepared herself for since the Knights had gone down. Part of her had known this outcome was inevitable.

A particularly bad eruption caused everyone to scream and knocked them all off of their feet. A corner of the dock collapsed in upon itself, covering that part of the room in falling debris and earth. Joe and Gommamon were barely able to scramble out of the way in time, before being buried underneath the cascade.

_This is it_, Sora thought, _the next one will take us out._

It came, split-seconds later, with an ear splitting crack and thunderous roar. The ceiling burst open entirely and everything in the room was flushed with a white-hot brilliance. Sora squeezed her eyes shut, only to find that the intense light still penetrated through. It continued to intensify, continued to grow stronger. Sora could practically feel her life being ripped away…

* * *

Mr. J.C. Barke could hear the loud pounding bass of the first of the explosions. He could feel their vibrations, steadily growing more intense as their sound increased. He stopped jerking against his handcuffs finally and hung his head in resignation

To continue fighting at this point was foolish and undignified. Hitachi had won. Barke shook his head. It was always going to end this way. He'd done everything all wrong. At least in so far as this entire affair had been a game of chance. Certainly not wrong in that moral sense that that fool Hatori prattled on about…though, he bit his lip as he pondered, perhaps the two were somehow connected.

Barke had aligned himself with someone just like himself, someone willing to go to any extreme to attain personal glory and power. Barke should have known better, he should have listened to those that had cautioned him against this- the intrusive but well-meaning business partners he'd had killed…his own son… Those types would have not betrayed them, were he willing to recruit them to his cause. A few kind words, a couple of trinkets, some white lies. In the end, everything owed to him would have been his and his alone, and no one could have begrudged him his rightful place.

"It would have been glorious." He whispered, the sounds of explosions and crumbling masonry drowning out his voice. "If only."

Just before the room collapsed, crushed by the tons of dirt and flaming debris from above, he entertained one final, sobering thought.

Perhaps he deserved this.

* * *

She fell forward as the Old Odaiba Works building flashed with an intense light and blasted apart in a massive explosion. Several more explosions followed, sending rumbling vibrations throughout the area as each one went deeper than the last. Briefly, she entertained a notion of worry for those she had left behind, but it quickly faded, consumed by her struggle against the darkness that was threatening to invade her soul. She had to find him.

After lying face-down on the street while the last tremors of the explosion faded away, she ungainly struggled her way back to her feet and took a look back. Where the building had once stood there was now a billowing column of black smoke issuing forth from a massive and deep crater. Crackling flames licked around the rim of the newly created void while several military styled vehicles pulled up adjacent to the destruction and various armed men began pouring out.

"Check everything!" One of them shouted. "There are to be no survivors! Shoot anything you see moving!"

The girl quietly slunk around the corner and began to walk determinedly towards her destination. She didn't know how or why, but she could feel his presence. Despite the intrusive influence of the darkness that had overtaken the city, she continued. Something within her, some latent instinct, told her that if she kept going in this direction she would eventually reach his side. She pressed on.

* * *

**The Digital Realm**

Sunlight. A beautiful green meadow. Trees. Birds. Clouds. Considering the thoughts that had filled his mind only moments before, Hatori found the whole spectacle to be incredibly surreal. Perhaps this was heaven? He scoffed at the idea. Heaven was the last place _he_ expected to go.

"Hurry!" A voice shouted. "Everyone inside, now!"

Hatori turned around and found himself facing an extraordinarily large pastoral mansion. Around him he could hear several of the other evacuees gasping in surprise as they took it all in, as well.

"Please! Come on!"

He spied a young man racing towards the dazed group, with a Terriermon and Lopmon jogging along at his side. Willis.

The boy ran over to Hatori, hand extended. "Kageru Hatori, right?"

Hatori nodded and absently shook the young man's hand before finally recovering his senses.

"You sure cut it close." He said.

"Yes well, Curtis and I only set that evacuation up as a last second emergency measure." Willis turned to address the rest of the arrivals. "You all have to hurry! To bring you here I had to sacrifice my security protocols! We have to get inside now!"

Hatori shifted the weight of his bag and began to move. He heard several unsteady footfalls behind him.

"Where are we?" Izzy asked from amidst the crowd.

"This is the Realm." Willis answered, keeping a brisk pace at the head of the group.

"The place where the Knights were trained?" Asked TK.

Willis nodded. "Yes, for all the good it did."

"It did a lot of good." Kari said quietly. "They saved a lot of lives."

Willis came to a stop and turned around. "Yes, I know. I'm sorry. It's just been very stressful since, well…you know."

"It's been that way for all of us." Said Mimi. "A few seconds ago, we thought we were dead too."

Willis allowed a somber beat to pass with a sullen expression, then turned and resumed the trek to the mansion.

"You all wouldn't happen to know where Keyan and Krista are, would you?" Willis had tried to ask the question offhandedly, but Hatori noted a sense of longing and desperation in his tone.

"No." TK answered. "Keyan and Ms. Lee came and went from the chamber. I think they have a hideout somewhere else."

"Oh." Willis resumed walking in silence.

"So, from what I've heard, you created this place, right?" Izzy asked. He was looking at everything around them, awed.

Willis turned to him and a small grin crossed his face. "Yeah. But with the same training as me, I'm sure you could, too."

Izzy looked at his fellow genius, a little taken aback. "Are you kidding? I could never-"

Willis waved him off before he could finish. "Please. You're _Izzy Izumi_. If anyone could, it would be you."

Izzy shook his head at the praise. "At one time, maybe, but-"

"Oh my god!" The interrupting outburst caused everyone to turn around and look at its owner, an obviously upset Sora.

She looked around the group anxiously. "Where's Noriko?"

"What?" Joe asked, glancing around the group as well. "Wasn't she at the loading dock?"

"Yeah, I saw her." Said Gabumon.

Several others confirmed.

"We were all there." Said Matt. "I'm sure of it."

"Then where is she now?" Sora only seemed to become more irate as her eyes continued searching.

"I don't know." Mimi said. "Maybe she left?" There was a hopeful tone to her voice that was sure not to calm her friend any.

Sora ran a hand through her hair and continued to look around desperately. "I was trying to look after her. Argh! I can't believe I let this happen!"

Matt placed an arm around her shoulder, but seemed at a loss for any words of comfort. The look is his eyes easily gave away the fact that he didn't believe there was much hope that the missing girl had survived.

Hatori, aware of the sisterly relationship Sora and Noriko had developed, attempted to offer some sort of alternative. "She may not be dead." He said. "If she deduced that the meeting at the dock was an evacuation, she may have gone out of one of the faster side exits."

"But, that's not like her." Kari said, again in a muted manner. "She wouldn't just leave us, would she?"

"No way." Sora insisted. Her expression suddenly changed, however, and her gaze shifted downward. "Unless-"

"Unless what?" Asked Mimi.

Sora rounded on Willis. "You have to send me back. I can find her!"

"I'm sorry." He shook his head. "I understand you're upset, but I can't keep the realm unprotected just for you to go search for one person. We don't have much time, as it is."

"What?!" Sora practically screamed. "So if she did leave, we should just let her fend for herself out there?"

Willis cringed and drew back. "Like I said, I'm sorry-"

Hatori placed a hand on the young man's shoulder. "It's alright, we understand."

"Like hell we do!"

"Sora, please." Hatori pulled Willis to the side and said quietly, "I have something that we need to look at immediately. We don't have time for this."

Willis nodded and took the hint. "I'm sorry Sora. But I promise, I'll look over my systems, and if I can spare it, I'll create a portal for a few of you to go search for your friend."

Sora didn't look at all placated by that and seemed ready to give another outburst when Matt grabbed her by the hand and pulled her aside. He whispered something in her ear that seemed to calm her a bit.

"Now that that's settled." Willis said, looking quite relieved. "Terriermon and Lopmon will give you all a tour of your quarters."

He gestured to the mansion steps, just a few feet away. The group still looked a bit unsure as everyone stared up at the gargantuan building.

"Matt," Hatori said. "Can you make sure everyone gets properly settled in?"

"Sure," the blonde digidestined nodded. "I will."

"I'll help him." Sora said, still somewhat seething, but resigned to the fact that she wouldn't be able to go back to the real world anytime soon.

"Good." Hatori nodded to Willis. "Let's go."

"Okay." Willis said. He looked down at his two partners. "Terriermon, Lopmon, give them the full tour, alright."

"Sure, Willis!" The two answered simultaneously. They bounded to the forefront of the group and led them inside the front doors.

Hatori reached out and grabbed Izzy's arm as he began to depart with the others. "You, come with us, Izumi." He said. "We may need you."

Mimi paused upon noticing the sudden stop of her boyfriend, as did Palmon and Tentomon.

"He'll be along, shortly." Hatori assured them. "I just need his opinion on something."

"Yeah." Izzy echoed. "It won't take long."

"Okay…" Mimi gave the three a scrutinizing stare before leaving with the two digimon to catch up with the rest of the group.

Once they were inside, Hatori turned to Willis, "We need a computer."

"No problem." Willis waited a few moments before opening the front door and ushering Hatori and Izzy inside. "I have one set up downstairs, so as not to disturb Gennai."

"Gennai?" Izzy asked. "Where is he? Will we get to see him?"

Willis shook his head. "Not at the moment. He's been feeling a bit under the weather lately."

"Oh?"

Willis nodded curtly. "Yes. This way."

He led the two through a maze of beautifully arched hallways and into a small side alcove, inside which a couple of consoles were set up and waiting. The blond genius then turned to Hatori and crossed his arms. "Okay, we're here. Mind telling me why?"

Hatori reached into his pocket and pulled out the disk he'd taken from Barke. "I need to see what's on here."

"No prob." Willis took the small object, placed it in a console, and sat down as it began to boot up.

"And why am I here exactly?" Izzy asked. "He should be able to handle everything, right?"

Hatori nodded. "He should. You're here to observe. I want you to learn as much as you can from him."

"Are you serious? That's it?"

"Izzy, you've fallen behind on digital world tech. We need you to catch up as fast as possible."

Izzy sighed and grumbled, "You have a point, I suppose-"

"Whoa," Willis interrupted, looking at his console with raised brows. "What in the world is this?"

Hatori rushed over to the young man's side and observed what was on the screen in front of him; a menagerie of rotating, 3-D, building and tower blueprints.

"Good. He was telling the truth."

Izzy walked over, as well. His eyes widened. "Is that what I think it is?"

"Yes. The blueprint schematics of most of Hitachi's buildings, courtesy of one of his former top investors."

"Wow." Willis rubbed his chin. "We just may be able to actually to strike against him with this info."

Hatori squinted as he reviewed the data. "I'm hoping to do more than that."

Willis frowned, and pointed to a blacked out area on the screen. "Some of these files are encrypted."

"I expected that the newest structures would be," said Hatori. "You two will just have to break the code. Still, the structures I'm most looking for are there, like that."

Izzy leaned forward, looking closely at the construct Hatori had indicated. "Is that…some kind of high level prison?"

Hatori nodded and pointed to another area of the screen. "And that seems to be a research facility of some type. Both buildings are very new…perfect."

He put his bag down on the floor and unzipped it, then began pulling various weapons and supplies from inside. "Willis, I'm going to need another portal."

"I'm guessing you found what you were looking for." Izzy commented.

"You could say that." Hatori mumbled. He pulled several weapons and a set of stealth gear from the bag.

Willis frowned. "Well, whatever you found, it must be very important. Especially if you're asking me for another portal, knowing the risks that requires."

Hatori looked up at the technical wizard, more than a little annoyed. "It is."

Izzy's eyes darted to the screen, then to Hatori, and to the screen again. "Wait a second," He said. "Research facility? You think-"

"I'm not sure. But that's why I'm going back. To find out." Hatori quickly removed his jacket and slacks and slipped into the gear he'd brought. He then began placing various weapons and tools into their appropriate holsters and pockets.

As he did, the door to the room burst open and Sora and Matt, along with their digimon partners, entered.

"What are you doing?" Hatori asked. "I thought you were tending to the others."

Matt shook his head. "We only told you that because it was obvious you were up to something. We want in."

"Were you two listening at the door?" Asked Izzy.

"Only because that's the only way we'd ever find out anything from him." Sora said, pointing at Hatori.

"I do that for your protection." Hatori completed a check of his suit and prepared to leave. "Where I'm going, you definitely can't follow."

"It sounds like where you're going is somewhere we definitely _want_ to follow. If there's a chance our friends are still alive-"

"There is no chance." Hatori said, expressing his conviction with a strong wave of his arm. "I'm just a paranoid man, making sure to overturn every last stone possible."

"Then let us turn over this last one with you."

"No."

"Come on," said Matt. "You can't go do this, alone. You need someone to watch your back. I mean, there really aren't any field agents left, are there?"

Hatori shook his head in agreement. "No, there aren't. But you two certainly don't fit that description."

"Please," The look Matt gave the veteran operative was one of desperation. "I owe this to them, to Tai. All I did was doubt him and treat him like trash when he was training to save the world-" Matt paused and looked away while Sora put a hand on his shoulder.

"Matt, this isn't a mission to save your conscience-"

"Of course it's not." Sora shot Hatori a fierce look. "It's a mission to save everything else. They were willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to save us all, and we're willing to do the same for them. Look, we'll follow whatever orders you give us, no questions asked."

Hatori pondered this for a moment. However much he hated to admit it, he could use their help. They'd learned only a rudimentary amount of defensive techniques, and only Sora had shown herself to be a cut above in the handling of firearms, but it was better than nothing. Hatori couldn't afford to waste any of his few remaining agents on this hunch. Not that they would have been much help anyway in this instance, none of them were trained field operatives.

These two kids were really his only options if he wanted any aid. They were ready and willing to go, knew what they were getting into, and if Sora was telling the truth about following his every order, not just placating him until she could search for Noriko, Hatori could keep them out of real danger. He wouldn't relent or make them any allowances. That was the mistake he'd made with Scott. He'd bring them along as two extra set of eyes, and nothing more.

"Fine." He gave in. "You two may come, but your digimon stay here."

"What?" Biyomon and Gabumon said simultaneously. They looked absolutely scandalized.

"This mission is strictly reconnaissance. We will need to be extremely inconspicuous and they will not help us in that respect."

When it seemed Matt was getting ready to protest, Hatori added, "These are the terms by which I'll let you join me. You can either accept them or stay here."

"We accept." Sora said quickly. Too quickly in fact, judging by the glare Biyomon gave her.

"Very well."

Hatori reached back into his bag and pulled out another couple of suits that were of appropriate size. He frowned apprehensively when he realized which agents the suits had once belonged to, Koi and Suya, but shook the thought aside and tossed them across the room.

"Okay, go get suited. I'll meet you at the cars out front."

Matt caught both sets of gear and, after giving a grateful nod, hurriedly departed from the room with Sora and the digimon.

"Are you sure about that?" Izzy asked Hatori after they'd gone. "Should I come too?"

"No." Hatori said. "Stay here and help Willis with whatever he needs. You're the only one of us here that can be of any use to him."

"Okay, but I'm not sure what help I can be." Izzy looked over the monitor in front of him and scowled. "All of this is even over my head."

"You'll pick it up quickly." Willis assured him. "If anyone can, it's you."

Hatori smirked as he saw Izzy visibly chafe under the continuing praise.

Willis then turned to face the CADE operative. "While you're out, if you could just keep a lookout for Ms. Lee and Keyan… I, um, just want to know if they're okay."

"The chances are slim that we will come across them, be if we do, I promise we'll bring them back with us."

"That's all I ask." The somber concern on the young man's face was painfully transparent. Hatori hoped, for his sake, that the two women were, in fact, okay.

"Well," Willis continued, "you should get going then. The longer this takes, the longer I have to keep my safety protocols low."

"Right." Hatori slung his bag over his shoulder. "Now there's only one thing left to cover."

"How you're getting back?" Willis deduced.

Hatori gave him a nod. "It's not as if we can just call when we're ready to come back."

Willis tapped his chin. "So the portal I give you will have to be timed. But where to put it?"

Izzy tentatively raised a hand and looked between the two. "I have an idea."

* * *

Minutes later, Hatori arrived at one of the CADE SUVs parked in the middle of the meadow at the front of the mansion. He opened the driver's door and found Matt and Sora already suited and armored, and waiting in the back seat.

Hatori threw his bag in and climbed in himself.

"There were no complications?" He asked as he started the car.

"We ran into Mimi on the way out," Sora informed him. "But we got her to promise not to tell anyone else. We don't want everyone to get their hopes up."

"A wise decision." Hatori started the vehicle and put it into gear, just as a white swirling light appeared inches in front of the hood. He stepped on the gas, and with a flash they went through the vortex, to enter the real world once again.

* * *

**Cell B, Hitachi Special Detainment Complex**

Jun opened her eyes to a blurry and painfully bright world. Her head pounded as if a train were running though it and her mouth felt incredibly parched and dry. She tried to move, but felt such a massive amount of pain accompanying the action that she abandoned the endeavor altogether, instead opting to patiently wait for her vision to properly return while she wondered what had happened to her and where in the hell she was.

"It's going to take a few minutes for the soreness to go away."

At the sound of Cutis's voice, Jun tried to sit upright. It took a lot of effort and Curtis had to help by gently holding her shoulders, but she finally did and soon found herself able to take in her surroundings with her gradually adjusting eyes. Everything remained almost unbearably bright, however, as if her eyesight were somehow overexposed.

"Are…are we dead?"

Jun knew the question was stupid, but a small part of her still felt it was somewhat valid, especially considering the last thing she could remember happening to her.

"I almost wish." Curtis replied. "I think we're in a prison or research facility of some kind."

"Research facility?" Jun looked down at herself and noticed that her uniform was gone, replaced by a skimpy pair of white shorts and an equally small T-shirt. She glanced around. "Where are the others?"

Curtis shrugged. "I'm not sure. I really don't know if they're all even here. From what I can piece together, there are definitely two of us undergoing some kind of interrogation. I heard the guards say it when they brought us food." Curtis pointed to a couple of bowls in the corner of the room, filled with what looked like white glue mottled here and there with spots of gray mold.

"Interrogation?"

"I think Hitachi, for some reason, brought us here instead of killing us. They seem to be trying to figure out, to put it simply, how we work."

"What?" Jun held her head and unsteadily got to her feet. She grimaced and walked to the center of the room and took a good look around. "Why?"

"This is what we get for routinely defeating his mutants over and over. He probably thinks we're superior creations now. Once they're done running tests and have the data they're looking for, they'll dispose of us just like the CADE companies."

"We can't let that happen."

"Hey I'm open to ideas. If you can figure out how we can get out of here without our shields, our unis, or our digimon partners, I'm all ears."

"Curtis, we're more than just that. I still have my insight, you're still brilliant-" Jun paused as her eyes came upon an unbelievable sight and she had to blink several times to be sure it wasn't an apparition. "Hey, is that door open?!"

Curtis shook his head. "It's not a door, it's a forcefield. I found that out a little while ago." He rubbed his shoulder and grunted. "And it hurts. A lot."

Upon closer inspection, Jun could make out the transparent blue hue of the energy shield that was separating them from the outside hall.

"Damn." She looked around the small square cell for any other avenue affording the possibility of escape. "Why are we the only two in here?"

"I think they have more cells set up for the others. My theory is they split us up so no one can potentially use their shield powers together."

"We don't even have our shields."

"They're a little paranoid."

Jun nodded slowly and walked up to the forcefield door. "They're going to regret not killing us."

"You sure sound confident." Curtis observed in a less than convinced tone.

"If there's one thing I know, it's no matter how you split up the eight of us, we all still work well together."

Curtis sighed. "Yeah, that sounds good and all Jun, but exactly how is it supposed to get us out of here?"

Jun sidled up to the forcefield and looked as far out of the door and into the nondescript hallway beyond as she could. "How does this forcefield work?"

"From what I could tell, there's a panel somewhere out there that lets it open up just large enough to pass things through. The guard that brought that…um- 'food' put it through while his partner stood to the side somewhere."

"Where was he standing?"

"I'm not sure. I had just woken up myself, so I didn't really know what was going on."

"I don't see any panel out here."

Curtis walked over beside Jun and looked out, as well. "Well, I know that guard went somewhere to open the forcefield."

"I'm sure he did." Jun said. "I'm hoping we just can't see it from this specific vantage point, since all we _can_ see from here is the wall on the opposite side of the hall."

"What do you mean-?" Curtis paused suddenly as he realized what her intentions were. "Wait, there's no way they'd be that stupid, is there?"

Jun smirked. "Maybe. The walls out there are reinforced steel, but inside this cell it's only drywall. This whole place looks and smells like it's brand new."

The Meditative Knight nodded. "Which means they probably didn't finish reinforcing the inside of the cells. So then there's a chance that, if the panel is in fact on the outside wall of our cell, we can get to it from in here." Curtis turned around and looked at the bowls. "I could use the spoons they gave us to break through-"

"Hold your horses there. You don't know exactly where it is. You just go smashing that wall at random and it'll call a lot of unwanted attention to us."

"Well then what would you suggest?"

"Do these guards have guns?"

"Yes. Big ones."

"Good." Jun looked across the room and spotted a small chair situated near the small cot she'd awakened on. Perfect.

"I'm sorry?"

"I know people, Curtis, you know technology. We're about to put two and two together."

"Jun, I have no idea where you're going with this."

"Just follow my lead and observe." She picked up the chair and heaved it at the forcefield with a loud shout.

Terror flashed across Curtis's face. "What the hell, Jun?"

"Shhh!"

Loud footfalls could be heard approaching from the end of the hall and after a few seconds had passed, two armored guards brandishing assault rifles arrived at the doorway.

"What the hell is going on in here?!" One of them grunted. "What was that noise?"

"I threw a chair at the door, dumbass." Jun responded.

The guard recoiled a little, his indignant anger replaced by a level of surprise. "Are you nuts, girl?"

Jun walked up to the door, wearing an angry scowl. "Let us out of here right now."

"You're in no position to be giving us orders-"

"Let us out!"

The guard glanced over at Curtis, who only responded with a shrug, then turned his attention back to Jun.

"If you know what's good for you girl, you'll shut your mouth."

"Why should I?" She taunted. "Am I supposed to be scared just because you have guns? You obviously can't shoot me through this forcefield."

"I guess your buddy there failed to inform you of how things work around here." The guard nodded to his companion, who then stepped to the side of the doorway. Moments later, a small hole opened in the wavering blue forcefield and the guard forced the barrel of his weapon through it.

"Now what do you have to say girlie?" He sneered.

Jun backed away, trying hard to make her expression as fearful as possible. "N-nothing."

"Yeah. That's about what I thought. Now you just sit down and shut up."

"Y-yes sir."

"Humph." The guard removed his weapon and the forcefield reappeared in its entirety. Together, with looks of satisfaction, the two armed men then walked back down the hallway from whence they had come.

"Did you see it?" Jun quietly whispered to Cutis.

Curtis nodded as he removed a spoon from one of the bowls and shook the offensive glop free from it. He cautiously crept to the doorway and began measuring along the wall.

"Okay, he took about three steps, so… right about here."

He pointed to a spot on the wall just a few feet away from the door and turned to look at Jun.

"Go for it." She said.

After a steadying breath, Curtis reared back and swung the spoon into the wall as hard as he could. Jun coughed loudly as he did, doing her best to shield the noise.

"You in?"

Curtis pried the spoon back and forth, forcing more drywall out as he began to make a decent sized hole.

"Yeah, I think so. I see some wires and complex machinery."

Jun pumped a fist. "Good! Now hurry before they come back."

"Sure."

Satisfied that the hole was large enough, Curtis placed the spoon down on the floor and began tooling with the circuitry within.

"Just out of curiosity," he said, "how were you so sure the guard would take down the forcefield to do that?"

Jun shrugged. "They're typical men, can't wait to brandish their big guns." She jumped up and crept to the door to keep lookout before adding, "Amongst other things…"

"Didn't need to hear that last part." Curtis muttered as he went to work.

Jun rolled her eyes. "Just hurry up."

A couple of minutes passed as Curtis navigated through the wiring in the back of the console.

"Anything yet?" Jun asked, vainly attempting to keep her voice from sounding too impatient.

"Yeah, just hold on. There's a history of maintenance and floor plan printout on the inside panel in here that I've been looking over."

"Are you kidding me?" Jun hissed. "This isn't the time for reading Curtis. Just take the forcefield down."

"Hey," Curtis took his attention away from the panel and looked up at Jun. "You did your part, now let me do mine. This could come in very useful."

Jun crossed her arms. "Okay, fine. Just hurry up, please."

He returned to his work.

"Hmm," He said. "According to this maintenance manifest, this place _is_ brand new," A broad grin crossed his face. "And lucky for us they've been apparently been having quite a few technological bugs with their systems lately. Guess I'll give them a couple more. They won't know the difference."

Curtis thrust his hand into the wall once more, this time forcefully pulling loose several wires as he brought it back out. The glowing barrier finally disappeared. Jun leaned through the doorway and peeked out into the hall before ducking back in.

"You said a couple more. What else did you do?"

"Cut the relays to the camera surveillance systems and alarms. If they just think it's another malfunction like I believe they will, it should buy us some extra time."

"Alright," Jun nodded, impressed. "Good job."

"I try."

"Don't sell yourself short. You do a lot more that. Okay, the hall's empty. Let's go."

* * *

**Cell C**

Tai watched quietly as yet another guard passed the door to his cell. He listened to the man's footsteps, waiting until he was sure the armed man was out of earshot before giving his cellmate the all clear signal.

"He's gone?" Clara asked.

Tai nodded. "Now back to the subject at hand."

"Getting out of here."

"Yes. Now the best I can come up with is still that if you can create a barrier-"

Clara let out a frustrated sigh. "Tai, I told you, I can't do that without my shield."

"And I think you can Clara. Don't you want to get to the others before something happens?"

"You know I do. I'm the only person that probably wants to even worse than you do."

"I don't doubt that. And we can if you just create a barrier."

"Tai, why are you doing this to me? I just told you I can't without my shield."

Tai took a steadying breath to quell the frustration building within him. "I'm sorry, I haven't explained myself fully. Back when I was just a digidestined, after our first time saving the world, we had our crests stolen from us. We thought that our ability to evolve our digimon to their ultimate levels was gone forever, but we soon realized that it wasn't our crests that gave us power. They just acted as conduits for the qualities that were in us already. Hopefully, our shields work the exact same way. But we won't know until we try."

"Okay," said Clara, sounding unconvinced. "I'll try it."

She walked over to the glowing threshold and stood right next to it.

"Be careful." Tai cautioned. "Don't touch it by accident." He subconsciously rubbed his fist, which he'd injured trying to punch through the forcefield earlier.

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Clara said, before mumbling, "I wouldn't be getting close to it at all if it weren't for you."

"I heard that," said Tai. "Just remember to concentrate on who you want to protect."

Clara shrugged. "Okay, here goes nothing."

She closed her eyes, and after barely a second had passed a flickering yellow light enveloped her.

"See? It's working."

Clara opened her eyes and looked around. "Well I'll be damned."

"Try reaching through the forcefield now."

Clara took a deep breath and slowly stretched out her hand towards the cell door. Her shielded hand harmlessly passed though the shimmering blue field without the slightest spark or waver.

"It worked!"

"Good." Tai clapped his hands together. "Okay, can you make it any bigger?"

Clara looked around herself, at the barrier whose radius was barely enough to cover her whole body effectively. "This is about as good as it gets. Without my shield, I don't have enough power to make it much bigger."

Tai frowned. "Okay, well do you think you can go outside and find the panel that controls the forcefield and –"

"Do I look like Curtis to you?" Clara gave Tai a pointed stare. "Come on, we're just going to have to go through this together."

"But it's so small…"

Clara looked down at herself, then over at Tai and smiled. "Oh my god Tai, this is not the time to be shy."

"But…well, you're hardly wearing anything."

"Neither are you, and you don't see me tripping. Now come on before I leave you here and the guard comes back all pissed because one of us is missing."

Tai grunted and reluctantly walked over to Clara, who smirked and seemed to be enjoying his discomfort way too much.

"Now get real close to me," she said.

He did so, getting as near to her as possible without causing any gratuitous skin on skin contact.

Clara sighed and rolled her eyes. "Badge of Courage my ass."

She wrapped her arms around Tai and forcefully pulled him as close to her as possible, making him painfully aware of the fact that in addition to her extremely small shorts and T-shit, she wasn't wearing a bra.

"Jun would kill me if she saw us like this," He lamented.

"Not if Terence got to you first. Now let's go."

Together the two began to inch their way through the forcefield. Tai closed his eyes as they slowly shuffled their feet. If anything happened to Clara's concentration and her barrier suddenly disappeared, the two of them would be cut in half. He preferred not to see the gruesome event coming, if he could help it. After a few seconds had passed, their movement abruptly stopped.

"You can open your eyes now, Tai," said Clara as she let go of him. "We're out."

Tai took a step back, looked around at the bright steel walls of the hallway outside their cell, and sighed in relief. "Whew. Okay, now where to?"

Clara shrugged. "You're the leader of this outfit."

Tai looked down the hall in the opposite direction of the way the guard had gone after his last visit. He pointed. "That way."

* * *

**Cell A**

"Ouch!" Davis yelled as he stumbled across the cell and bumped into the wall. He leaned against it and immediately began trying to massage the maddening pain from his shoulder. "That thing hurts like hell."

"I told you." Rosa said, rolling her eyes as she sat on the floor rubbing her own pained shoulder. "I already tried that."

Davis looked back at their cell's forcefield door in frustration. "Well, if we can't ram through it, then I'm all out of ideas."

"Oh, come on. There has to be another way out of here. We're smarter than this."

Davis gave his companion a skeptical look. "Rosa, it's you and me. We're not exactly the geniuses of the group."

"So? Does that mean we're just supposed to give up?"

"I don't know. But maybe we have to face the fact that Hitachi has won. There's no telling how long we've been out and what exactly he did while we were gone. If we get out of here, there may not be much of a world left to go back to."

"Davis, we should be dead. I, for one, am happy that we are not. And since I plan on finding the others and paying Hitachi back double for even making me _think_ I was dead, I'm gonna need to get the hell out of here."

"Okay, fine. And just how do you suggest we do that?"

Rosa looked around the room. "Well, that's the question."

A sharp pain suddenly hit Davis in the stomach, causing him to double over.

Rosa rushed to his side. "What's wrong? I thought you hit that thing with your shoulder."

"I did. I don't know where this came from." Davis said. His grimace gradually disappeared as the pain ebbed away, but was replaced by a much more dire expression once he realized what was going on. "Wait a second. This isn't me. It's Kuri. Rosa, we have to find her. We have to get out of here."

"So that's what gets you motivated." Rosa looked around the cell. "Well, I don't see anything in here that can really help us-"

She paused when two loud sets of footsteps could be heard coming down the hall.

"The guards are coming back." She hissed.

"Yeah, I put that much together."

Two armored men with helmets appeared at the doorway, brandishing weapons.

"These two are next?" One asked.

"Yes," said the other. "The two already in questioning aren't being too cooperative. We need to take these two to the second interrogation room."

"You're not taking us anywhere!" Rosa shouted. "I dare you to take this forcefield down and find that out for yourself!

"They're belligerent, just like the other two." The guard said. "Let's just gas 'em first. That way they won't be so much trouble."

"Yeah, that stuff's supposed to take away their will to fight, right? Let's do it."

The two walked down the hall, out of view.

"Nice job, Rosa. If you had just kept quiet for two seconds, they would've taken down the forcefield."

"Yeah, with those big ass guns pointed at us. Now they won't."

"Because they're gonna gas us!"

"I know. Isn't it great?"

"Rosa." Davis paused as another empathic pain shot through his jaw. "Have you lost your mind?"

"Come on Davis, a gas that makes you lose your will to fight? If there are any two people in this world that something like that won't work on, it's us."

Davis looked down at the floor while the pain in his jaw gradually receded. "I hope you're right…because I think Kuri's in that interrogation room"

A hissing noise abruptly permeated the room and several jets of what looked like steam began cascading down from the ceiling.

"I hope I'm right too." Rosa said, her gaze firmly trained on the slowly falling gas.

"Just remember to stay focused on our goal." Davis said as the vapors began to descend and fill the air around them. "Don't let it affect you."

Rosa reached out and latched onto his hand. "Okay, here we go."

The two quietly waited as the gas was allowed to waft around the room, taking as shallow breaths as they could manage. After a few minutes passed, Davis felt himself being overcome by a feeling of extreme relaxation. The pains that he felt being transmitted from Kuri were dulled to a great extent, replaced by a virtual lack of emotion or feeling of any kind. The forcefield door to the room finally opened and the two guards from earlier walked in with their rifles firmly trained on the two waiting prisoners.

"Are you ready to go now?" Asked one.

"Sure," Said Rosa, her voice sounding slightly mirthful, "Anything you say, man."

The guard redirected his weapon at Davis. "How about you?"

"Yeah. It's cool."

"Okay, let's get moving."

Davis and Rosa got up together, both snickering as they ungainly attained their footing.

"Now walk."

The two moved to the door and walked through the threshold.

"Take a left."

They did as he said, stumbling and giggling as they began their trek down the outside hall.

"Man, that gas doesn't seem all that bad to me," said one of the guards.

The other chuckled. "Yeah, wish we could've gotten some of that, eh?"

Their manner relaxed and their tone became more casual.

"I hear ya. Hey, did you hear about what we've got parked downstairs?"

"Yeah, Smith told me we got our hands on a couple of those sweet ass CADE SUVs a few hours ago. That true?"

"Yep. You up for taking them out and buzzing some civvies tonight after our shift?"

"Heh, you know it."

Davis turned around slightly while wearing an exaggerated grin. He noticed that both men had let their guards down and lowered their weapons.

"Now!"

Rosa sprang into action even quicker than he did. She spun around, simultaneously kicking one guard's gun away with a nice roundhouse as Davis kicked the other in his midsection and forcefully jerked his weapon from his hands.

Davis trained his newly acquired rifle on the two guards while Rosa picked the other weapon up from the floor. "Alright, helmets off and hands up!"

The guards quickly did as he said.

"You okay?" He asked Rosa.

"Yeah," she responded as she too aimed her weapon at the guards. "Though I do feel way too happy to be trying to fight my way out of a prison."

One of the guards laughed condescendingly. "Please. You kids will never be able to fight your way out of here-"

His words were cut off as his head jerked forward suddenly and his eyes rolled back. He slumped to the ground without a sound and his partner followed a millisecond later.

"What th-?"

Davis looked up to see Tai and Clara occupying the spaces that the guards had just been in, both in poses that indicated they'd just executed punches to the back of the men's heads.

"Um, you can lower those." Tai said, nodding to Davis and Rosa's weapons.

"Oh, yeah, sure." Rosa said sheepishly. They lowered the rifles to their sides. "So you guys broke out too?"

Tai nodded. "Yeah, we used Clara's barrier to get through the force field."

"You're okay?" Clara asked, giving her cousin a hug and kiss on the forehead, followed by a concerned look over.

"Um, yeah I think. I kinda feel a little high, but I'm fighting through it okay,"

Clara raised a brow. "And how exactly do you know what it feels like to be high? What exactly happened back when you used to hang out at cousin Manuel's?"

"Clara, that's not really important at the moment," said Tai.

"No," A voice drifted to them from around the corner. "What would be important is for you all to be quiet."

Two figures walked into the hallway and Davis had hardly raised his rifle before he'd identified them and lowered it again. "Jun? Curtis?"

"Yeah, it's us." Curtis answered. Rosa ran over to her boyfriend and practically leapt on him in jubilation while Jun and Tai embraced in a somewhat more dignified manner.

"You're okay?" Davis asked his sister.

"Yeah. We were able to hotwire the force field control panel from the inside of our cell. I see you all broke out too."

Tai nodded. "Clara's barrier allowed us to walk through the force field."

"And we waited until the guards took us out of our cell before we jumped them," added Rosa.

Jun shook her head. "This has got to be the worst run prison ever."

"But we still have to find Terence and Kuri." Clara said.

"They must be the two I heard I heard the guards say were being interrogated." Curtis mused.

"Yeah, I think they are," said Davis. "I can feel the pain Kuri is going through, or I could before we got gassed."

Jun looked at him curiously. "Gassed?"

"Long story," said Rosa, "Anyway, How do we find them?"

"Curtis memorized the building floor plan when he was working with the control panel." Jun said.

Everyone turned to look at the Meditative Knight.

He nodded. "I think the 'Interrogation Room' was that way." He jerked a thumb in the direction of the hall behind him.

Davis cocked his rifle and set off immediately. "Let's get going then."

* * *

**Interrogation Room A**

Once again the guard's fist came forward, and once again she felt the sharp pain of all five of his knuckles connecting with her face. The blow forced her head to jerk to one side and a numb swelling sensation began to overtake her lips.

Kuri turned to rub the blood from her lip onto her shirt collar and looked from the chair to which she was tied up to the man standing over her with contempt. "Is that the best you got asshole? My grandma hits harder than that."

The large man cracked his knuckles and smiled. "Oh, we're just getting started, little girl. You won't be so smug when we're done with this interview."

Across the room Kuri heard a loud thud, accompanied by a grunt from Terence, who was undergoing his own "interview" with another one of the guards.

"Man, you hit worse than my grandma too," he said, "and she's dead."

Another thud told Kuri that the guard didn't particularly appreciate the comment.

"Okay girl. Now I'll give you one last chance, tell me what happened to give you your abilities."

"I _told_ you, you idiot, I don't know. None of us do."

Kuri's head snapped backward from the impact of yet another vicious punch.

"Talk!"

"Okay, okay. I'll tell you." She took a deep breath and steadied herself, as if about to reveal something groundbreaking. "I found this magic lamp, see-"

Kuri's words were cut off by the guard giving her a backhanded slap across the face. "Wrong answer!"

"You better speak up boy!" Said the guard across the room. "Now tell me, where did you disappear to for two weeks and what happened there?"

"Look," Terence replied. "What happened between me and your mama is between us. That's grown folks' business- oof!"

Terence began coughing profusely after the punch to his stomach.

"Oh come on, Terence," Kuri said, "Don't tell me that actually hurt?"

"Naw, 'cough' it's just this dude's breath."

"That bad?"

"Kickin' like a Ninjamon."

They both received simultaneous punches to their guts following that statement.

"Let's just give them the damn shots," said the guard near Terence, panting heavily. "That'll get them talking."

"What shots?" Kuri grimaced at the pain shooting through her abdomen. It hurt, but she'd definitely felt worse during her many skirmishes as a Digital Knight.

"Sodium pentathol girl."

"Truth serum?"

"Yeah, with a little something extra, all our own. You'll feel like all of your insides are on fire. It should get the two of you talking real quick."

Kuri squirmed, but found that the fastenings binding her to her chair were very secure.

"You don't want to do that." She said. "Come on, let's get back to the talking and punching. You were having fun with that, weren't you?"

"We don't have time for these games. The genetic testing we did on you didn't show us anything, the R&D lab came up empty. Hitachi is not a patient lord. We're running out of chances. So we're just going to have to take this to the next level."

He held a syringe in the air and depressed it slightly, causing a few drops to squirt out of the end of its needle. "Here we go…"

The man smiled as he bent down and brought the tip of the needle to Kuri's forearm. "Heh, this may sting a little at first, but after that, well, actually it gets a lot worse."

Kuri braced herself for the inevitable pain that was about to overtake her entire body. She clenched her teeth and tensed up. She didn't close her eyes however. She wanted to see this coming. At that very moment, in the back recesses of her mind, Kuri felt a sudden oncoming presence, a presence that abruptly caused a wide smile to cross her face.

The guard looked up at her, perplexed, and paused. "What the hell are you so happy about?"

No sooner had he said the words than did the room's door explode from its hinges and rattle to the ground with a loud crash. Six people ran into the room, two with weapons raised.

"Don't move!" Davis yelled at the guards, who immediately dropped their syringes, raised their hands, and retreated away from him to the other side of the room.

"About time you guys got here." Terence grumbled as he looked over at the newcomers. "Any of y'all bring some Tylenol or somethin'?"

Clara rushed to him and immediately began undoing his binds while Davis handed his rifle to Tai and began tending to Kuri.

_You okay?_ He asked telepathically.

_I will be in a second._

_What's that supposed to mean?_

Kuri waited until Davis had finally undone all of her leg and foot bindings before launching herself at her interrogator, wrapping her hands around the man's neck, and slamming him into the wall. He began choking and gasping as she pressed her thumbs deeper into his throat. Tears began to fall from his eyes and eventually his entire body slumped and his breathing became barely noticeable.

"Kuri!" Jun yelled. "Stop! He's unconscious."

"But he's not dead yet." Kuri said, constricting her grip even tighter.

Jun looked to her brother for help. "Davis!"

_Don't try to stop me. _Kuri projected preemptively_._

Davis didn't move_. I won't._

Kuri's grip slackened slightly and she looked at Davis out of the corner of her eye.

_What?_

_He deserves it. _At her surprised glance, he shrugged. _Welcome to my world._

_Davis…_ Kuri abandoned the chokehold and allowed the guard to fall to the ground. She stared at her own hands with an air of disbelief, then turned her gaze upon Davis with the same expression.

"You did the right thing, Kuri," said Tai. "He isn't worth it."

"Yeah." Terence chimed in. He pointed to the guard that had been interrogating him, who was now watching them all with a terrified expression. "You think I don't want to get back at him? I do. But over the past year I've learned that revenge isn't always the best way. It's better to remain in control, to-" Terence paused abruptly and let out an anguished sigh. "Ah screw it."

He lunged forward at the frightened guard suddenly, delivering a right hook that caused the man to completely spin around and slam into a wall.

"Punk!" Terence yelled as the man keeled over to the ground on all fours. He began kicking him in the side, only pausing between blows to speak. "Did – you – really – think – I – wasn't – going – to – beat – your – ass?"

"Terence!" Clara ran over to her enraged boyfriend and pulled him away from the guard. "This isn't the time for this. You're going to kill him!"

"Th-thank you." The guard groaned between coughs after Terence's assault had ended.

"_You_ shut the hell up." Clara executed a precise kick to the guard's head, knocking him out. "You're lucky I don't kill you myself."

She turned and began ministrations on Terence's face, fussing over his various cuts and bruises.

"Ugh," Jun shook her head and put a hand to her forehead. "If you guys are done working out your pent up aggression, can we leave now?"

Kuri nodded, allowing her weight to fall fully into Davis's arms. For some reason, she suddenly felt a slightly intoxicated sensation emanating from him.

"Where to next?"

"R&D, a couple of floors down," answered Curtis. "If the digimon are here, that's where they'll be keeping them."

"Okay guys," Tai leveled his rifle and tuned back towards the door. "Let's get going."

The group headed out and remarkably was able to avoid any notable resistance, besides a couple of lone guards doing their rounds. They were easily disposed of and summarily stripped of their weaponry. By the time they'd reached the stainless steel double doors two floors down with "Hitachi: Research and Development Lab" written on them, Tai, Jun, Rosa, and Curtis were all bearing rifles.

"Alright guys." Tai whispered as he knelt beside the doors. "It sounds quiet in there, but don't assume anything. Stay on your toes. On three…"

He began a silent three count with his fingers and everyone crept forward anxiously. By the time he hissed, "Go!" they barreled through the doors pretty much on pure momentum. They rushed into the room crouching, ready to fight at a moment's notice, but found the rather large space lacking in any opposition.

"Where is everyone?" Terence asked after taking cover behind one of the room's many lab tables. "I thought Hitachi was supposed to have these guys on some kind of timetable. Shouldn't they be here, working around the clock?"

"Yeah," Tai agreed. "It's too quiet-"

"There're our uniforms!" Interrupted Curtis, standing up to point across the room.

Kuri turned to follow the gesture. On the wall opposite the entrance were several cylindrical glass cases with attached monitors, each of which held a Knight's uniform and its corresponding shield and digivice within.

"Good." Rosa stood, shouldered her rifle, and rubbed her hands together. "Now we're in business-"

"No, wait." Tai commanded. "This is way too easy."

He was immediately proven correct by a loud shout of, "NOW!" as four men ran into the room from one of its adjoining halls, all firing semiautomatics and machine guns.

"Get down!" Tai yelled, diving to the floor even as the words came out of his mouth.

The others followed suit, seeking out whatever cover was available while those of them with weapons fired back at their attackers.

Kuri, however, didn't have time to react. She saw one of the men pointing his weapon directly at her. She saw its barrel flashing repeatedly, and in an instant knew there was nothing she would be able to do to avoid the oncoming hail of gunfire. At the last possible moment, just before she would close her eyes in acceptance of her fate, something leapt between her and the men, and for Kuri what happened next would feel tenfold worse than dying herself. She watched in horror as every bullet meant for her collided with Davis instead, ripping through his body as if were Styrofoam and sending him straight to the ground.

"NO!" She screamed with every fiber of her being, her grief drowning out the transmuted pain of the bullets from her mind. The tears were cascading before she even realized she had fallen to her knees beside him. "Davis, don't die! Hold on!"

His eyes were already closed however, and the look of pure calm upon his face signified that he'd already moved on to the next world.

* * *

**?**

Davis took in his new surroundings in confusion. He immediately wished for the return of the drab utilitarian style of the prison complex. Here, wherever here was, everything was brightly colored and nebulous. Objects were constantly changing from one thing to another, in size and color. One second, Davis thought he was standing in the middle of a neon colored cityscape, and the next, the shapes of buildings and streets had morphed into the trees and gurgling streams of a idyllic meadow.

Soon, the shapes all dissolved down into a vast, glowing, multi-colored plain that seemed to stretch out into an infinite horizon. A black, starless, sky loomed overhead.

"I can never decide what this place should look like." The voice was disembodied, seeming to come from everywhere at once. "You humans are so capricious."

Davis turned, hearing the sound of approaching footsteps. There he saw a familiar looking girl with purplish hair and a pair of large glasses approaching him.

"Hey there." She smiled and gave a small, enthusiastic wave.

"Where are we?'

Yolei pouted. "Hey, you're not even going to ask me who I am?"

Davis regarded the girl with a curiously raised brow. "Um, I know who you are Yolei."

"Nope!"

The girl before Davis morphed right before his eyes, transforming from his lavender maned friend into someone or something that somehow looked exactly like TK.

Davis stumbled backwards. 'What th-?"

"Okay," the TK approximation said. "I'll quit screwing with ya Davis. I may not be Yolei or TK, but I am someone that you already know very well. I am what some would call the God of Balance. You may know me as Miracles."

Davis found himself unable to formulate a proper response.

"Speechless I see. Well, that's to be expected." The being smiled as his form once again shifted, this time into a spitting image of Ken.

"Wait." Davis shook his head. "If you're Miracles then why haven't I seen you before? And why am I seeing you now?"

Davis suddenly remembered the last thing that had happened to him before his arrival to this strange dimension. "Oh my God. Did I die?"

Miracles shrugged. 'Well, it was not the way I would have chosen for your soul to travel inter-dimensionally, but at least it allows us to talk finally."

"What?"

As Ken, the god gave a dismissive wave. "That's neither here nor there. We're going to have to make this quick before you move on."

"Move on?"

"Yes. So listen. You must stop doubting yourself, and thus doubting me."

Davis gave the ethereal being a look of confusion. His mind was still mostly occupied with figuring out exactly where he was, and the frightening possible answer.

"You have to trust my judgment in choosing you. Don't be so concerned with darkness and light. They only choose to interfere with this world because they only recently believed it to be worthy of their attention."

"What does that mean?"

"They're gods, Davis. Hitachi created a world, true, but he didn't create them."

"I'm not sure I follow."

"Duality is the essence of life, see? Ones, zeroes, right, wrong, life is simply a collection of yes and no's that come together to form something far more complex. The energy of these decisions give power to the entities known as Darkness and Light. Every time a new dimension is created, such as the Digital World, the opportunity for them to greedily expand their realm of influence grows, and thus a new war begins as both try to gain control."

"Wait, you're making both of them sound bad. I thought Light was good?"

The god nodded slowly. "To be technical, she is. Or at least her intentions are. But don't be mistaken, she would take the choice away from you just as quickly as darkness would, were it possible."

"And just what exactly are you? How are you any different from them?"

"I'll leave that for you to figure out for yourself. Just don't make the same mistakes that many of your peers have and continue to confuse my work with Light's."

"What work?"

"I prefer the balance and thus I have always given you all the opportunity to choose your destinies, be they steeped in Darkness or Light."

Davis raised a finger. "Wait. You're talking about the prophecies aren't you? From what I understand, there's always one from Light, and an opposite on from Darkness. You created them?"

"Right. And they're nothing more than guides, not portents. But as you can see, due to Light's interference, the guardians managed to twist their actual meaning."

"So then, the prophecy about the eight-?"

The being smiled broadly, which made for a strange expression on Ken's face. "Think about it Davis, is it actually the prophecy of the eight Knights, or is it the four couples, or perhaps the one team?"

Davis shrugged. "Well, that I don't know."

"You all share incredibly powerful bonds, both with your digimon partners and each other. Your powers and shield abilities are manifestations of those bonds. They don't come from darkness or Light."

Davis shook his head. "Wait, wait, wait. I thought all powers came from the light?"

"Tell that to Myotis Hitachi or Ineg."

Davis rolled his eyes. "You know what I meant."

"The fact is, power can come from darkness or Light, and it can come from one other thing."

"What? And please don't give me some corny answer like love."

The deity chuckled. "Well, yes actually. And courage, and insight, and compassion, and perseverance. It comes from these qualities, forms of the balance. It comes from you, a perfect example of the balance if I ever saw one."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning that it's about time you started believing in yourself again." Abruptly, Miracle's form changed once again. This time he took on the determined countenance and lithe form of Kuri.

The change actually caught Davis off guard and he flinched involuntarily.

"I was right in choosing you. I know that, and it's time you did as well. I am with you. And at the time we meet again, you will understand all of this fully."

"Meet again? How?"

"I exist only within the ethereal dimensions Davis. You can only contact me in this manner by discovering a path to one, or as you have done now, by disembodying your spirit from your body."

"Disembodying? So wait, I _am_ dead? I didn't think you would be telling me all this if I-" Davis paused, looking at the form of his love as he was overwrought by the thought of never seeing her again.

"I wouldn't." A smile crept across Miracle's beautiful face and Davis watched numbly as the love of his life walked towards him and the dimension around them began to turn a shade of deep lavender. "Davis, you've had some extremely close calls as a Knight, but this really wasn't one of them. You should know better."

The lavender hue gradually began to grow brighter and brighter until everything had practically turned white and Davis had to struggle and squint to make out any shapes at all.

"Just remember that I am with you Davis, and do not doubt it for a second. You have a path set out before you. Be no one but yourself. It got you this far, and it will get you through to the end."

Davis could feel something pulling him, something separating him from this dimension once again. He thought about fighting the invisible force, but something about it just felt…right. He surrendered to it, allowing his spirit to be pulled into its next frontier.

* * *

Everything exploded into focus for Kuri when his eyes finally fluttered open again. The tears that had been blurring her vision remained, but it was as if all of her senses had suddenly become sharp once more, as if her love's return to the living had restored a large portion of her essence that had been rendered dormant. She leaned down onto him and pulled him into the fiercest embrace possible.

"Oh my God. You're alive…you're alive. Thank-you."

Davis blinked several times as his eyes adjusted to the static images and muted colors of the earthly realm. Without thinking, he returned Kuri's embrace and held her every bit as tightly as she held him.

"You healed me?"

She pulled back and looked down upon him, unabashed as tears streamed down her face and dropped from her chin.

She nodded. "Fortunately, yes. I wasn't sure if I could. There was a lot of blood-"

Davis stopped her by pulling her down into the most intensely passionate kiss the two of them had ever shared. She could practically feel the concentrated bursts of gold and lavender surrounding them, and as the kiss grew deeper she could also feel something drastically different about his psyche. Something had returned to his mind that she thought had been lost long ago, and it had returned in full force. Davis was filled with hope.

Jun cleared her throat, prompting the two to finally break apart. She blinked her eyes rapidly and ran a hand across her cheek. "You're okay, Davis?"

He looked up at her and gave a brilliant smile. "Yeah. I think so."

Kuri got back to her feet and gave him a hand up. He took it and gingerly got back to his feet, grinning the whole while, even as Jun pulled him into a grateful hug.

"Well, you certainly seem happy." Terence remarked as he slapped a hand on Davis's shoulder. "But I guess you should be. You really scared us there, man."

"Yeah." Tai agreed. "You have no idea." His expression still looked remarkably unrelieved.

Rosa then walked over with a folded pile of black fabric, a gleaming gold object atop it, and a digivice. "Here, Davis. Suit up."

Kuri smirked as she watched Rosa, who always tried to play the part of the tough girl, hand over the objects to Davis with trembling hands. He took them with a grin and then removed his bloody, prison issued, T-shirt. Davis held the ragged piece of fabric up, so that all of its bullet holes were clearly visible.

"Wow." He marveled. "That's incredible."

He turned a loving gaze on Kuri, who responded by snatching the shirt from his hands.

"Hurry up and get dressed." She said curtly, tossing the shirt aside. "I never want to see that thing again."

Davis did as she said, quickly putting on his uniform and shield so that he now matched the others. Though they didn't have their digimon partners yet, the mere look of the group, fully decked out in their Knights regalia, made Kuri feel substantially more powerful.

"Now what?" He asked, looking around. "Where are the others?"

"Turned tail and ran." Tai said. "That ambush was just a last ditch effort for those men to get past us and out of the exit."

"Yeah," Said Curtis. "They were scientists, not soldiers."

Terence nodded. "They were pretty much just trying to get the hell out of Dodge."

"I managed to hit one on his way past, though." Jun said. She gestured to a corner of the lab, were a man sat on the floor in silence, desperately clutching at his profusely bleeding thigh. "He's the one that shot you."

Kuri narrowed her gaze at the man and made ready to lunge at him when Davis grabbed her arm.

"No." He said, shaking his head emphatically. "Not like that."

"I agree," said Terence. "You should do the honors."

Davis looked at Terence with a grim expression, then walked over to the man, who sat on the ground, ignoring him as he busied himself with his leg. The Miraculous Knight simply watched him for a moment, a plaintive frown on his face, before saying anything.

"Why?" Davis asked. His face portrayed no hint of a threat. To the contrary, it seemed quite ponderous.

"What?" The bespectacled man seemed bewildered by the question.

"You're one of the scientists here, right?"

The man nodded.

"Why are you doing this? From what I know, scientists don't run around shooting at people with machine guns. What does Hitachi have on you?"

The man didn't respond, instead opting to look away from Davis defiantly.

"Really, Davis," said Terence. "I'd recommend a good kick to his head here, or at least some sort of backhanded pimp slap."

Davis held up a hand to stall the Inspirational Knight from continuing further and returned to his interrogation. "I repeat, what does Hitachi have on you?"

The man turned to look at Davis again, and after a pregnant moment where their gazes met, finally spoke up.

"Everything."

"Like?"

"My entire family. My wife, my three kids. And if I don't comply with his orders, they're all dead."

"I see." Davis put a hand to his chin and thought for a moment. "But they're dead, no matter what, if Hitachi wins. You must know that, right?"

The scientist nodded slowly, as if just coming to this conclusion himself.

"Then help us. We can and will beat Hitachi. We're your last chance at seeing your wife and kids again."

The man contemplated this while staring down at the floor. The conditioning instilled by the threats of an evil man with the power of a god was obviously hard to break. When he spoke again it was quietly, as if Hitachi were in the next room, trying to listen. "Your digimon aren't here. They're being kept at a research facility a few miles away."

"Where?"

The man recited a street intersection and Davis nodded. He knew where it was, just as any Odaiba native would.

"Okay," Said Tai, anxiously. "We have to hurry and get to them before Hitachi gets to us."

"He won't." The man said.

"Why?" Asked Rosa.

"Because not one of us in our right minds is going to tell him you escaped. Hitachi barely has any need for us anymore. He'd just as soon kill us all as go after you. We're keeping this on the lower bands of radio traffic, on the frequencies that only we use. If you all hurry, you should be able to get away before any of the higher ups have any idea what happened."

"Well then, we need go, now," said Clara. "Come on!"

Davis turned away from the man and was set to depart when something crossed his mind. He turned back.

"Down in your garage, you happen to have a couple of things that belong to us. You wouldn't happen to know where the keys to them are, would you?"

It took the wounded man a moment of thought before he realized what Davis was referring to. "Yes, actually. The cabinet to the right of the front doors there."

Rosa rushed over to the indicated cabinet and threw it open with a flurry. She quickly reached inside and drew out two shining sets of keys. "Got them!"

"Are those what I think they are?" Terence asked.

Rosa nodded enthusiastically. "You better believe it!"

Tai rubbed his hands together. "Well, now we're in business. Come on, Knights. Let's go get our partners."

As he and the others made their way to the doors, Davis looked back to the injured scientist. His expression was unreadable, but Kuri could feel an amount of pity emanating from him.

"We're going to save your family." Davis said. "We're going to save everyone. Before you pick up another gun, make sure you keep that in mind."

The man only responded by staring down at the blood stained carpet. To Kuri's surprise, he actually seemed ashamed.

With that, Davis turned, and began to walk out. Kuri hurried to join him.

"You didn't want to thrash him in the slightest?" She asked. She already knew the answer to the question, of course, but just felt that it needed to be asked.

"No. That wouldn't solve anything, would it?"

"But just a few minutes ago, upstairs-"

"I know. But I was wrong. That man back there is no more evil than CADE, just misguided. He's only doing what his fear makes him think he _has_ to. Not everyone can be as strong as we are."

"Now _that's_ the little brother I know." Jun had stayed at the doors to wait for Davis and Kuri and now joined the couple as they exited the lab. "So, gunshot wounds make you rediscover yourself?"

Davis smiled, that same beautiful smile that, for a moment, Kuri had feared she'd never see again.

"Maybe," He said. "I guess I just got the kick in the butt I needed."

"That's an understatement." Jun placed a hand on his shoulder. "Well, in any case, I'm glad you're back to yourself now."

"So am I, sis. So am I."

The three sped up to catch up to the others. They'd made a lot of progress, but they had a long way to go yet if they were going to be able to follow up on the promises that Davis had made.

As they broke into a jog, Kuri couldn't help but to bask in the overwhelming optimism she now felt flowing from her boyfriend. He was right. They _would_ save the world, if only because he believed it so much. If there was one thing Kuri knew, it was that if Davis believed something as vehemently as he did this, only a fool could think otherwise.

She smiled. Despite everything that had happened, things were actually looking up.

_To be continued..._

* * *

Well, that's it for now. **Next up: Destines Pt I (2):** The Knights are alive and free, but how will they find their digimon? How will Hatori, Matt, and Sora fare in their Mission? And what has happened to Noriko? Not to mention, Cody, the Green Roomers, Krista, and Keyan? Find out in the next chapter!

And don't worry guys, next chap's pretty much done. Just needs a few tweaks here and there and should be uploaded in a week.


	24. Destinies Pt 1 2: The End of All Things

Sorry I took an extra week with this chap, guys. I wasn't quite comfortable with it the way it was and gave it a bit of an overhaul. What can I say? If you're gonna write something, do it right. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it.

* * *

**Destinies Pt I (2): The End of All Things**

**The Docks, Odaiba**

Cody looked around anxiously as he and Armadillomon led his family through the crowded docks of Odaiba harbor. A series of high tech military hydrofoils were lined along the water's edge, each with a tense looking captain positioned at its helm, directing the boarding of hundreds of people onto its deck.

"Mom, are you sure about this?" He asked. "This place is packed!"

"Cody, there are more than enough boats." She insisted. "You heard for yourself on the Digital Band, if we're going to get out of here we have to evacuate on the boats tonight."

"Mom, you know that I can't go with you."

"Cody, you have to. Now stop this nonsense."

Cody looked to his grandfather in exasperation.

"Kotomi," The older man said gently. "He only came home for guidance and rejuvenation. There are others that he owes himself to right now."

She looked offended. "Others? Did you see what they did to him?! He doesn't owe anything to any of them. He needs to be with us, with his family where he's safe."

"He has come to terms with his mutation and embraced it as a gift. To be honest, this may have always been his destiny, ever since his father and Oikawa discovered those games so long ago. And he no longer needs our protection. He's a protector now. He has people that depend on _him_."

"Which is fine and well, but it's no reason for him to go back there. The Knights are gone."

As usual, the mention of the fall of Cody's friends engendered a sharp pain in his stomach. He absently wondered if the involuntary reaction would ever cease or, at the very least, begin to abate somewhat.

He shook his head in an attempt to free himself from the sobering thought. "Mom," He said. "I told you. I'm not leaving Noriko there alone!"

"Noriko? So that's what this is about? A girl?

"She's not just a girl."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it that way. It's just, well," Kotomi bit her lip and looked away into the surging throng surrounding them. "Well, you are surely your father's son."

The statement caught Cody off guard and he gave his mother a puzzled look.

"He did everything he could and gave up a lot to be with me as well. It makes sense."

"Then you understand?"

"To an extent I do. But it's dangerous here, Cody. You can't possibly stay-" She suddenly paused, looking past her son to something behind him that was apparently quite alarming. "What is that?"

Cody turned around immediately. He heard their familiar snarls before he even saw them. A group of about six or so brutish gray mutates were running toward the massive crowd from the docks' entrance, their footsteps echoing against the wooden planks.

"Get on the boats!" Cody hollered. "Hurry!"

He concentrated and flexed all of the muscles in his body, just the way he'd extensively practiced over the last week, and instantly grew larger, while covered in his golden, plate-armored mutation.

"I guess now I finally get to see what I can do like this." He muttered to himself.

"Ahem, and what about me?" The impatient words drifted up from the ground.

"Oh, sorry Armadillomon." Cody quickly pulled out his digivice and Armor digivolved his partner to Digmon. "Come on. Let's take care of these guys."

Digmon immediately fired several Gold Rush missiles into the midst of the attackers and Cody leapt at them, pulling out his katana and kendo stick as he landed and straight away began dealing out punishing blows. Once they'd cleared out most of the group, Cody felt one of the last remaining mutants rake its claws across his back, just as had happened before.

This time, it felt like nothing more than a minor scrape against his armor, the equivalent of a paper cut. Cody turned around and swung his katana, easily cleaving his attacker in two. He then looked around for any more approaching mutants, and after not spotting any in the immediate vicinity, left Digmon to keep watch as he ran back to the boarding docks. There he found his grandfather helping to herd the last of the stragglers onto the hydrofoil.

"Is mom on board now?"

His Grandfather nodded. "Once she saw you in action, I was able to finally convince her that this was where you belong."

"You're sure you'll be okay?"

"I'm sure." The older man looked up at the blackened and rapidly swirling night sky. It had been that way over the city since the Knights were defeated. "We shouldn't be here. Listen Cody, I didn't tell your mother the real reason you desire to stay, to avenge your father's death, because-"

Cody shook his head. "That's not why I'm staying." He looked out over the city skyline for a moment. "Not anymore. Noriko needs me…and I need her."

The elder man smiled. "It is a wonderful thing, to be in love. Cherish it. It will defeat anger and vengeance any day."

Cody paused and contemplated his grandfather's words. In love? He didn't deny that what he felt for Noriko was love, but was it normal for a man to be _in_ love with someone he hadn't even kissed? Of course, that _was_ his fault… He shook his head. What the hell was he doing? There would be time to think about these kinds of trivial matters later.

"Oh, and here." His grandfather reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys. He fumbled with them until he had separated a small one from the rest and pressed it into Cody's hand.

"This is the key to your father's old storage locker, full of equipment he used as a police officer, I assume. I haven't touched it since it was remanded to me when he died. Just continued the payments. I always decided that when you were ready, I would give it to you. This is a sight bit earlier than I planned, but hopefully, it will come in useful. I personally would not be able to bear looking through it, myself."

Cody looked down at the small glinting object. The front read "Odaiba Waterfront Storage," which was a complex of small buildings he knew to be only about a block or so from where he currently stood. He turned to his grandfather and bowed deeply.

"Thank you, sensei."

The ship's horn bleated several times in rapid succession, signaling that the vessel was anxiously set to depart.

"You are welcome. Now go, do your duty. And be safe, my son."

Cody felt a deep sense of honor at his use of that term. He turned his head slightly to hide any emotion that his face might have betrayed. "I'll try."

"Take care of him Digmon!" The elder yelled as he retreated up the ramp to the departing craft.

Digmon was too busy on the dock helping to herd the last remaining stragglers onto another vessel to hear him.

Cody nodded. "I'll pass the message on to him."

He leapt from the ramp to the dock just as the boat's hypersonic engines revved up and the vessel began to accelerate away. He landed with a light thud, and by the time he turned around, the extremely fast craft was already quickly becoming no more than a bright speck on the horizon. Cody watched it go solemnly, overtaken by the sincere hope that he hadn't just given his mother and grandfather his final farewell.

"Isn't that sweet," said a low, ominous, voice from behind. "A tearful goodbye."

Cody turned and came face to face with a sight that a few days ago would have been absolutely horrifying, but now somehow seemed oddly appropriate. He steeled himself, determinedly not allowing his better judgment succumb to righteous anger, and stared his new opponent directly in the eye.

"What do you want, Butcher?"

The red mutant cackled. "So my little secret got out, I see." He shrugged. "Ah well, I suppose it was just a matter of time."

Cody glanced briefly to his left, to where he'd last seen Digmon, and saw that his partner was busy holding his own against a couple of smaller mutants that had just arrived as well. Cody tensed up and immediately felt his plated mutation overtake his body once again.

The mutant reared back slightly after witnessing the transformation, but his initial expression of surprise was soon overtaken by a crafty smile.

He raised a brow suggestively. "Tsk, tsk. I see CADE has had their hands in the cookie jar. And here I thought they were supposed to be above such underhanded dealings. The proverbial 'good guys.'"  
Cody didn't respond, opting instead to begin circling his adversary, intently scanning his lithe reptilian figure for any momentary weakness.

"But I have to admit," the mutant continued, "I'm curious. Did all of you get the special treatment? Or just the ones we killed?"

Cody ignored the insult and narrowed his focus. There appeared to be a slight hesitation in the mutant's speech and movements, as if he were stalling their inevitable battle, likely waiting for more reinforcements.

"Oh, what am I saying? Of course it was only you. As if the rest of your friends would ever understand that a few eggs have to be broken to make a proper omelet. They would have never agreed to what it takes to undergo the procedure." The creature raised one of his brow ridges, his maddening smile broadening even further. "Of course, none of that matters now. Too bad you can't create mutants from tiny burnt remnants of human flesh, eh?"

"What are you talking about, killer?"

A full grin now flashed across his face. "Oh, you haven't heard? Then I guess you didn't say goodbye to your friends before they and their little clubhouse under Odiaba Works was destroyed."

"What?" Cody's jaw dropped, and he had to catch himself, lest he allow his weapons to clatter to the ground.

It didn't matter how fast he was able to recover, however. He'd given the mutant enough of an opening to launch his offensive. As the creature swung at him, Cody allowed his body to go slack and collapsed down upon the wooden planks of the boardwalk, belly to the ground. He winced as he heard the deafening noise of a section of the dock being ripped to shreds by the powerful red bands of the mutant's signature attack. Cody rolled back to his feet as the sections of wood splintered by the attack fell down into the frothy, cold, ocean below.

"Oh, this should be a lot of fun." The mutant cackled. "I get to kill the last one myself and he's feisty, just how I like 'em."

The statement disgusted Cody to his core. It was easy for him to see how it applied to the dozens of people the butcher had murdered in his previous life, right in this very area.

"Of course, there is the small matter of Jade." As the creature spoke he swung his arm and Cody leapt out of the way of his next attack. "She wants you for herself, I'm sure. But then, what she doesn't know won't hurt her, will it?"

Cody lunged forward, swinging his sword in several precise arcs. The creature, with its advanced agility and speed, managed to avoid the strikes, all the while maintaining its infuriating, smiling, visage.

"Don't you even want to know how your friends died?" He jeered once out of Cody's range. "It quite exhilarating really-"

"SHUT-UP!"

"It was yours truly that tortured the location out of one of CADE's agents. That was particularly fun, of course. But I can't take full credit. After all, it was Hitachi's bunker busting missiles that incinerated them all to bits."

Cody lashed out again. He didn't want to believe what the mutant was saying. He wanted to believe that it was just a ploy to distract him, to get him to lose control and let down his guard enough for a killing blow… but the fact was that the mutant did know the Chamber's actual location. And Cody knew that if Hitachi's forces possessed that knowledge, the odds were very low that they wouldn't have attacked by now. And if they did…

_Noriko_. She couldn't be gone. She just couldn't.

Cody barely avoided another attack, ducking almost a moment too late.

He loved her. He needed her. Damn, why hadn't he just told her that? Why hadn't he let her come with him? Now she and the others were gone. He was the last one left.

He was alone.

And he was distracted.

A blunt force collided with Cody's body, the full on impact of one of the mutant's attacks. Cody's armor was able to absorb enough of the blow to make it non-fatal, but as he flew through the air, Cody could feel the searing pain of the red ribbon of energy as it passed through him. His body slammed into the ground and eventually rolled to a stop, where he lay motionless.

"Typical human." Red sneered, his footsteps growing louder as he approached his fallen opponent. "So full of emotion. Sadness, fear, love; all weaknesses-"

"Try anger!" The interrupting shout was female, and it was followed by several loud cracks of gunfire.

Cody recognized the voice and forced himself to move, rolling to one side so he could see the newcomer. The sight that greeted him was both exhilarating and terrifying. Noriko was standing there on the opposite side of the murderous creature, set to take him on armed only with a handgun. Cody heart leapt at realizing that she was alive, but sank at the thought of how long the condition could last. He had to force the pain aside. He had to move. He had to go to her.

Red limped towards Noriko, having taken several shots to one of his thighs.

"You just signed your death warrant, stupid girl."

In mere seconds, Noriko expertly reloaded her weapon and fired off several more rounds. The mutant dodged each one easily. Now that he could see the source of the shots, it was easy for him to use his notable quickness advantage to avoid getting hit. He continued to stalk towards the girl.

"Didn't I just tell you, girl. It's useless. You're dead."

He smiled as he snapped his head to the side, avoiding three bullets that whizzed right past his neck. "I'm going to enjoy th-

He abruptly stopped as something pierced his torso, then doubled over when several more stabs of pain joined it.

"H-how?" He stammered.

In his avarice to kill Noriko, the creature had only concentrated on avoiding shots from the firearm she held out before her. He had completely missed the other weapon that she'd furtively pulled from her waist. It was a momentary lapse that he had paid for dearly. Now Noriko held both weapons out before her, both trained on him. Her expression was firm and set.

With a roar, he dropped to his knees and clutched his abdomen, then pulled a hand away to reveal that it was covered in blood.

"No!" He yelled with a wild-eyed expression, the sight of his own mortality seeming to drive him into a frenzy. "Nooooo!"

He got up and ran forward at Noriko and screamed, all thoughts of his personal welfare apparently gone. He just wanted to kill the girl.

In turn, she responded by unleashing the full force of both of her weapons into her attacker. The projectiles ripped through him, spraying blood as they tore into his chest and exited from his back, yet he didn't slow at all in his approach.

Cody realized in horror that the creature was making his last stand. He was going to kill Noriko, the girl that had made him come face to face with what he feared most, his own death, if it was the last thing he did. And it likely would be.

The realization flooded Cody with a new rush of adrenaline that dulled his pain and restored full function and control of his body. He wasted no time in getting to his feet and rushing forward. He had to get to Noriko first.

The creature raised a hand as he got close, his claws emitting a dull red glow against the night sky. Noriko emptied the last of her clips into him and looked up desperately. There was no time to reload. A gurgling growl escaped the mutant's mouth as he brought his claws forward.

Cody desperately reached out, summoning every reserve of quickness and strength he had. He grabbed the creature's arm, stopping his talons mere inches from Noriko's face. With his other arm, he gave the being an armored elbow jab to the throat. He then followed that up with a spinning roundhouse, catching the mutant right in the chest and sending him tumbling backwards to the ground in a heap.

Cody spared Noriko a brief glance. For her part, she seemed to have taken in the whole scene rather calmly. There was even the hint of a smile on her face.

The red creature started to slowly regain his footing despite the copious amount of blood pouring from his bullet riddled body.

"I'll kill the both of you," he wheezed. "Just like all those other bums."

At that, Cody felt a deep amount of suppressed anger well up to his surface. He gently nudged Noriko to the side and held out his katana in front of him.

"You don't have the guts, kid." The creature kneeled in a pool of his own blood and looked thoroughly defeated. "I know your type. You wouldn't kill a defenseless opponent."

"You're right, I wouldn't." Cody sheathed his weapons. "I refuse to be like you." He turned around, allowing his armor to disappear as he transformed back to his normal form.

"Th-that's too bad, boy. Because it could do a lot for you."

Cody kept his eyes firmly trained on Noriko's expression as he walked towards her. He closely scrutinized her facial movements, waiting for the opportunity he knew would soon come. Abruptly, her eyes widened and there was a flash of red reflected within them. Her gaze shifted upwards. "Cody!"

As expected, Cody heard a loud raspy shout. "You should have killed me bo-"

The mutant's words were interrupted by Cody drawing his weapon and swinging about in one deft move. His sword trailed in a tight arc that decisively removed the attacking creature's head from its body in midair with a steel blue flash. The two parts of what had been the red mutant fell back to the ground and tumbled in opposite directions.

"You made that too easy." Cody sheathed his blade once again and looked at the headless body lying before him in disgust. "Don't you lecture me on slaying the defenseless, monster. _Your_ defenseless victims are now avenged."

He stepped back from the corpse and turned his attention back to Noriko. "Are you alright?"

"Yes." She answered, a small smile playing across her face despite the chaotic scene that had just transpired. "Are you?"

"I am now. When he said that the Chamber had been destroyed, I…" Cody looked away, finding himself at a loss for words to express the sudden torrent of emotions that had overtaken him then.

"It was. I think the others got out in time, but I knew I couldn't leave without you." Noriko walked over to him and softly wrapped her arms around his waist. "Why do you think I tried so hard to find you? I didn't want you to worry. I just couldn't stand the thought of leaving you here alone trying to cope with the fact that I had 'died.'"

"I-I missed you so much, Noriko." A wistful smile crossed Cody's face. "I never should have left you."

Their gazes locked, enrapturing both in the intimacy of their closeness to one another. Cody brought a hand up and lightly a few of her stray hairs back, allowing his knuckles to barely brush against her cheek. She gave him an adorable smile, biting her lip tentatively as she looked up at him.

"I missed you too, Cody." Noriko reached up and grabbed his hand, holding it against her. "And no, you shouldn't have."

"You're right…" Cody allowed his head to drift downward ever so slightly and he sensed her incrementally moving up toward him, a slight tilt to her head. "And I'll never do it again."

They came together finally, and Cody was amazed at just how natural it felt. It wasn't awkward, or forced, or unnecessary. It felt that there was nowhere other than right there, at that moment, that was better for them to finally express their feelings to another. It felt…perfect.

And when the kiss finally ended, Cody felt as if the most beautiful thing in the world, bestowed upon him in the bleakest of hours, was suddenly ripped from his grasp and taken away. So he leaned forward and they did it again…and again.

An irritated shout and several booming footsteps interrupted their third kiss. "Are you two lovebirds aware that the world is falling apart around you?!"

Cody smiled sheepishly at his approaching partner after they broke apart for the final time. "Sorry Digmon."

"Yeah, me too." Noriko looked at Cody with one last shy smile before her expression turned serious and she reloaded the clips to both of her handguns. "Okay, so what do we do now?"

Cody scanned the docks and saw the various vehicles pulling into the distant entrance to the harbor complex. All of them looked to be the types of jeeps typically driven by Hitachi's mercenaries. He reached down and pulled the key his grandfather had given him out of his pocket and nodded towards the collection of buildings behind them that served as the dock storage complex.

"We head that way." He said. "Come on."

The trio started in the direction he indicated with Noriko and Digmon firing at any oncoming mutants and mercenaries while Cody led the way. After losing their pursuers in the maze of buildings, they reached the proper storage locker in only a few minutes.

"What is this?" Asked Noriko.

"My father's old private locker." He inserted the key into the lock and turned. "My Grandfather said we might find some useful things in here. He said he couldn't bear to look inside it himself, which I can understand, and he left it to me."

Cody paused when he felt Noriko's hand gently alight on his shoulder. He gave her a small smile, then turned back to opening the door. It lifted with a loud metal screeching and crunching of gears and years of dust and stale air greeted them as they entered the small, 10 x 10 space. Digmon remained outside to keep watch.

"Where's the light?" Cody asked between coughs, searching a side wall with his hand.

"Here." Noriko answered. There was a click and the room was abruptly bathed in a pale, yellow glow.

"Whoa." Both said simultaneously.

Before them, in the midst of the dusty neglected space, sat a black and chrome motorcycle. Surrounding it was several boxes, most marked with trivial labels such as "clothes" or "magazines."

"Wow, it's a KZ1000P." Cody said with an air of awe as he stared at the bike.

"It's a what?" Asked Noriko.

"A Kawasaki police issued motorcycle. Production line extended from 1982 to 2005. This is the '95 model."

"Weird, it doesn't look like a police motorcycle."

Cody slowly knelt in front of the vehicle as he talked. "It's been detailed and repainted black, but there no mistaking that this is a KZ1000. I hope it's fueled. We could use it to get out of here."

Noriko knelt beside him and gave the bike a critical once over as well, though Cody knew she had no idea what signs to look for.

"Didn't know you were such a motorcycle nut." She said.

Cody rose back to his feet. "My dad collected magazines about them. I used to sneak and read them all the time. I always wondered why he didn't just get one of his own."

"Turns out he did, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess." Cody didn't know why it bothered him that his father secretly owned a motorcycle, but it somehow made him feel guilty. He turned away from it and began to search the rest of the room. "We don't have much time. Let's see what else is here."

"Okay." Noriko's tone gave away that she knew something was bothering him, but she began rifling through the various boxes around them without another word.

"Score!" She shouted after few seconds of searching.

Cody looked up at her from the box he'd just pried open. "What'd you find?"

"A weapons stash. Looks like guns and ammo that your father had saved up."

"Good. I guess I don't have to tell you to stock up, then?"

Noriko shook her head and began to rummage through the old box with gusto.

"Here's a box of letters." Cody said as he continued his search, "mostly promotions and commendation notices from the Odaiba PD."

"Sounds like your dad was a great cop."

"The best." Cody nodded, then his eyes caught something that gave him pause. "Wait-"

"What?"

He picked up an envelope from the top and pulled out the letter that was contained within. "This one's a copy of a letter he sent to Oikawa."

At the mention of Oikawa's name, Noriko stopped what she was doing and gave him her full attention. "What does it say?"

Cody carefully unfolded the paper and began to read aloud.

"Oikawa, I'm growing concerned about your lack of focus lately. I heard you failed your policemen's exam again. That's a shame, because when you put your mind to something, you're one of the most brilliant men I know. You have to give up all of this crazy digital world nonsense. That ended when were kids, when my father rightly took that broken game system away.

"Sometimes we have to give up childish dreams to look to the future. As you know, since little Cody was born, I've given up a lot of things; our pointless search, the gun club, even my bike. Yeah, that's right. I gave up being on motorcycle patrol. I'm not sure what kind of man I would be if something happened to me while riding it. My son would not have a father. There is much more honor in doing my job and being there for my family-"

Cody paused right there, overcome by a sudden onslaught of emotion that made him not want to finish the letter.

"Are you okay?" Noriko asked after Cody's abrupt stop.

He glanced over at her and nodded. "Yeah. I just figured maybe we should get a move on."

"Sure." Her gaze lingered on him just long enough for him to understand that she knew something was wrong. "You're right." She returned to her boxes without another word and Cody released a shallow sigh.

He looked over at the motorcycle. That was what his father gave up, for fear of death, in favor of doing his job, the very job that got him killed anyway. Cody couldn't help but to experience a slight shift in his own outlook.

Oikawa had been right about the digital world, and his father had been wrong. His father had given up so much, and it turned out to be ultimately futile. Cody had always believed that duty was a more honorable choice than self-indulgence. Maybe the real answer fell somewhere in between.

Cody looked over to Noriko as she continued to sift respectfully through the boxes and immediately knew it to be true. _She_ was his duty _and_ self-indulgence, and nothing felt more right and natural to him than being with her. He turned his attention to the motorcycle and quickly began working on freeing it from its prison of boxes and discarded gadgets. They had to get out of here, if only so that he and she could at least spend what little time the world had left with one another.

"I found another one." Noriko said suddenly. She raised a piece of paper into the air. "Another letter. This one's from Oikawa to your dad."

Cody pulled the bike free from the junk surrounding it with a grunt. "Go ahead. Read it."

"Are you sure? I mean-"

"It's fine Noriko." He said as he began dusting off the vehicle. "It's okay if you read it. Really."

"Okay," She didn't look entirely convinced, but began to read anyway. "It says; Hiroki, I've taken your words into account and they're starting to make a lot of sense. I have to admit, I've watched your life and what you have and honestly, your father's words are finally starting to get through to me. My life has become completely consumed by my search for a gate to the Digital World, a gate that may not even exist to a place that may just be in my imagination. It's pitiful, really. We should meet sometime and maybe you could help show me how to be one of you "normal" people again.

Regards,

Oikawa"

Cody walked over to Noriko and took a look at the letter she held. "It's dated only a few days before my father died."

"Yeah."

He turned around in order to hide a pained expression. "So then it's true."

"What?"

"That they killed my father only because Hitachi needed for Myotismon to be able infiltrate Oikawa's obsessed mind, just in case he failed against the original digidestined."

"Oh." Noriko wrapped her arms around Cody from behind and rested her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry."

Cody closed his eyes and soaked up every bit of the momentary comfort she gave him before speaking again.

"It couldn't be helped. He was set up in a very elaborate way, all to remove any semblance of hope or connection to reality from Oikawa's mind, making him obsessed with only the digital world, and thus the only person in the world capable of being possessed by a digimon. And that was just so that he would eventually create the Digimon Emperor, and Arukenimon-"

"And me." Noriko said bitterly. "And all that was just a part of a scheme to one day give rebirth to Hitachi's evil partner digimon."

Cody turned to look her in the eye and a somewhat disturbing thought entered his mind. Without the death of his father triggering the domino effect of the events that followed, it was likely he and Noriko would never have even known one another. He dismissed the discomforting notion with a shake of his head.

"Okay, let's pack up as much as we can, and hurry."

Noriko took an old backpack from one of the boxes and began stuffing various weapons and ammunition clips into it while Cody carefully finished freeing the motorcycle from the last remnants of junk around it. By the time they had finished to a satisfying degree, the noises of battle outside had become louder and much more frequent.

"Digmon, are you holding up out there?" Cody yelled.

"I'm okay, but not for long. Seems like a lot more of Hitachi's thugs are inviting themselves to our little party here!"

Noriko threw the backpack on and pulled two pistols from her waist. The weapons seemed particularly large in her petite hands. "Okay, I'm ready."

Cody looked at her and smiled. And here he had thought he would always detest guns. He'd never taken it into account that anything could actually make the destructive weapons look _cute_ to him.

"What?" Noriko gave him a look of confusion. "Something wrong?"

Cody shook his head, picked up a helmet from a crate beside the bike and gently placed it on her head. "Just that you need this."

She raised the visor for a moment and smiled. "Thanks."

"Sure."

Cody then triggered his armor mutation, hopped onto the bike, and gestured for her to occupy the spot in front of him, rather than behind. With the larger frame his transformation gave him, he was easily able to steer the bike while sitting in the back. That way, he would be able to shield her with his body and she could use both hands for firing back at their attackers.

Cody steadied himself with a deep breath. "Ready?"

"Let's do it!"

Cody gunned the motorcycle forward and they blasted out of the door, barely missing Digmon as they screeched to a halt and turned back towards the docks, now littered with various armed men and mutants. Cody revved the engine.

"Hey!" The large armor digimon roared. "Where are you going?"

"That's the only way out of here!" Cody yelled back. "We have to cut through them as fast as possible!"

Abruptly, a loud blast rang out that caused Cody to instinctively duck and shield Noriko.

"What was that?" She asked.

"I don't know." Cody answered. "Are you okay?"

She nodded and began to look around as well before suddenly taking in a sharp gasp. "I don't believe it."

"What?"

"Over there!"

Cody followed the direction she was pointing and immediately saw what had made the loud noise and caught her attention; a dilapidated white van caught in the middle of the dock which was backfiring as its engine sputtered and died.

"I don't believe it."

"You two in stereo now? Digmon asked.

They ignored him.

"Why are they just sitting there?" asked Noriko.

"The piece of junk stalled, of course." Cody gunned the bike. "We have to go help them before they get killed."

"Okay, let's go."

The tires squealed and they sped forward, Digmon running alongside them. The large digimon and Noriko managed to create a sizable path to the stalled van with several precise shots into the midst of their oncoming enemies. Cozy guided the bike through the cleared area and brought it to a sliding stop inches away from the vehicle's driver's side door.

"What do you think you're doing?" He shouted at the driver.

"Trying to-" Kin paused after turning to look at his inquisitor. His eyes went wide. "Oh sh-"

"Relax Kin!" Noriko interrupted. "It's Cody!"

Kin's eyes darted to her, registering her presence with a curious and confused glint. "Y-you're alive?"

"Of course I am. I'm talking to you aren't I?"

"It's just that-"

An excitable kid with glasses suddenly appeared at the window, leaning across Kin. "Never mind that." Said Jiro, pointing to the large, golden, plate-armored creature seated behind her. "How in the hell is that Cody?"

"It's a long story. One we don't have time for now."

"Yeah, we definitely don't!" Shouted the gruff voice of Digmon. "Here they come!"

He released several gold rush missiles into the midst of an oncoming group of mutants, forcing them to momentarily scatter.

Cody quickly dismounted from the bike and pulled out his weapons. "Kin, get that thing started!" He ordered.

Noriko got off the motorcycle as well and sidled up to the rear of the van, using it as cover. She fired several shots at a speeding jeep full of mercenaries, eventually catching a front tire and sending the vehicle spinning out of control. It swerved off of the edge of the docks and into the cold waters of the harbor.

"I'm trying!" Kin shouted. "It just won't!"

"Well, keep trying!" Noriko shouted as she reloaded her weapons. "And just what are you all doing here anyway?"

"We were supposed to be on the hydrofoils that left with our families and digimon."

"I gathered that much!" Cody said, spinning with his sword outstretched and taking out three attacking mutants at once. "But why are you still here?"

"While we were waiting, we heard a rumor that the Green Room exploded!" Said Jiro. "We had to go check it out."

Noriko shook her head. "And so you took this hunk of junk?"

"It's all we had." Kin said defensively "We drove just close enough to see that the building was destroyed, and by the time we got back here, the boats were already gone."

"I can't believe they left us," said Kentaro, who'd been sitting in the passenger seat and surprisingly calm up until that point. "Our own families and our digimon."

"They had no choice," said Cody. "They were attacked. Everyone had to leave immediately."

"And what about you?" Asked Jiro. "I mean, the Green Room and all… Why aren't you dead?"

"Wasn't there." Cody said simply.

"Evacuated." Noriko said, before Jiro could pose the question to her.

Kin cursed as the van's engine sputtered yet again. Her turned to the other two passengers. "We may have to make a run for it."

"No!" Cody protested. He parried a clumsy strike from a particularly eager mercenary and easily batted the large man aside as if he were no more than a minor annoyance. "Don't get out of the van!"

"Yeah!" Said Digmon, launching another volley of missiles to keep most of their approaching enemies at bay and frowning as it seemed to only halt their approach momentarily. "It's too rough out here! Stay in-"

The sound and light of several abrupt explosions interrupted him. All of the blasts occurred in the midst of the encroaching opposition, sending several jeeps careening through the air and the rest falling though the gaping holes in the dock that the sudden explosions had created. Those remaining of Hitachi's forces began to scatter, desperate to escape their unseen attacker.

"What was that?" Noriko said, awed.

Cody glanced around and the answer soon came to him, clear as day. He pointed to the sky. "Look!"

The others looked up to see what he was pointing at; a petite girl with tanned skin and white hair, whose eyes glowed a hot white as she descended towards their group.

"Keyan!" Noriko shouted. She couldn't keep the relief and happiness out of her voice at the guardian avatar's arrival.

"Hello." Keyan came to a light landing and wore a grave frown as she took them all in. "I bring terrible news."

"Great," Jiro said with an exaggerated roll of his eyes. "What else is new?"

"The Chamber has been destroyed."

"Yes, we know," said Cody.

"You do? But your friends?"

"They evacuated." Provided Noriko.

"Oh." Keyan's expression didn't quite turn into a joyful one, but it looked more than a little relieved. "To where?"

"Um, that I'm not sure of." Noriko said with a sheepish shrug. "I left to come here."

The abrupt sound of squealing of tires on the wood of the dock grabbed everyone's attention, and they all turned to see an approaching blue sports car. Noriko raised one of her guns and aimed at the vehicle. Keyan quickly rushed to her and pushed the weapon aside.

"No," said the guardian. "That is Krista."

The car came to a stop a few feet away from the group and the American combat instructor neatly leapt out of the driver's side window. She approached the others and graced them with a somewhat dour expression.

"Ugh," she grunted, taking in their thin ranks, "what I wouldn't give to have my plane and Ninjamon here right now."

"Good to see you too, lady," said Jiro from the van.

Krista ignored him and took in Noriko's presence, in particular, with puzzlement. "I thought you would be dead."

Noriko furrowed her brow at the older woman, surprised by the blunt statement. "You sound disappointed."

"Sorry. It's been a _very_ long day." Krista put a hand to her forehead with a sigh. "But still, how-?"

"She and the others evacuated." Keyan answered for Noriko. "They were gone before the attacks transpired."

Cody allowed his gaze to settle upon the car that Krista had arrived in and frowned. It was understandably filled to the brim with boxes of what looked like ammunition and armor, but there was something else oddly familiar about the vehicle.

Krista noticed his look and provided an explanation. "I found that parked near Highton View Terrace when Keyan and I were searching for a way to get the hell out of here and into the digital world."

"Oikawa has that place on lockdown." Kin said in a tone that denoted he'd tried going there on many occasions recently.

"Yes, well I got a consolation prize at least. It's no replacement for my plane, but I can fit most of my ammo and supplies into it."

"At the expense of myself having a seat." Keyan said sourly.

"You can fly, Keyan. And the exercise is good for you. Anyway," Krista turned back to Noriko. "Do you know where the others went to from the Chamber? Did they have a portal of some type?"

Noriko shook her head. "I don't know. I didn't actually go with them."

"What? Why not?"

"I-" Noriko pursed her lips and seemed to be wondering if her actual reasoning would fly with the strong-willed woman as a viable answer.

"She came to find me." Cody said for her, "And she saved my life as a result."

Krista rolled her eyes and grumbled something about "foolish teenagers in love" before walking over to the van and leaning against it moodily. "Well, that puts us back at square one. No portals. No boats. Great."

"You must forgive her." Keyan apologized. "It has been-"

"A long day." Finished Kin. "Yeah, we heard the first time." He tried to start the van and it failed to catch yet again.

"Well, we have to find some way out of here, right?" Asked Jiro. "We missed the boats and Hitachi's pretty much taken over everything here."

At that moment, Digmon approached the group with loud booming footsteps and flung a mercenary soldier that had been draped over his shoulder onto the ground in front of them. "Maybe this guy knows were a portal is."

Cody looked at the man lying on the ground closely. "Digmon, he's unconscious."

"Yeah. I clocked him good."

"How can we question him?"

"Oh, yeah." Digmon's expression dropped. "But he'll wake up soon, right?"

"Hmph," grunted Krista. "Not judging by the size of that lump on his head."

There was a sudden crackling noise, followed by a tinny voice asking, "Commander Hardesty? Are you there? Commander?"

Noriko looked around with a perplexed expression. "What is that?"

"It is a communication device." Keyan said, pointing down. "Located on the soldier's belt."

"Commander?" The voice continued. "I have new mission parameters for you. Are you there?"

"Hmm," mused Krista. "This info could prove useful to us. Someone answer the call."

Jiro looked at her as if she were daft. "But we don't know what that Hardesty guy sounds like."

Krista shrugged and looked over the unconscious mercenary. "He's a big guy, imposing enough to be a commander apparently. Just put some bass into it."

At that, Cody picked up the radio, and as his voice was already significantly deeper due to his mutation, he simply spoke into it. "Go ahead."

"Ah, there you are," came the reply. "Look, we've run into a bit of a problem. Our eight special prisoners have escaped."

"Escaped?" Cody made a conscious effort to keep his replies as short as possible.

"Yes sir. All of them. They've recovered their uniforms and taken two CADE vehicles. They may search for their digimon, but we don't believe they know where to look for them."

Cody's heart skipped a beat. Eight? Uniforms? Digimon? Could it possibly be…? He tried not to let his anxiousness show as he spoke once again. "Who are we talking about, then?"

"You don't know?" There was a short pause on the other end that caused Cody to grow exponentially more nervous. "CADE's Knights, of course. The eight Hitachi captured last week."

The group on the dock exchanged looks of surprise and sudden grins of joy. All did their best not to make any noise however, as the man continued speaking.

"We need you to move a contingent of your soldiers to the research facility at 7th and Kagomi. Right now, we're pursuing the prisoners in the streets, but on the off chance that they somehow know where their digimon are, we need to be prepared for them."

Now Cody found himself struggling to keep the mirth out of his voice as he responded. "Will do."

"Very good. And keep this confined to the soldier and mutant bands of radio traffic. Fortunately, Hitachi's no longer in Odaiba, but I don't need to tell you what he will do to all of us if he finds out about this."

"Right."

The communication cut off there and Cody allowed the radio to drop back to the ground.

"They're alive!" Noriko shouted, amidst the others' whoops and shouts of glee.

She threw her arms around Cody's neck, and he stood there, almost numb with relief. The Knights were alive. His friends had not died. They still had a chance.

"How far away is this complex?" Krista asked, unholstering a weapon while Keyan walked up beside her.

"Not far." Cody recalled after Noriko released him. He'd passed the area on several jaunts to and from various local Kendo tournaments. "We can be there in only a few minutes if we hurry."

"Then we should go aid them and worry about searching for a way out of here later."

Cody nodded. "Agreed."

Krista turned towards the van. "Get that thing started. We need to go now."

"I'm trying." Kin grumbled. He bashed his forehead into the steering wheel when the engine once again didn't catch.

"Give it gas!" Jiro suggested from the backseat.

Kin looked at him through the rearview mirror and responded to the younger boy's suggestion with a nasty scowl.

"Sorry." Jiro shrugged, then turned and looked at Cody and Noriko with an analytical eye. "Well, it seems that all of the Green Room girls are now officially spoken for."

"Yeah," Kin said with a roll of his eyes. "All two of them." He cranked the engine again and let out a sigh of relief when it finally began sputtering to life.

"We have _got_ to do some recruiting."

The van backfired and died once again.

"Damn it!"

"Come on." Krista grumbled while impatiently tapping her foot. "There isn't much time. We need to go."

"Okay lady. God," Kin cranked the key and pumped the gas pedal furiously. "It's not like I 'm doing this on purpose-"

The engine sputtered for a moment before finally roaring to life and Kin threw his head back and hands up in the air triumphantly.

"Yes! Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you."

"Alright people," said Krista "let's move!" She gracefully leapt across the hood of her car, caught the side of the door with a hand and neatly flipped herself in through the driver's side window.

"Lady," Jiro yelled out of the van window, "You have _got_ to show me how to do that!"

Krista gave the boy a contemptuous glare as she started her own vehicle.

Keyan smirked at the scene and walked over to Cody. "Let's hope this ends better than the last time we fought alongside one another."

"Considering the fact that I died, I'm going to have to agree with you."

The white haired girl gave him a slight nod, then took back to the air with a small flourish. Cody watched her ascend.

"Hmm, she's certainly gotten a lot better at flying." He observed.

He then transformed himself once again and got on the bike. Noriko quickly hopped on in front of him.

"I'm surprised." She said.

"At what?"

"You admitted that you died, and you sound okay with it."

Cody started the motorcycle and made sure she was safely nestled between his arms. "I realize now that I've been given an opportunity, not a curse. A chance to live again seems a lot better when you have more to live for."

"So your time away helped, then?"

Cody shook his head as he flipped on the headlights. "A little, but I don't think this in particular is something that I realized until just a little while ago."

"Oh?" Noriko said in a curious tone.

She turned to look up at him and he answered her with an affectionate gaze and a nod.

"_Oh_."

"Ahem!" Krista yelled loudly out of her window. "Are we moving or what?"

Cody looked back at the irate woman. "Who is she yelling at now?" He muttered.

"You, brain." Noriko answered with a smile. "You're supposed to be leading them. This isn't the old days anymore. You're in charge of _this_ rescue mission."

Cody raised one of his plated brows at that. It seemed he had come a long way from being the last second throw-in in one of TK's "Digidestined Update" articles.

"Okay, hold on."

He revved the engine and gunned the bike forward with a screeching of rubber on the wooden dock surface. "Let's go!"

* * *

**Hitachi Research Complex**

Hatori moved stealthily along the dark alley, his two inexperienced companions not far behind him. The building he crept along next to was the very definition of dull and commonplace, adorned with only a concrete block structure type and a single, metal door. It all made Hatori all the more certain that they'd arrived at the right location.

"What is this place?" Matt asked. "It looks abandoned."

"Looks can be deceiving. In this case, deliberately so."

Hatori kneeled to the ground and pulled a short, coiled, cable from one of his suit's pockets. He straightened it out and placed one end under the door. The other end he hooked up to a device that looked like a pair of binoculars.

He raised the contraption to his eyes for a moment, then announced, "Other side's clear. Let's go."

"How do we get in?" Asked Sora. "There's no handles and I'm sure it's locked."

Hatori reached into his bag with a smirk. Rookies. He pulled out a small tube filled with what looked like clay and scooped a bit of it out with a finger. "Observe."

He applied the substance to the crack where the door joined with the wall, near the area where the doorknob normally would have been, then stepped back.

"Oh, I think I know what happens here." Said Matt. He stepped in front of Sora in a shielding posture.

As he'd correctly guessed, the door blasted open with surprisingly little sound and the three soon entered in crouching poses.

Sora looked up and down the tempered steel lined hallway they were now in, noting its bright, florescent, glow and the hand and retinal scanners at one end. "Wow, looks _can_ be deceiving."

"So how do we get in?" Matt asked. "Grab a guard and shove his head into the scanner?"

Hatori shook his head. He never ceased to be marveled by the presumptiveness of the video game generation.

"According to those schematics I saw, there's an easier way." He walked down the hall a ways, running a hand along the wall as he measured the distance in his head. He stopped at a certain point and kept a finger there as he reached into a pocket and pulled out a miniature drill.

"You two, to me."

Sora and Matt diligently followed Hatori's order, walking over to stand beside him as he applied the drill to the wall and the small machine began to whir.

"I want you two to switch to your non-lethal tranq rounds and stay low."

"What are you about to do?"

The drill broke through the wall completely and Hatori pulled it out, then shoved the camera contraption into the newly created hole. He looked into his viewfinder for a moment before nodding. "There we go."

Hatori took the camera out and replaced it with another small wire, this one with a small metal clamp at its end. He put the clamp into the hole, the attached a small PDA to the other end of the wire. Hatori tooled with the device for a moment, then smiled triumphantly as the door at the end of the hall opened.

"Wow." Matt exclaimed as Hatori put his materials back in his pockets. "How did you do that?"

"You'll find it's a lot easier to simply tap into a building's control systems than it is to manhandle guards." Hatori paused after hearing the sound of loud footsteps emanating from outside. He turned to his companions. "You guys switched to the tranquilizers like I told you?"

Both Matt and Sora nodded.

"Good. Draw them and follow my lead. But do _not_ fire without my command."

The two nodded again and did as he said.

Hatori took out a silenced pistol and shot out the florescent lights at the end of the hall opposite the security door, abruptly bathing the area in complete darkness. "Follow me."

He led them to the darkened end of the hall and had them crouch there, weapons drawn.

"We want to avoid confrontation." Hatori whispered. "But we must be ready for anything. At least here we should be hidden from view."

He'd barely finished the words before the door leading outside swung open and two armed guards entered into the hallway.

"What the-?" One of them exclaimed immediately, looking around. "This door wasn't locked, the security door's wide open, and the lights at that end of the hall suddenly aren't working. Something fishy is going on here. I'm going to call-"

_Whap! _It was the sound of one of the tranquilizer guns firing.

The guard suddenly paused, mid-sentence, and fell over to the ground with a thump.

His companion knelt beside him in alarm. "Sam? Sam, are you ok?"

_Whap! Whap!_

The second guard's body jerked twice, then he fell over as well.

"What did I just tell you two?!" Hatori hissed at Matt and Sora. "Was that necessary?"

"Don't blame me." Matt whispered. "I didn't fire any shots."

"I'm sorry." Said Sora, her tone as apologetic as possible. "I guess I got anxious."

"Well, don't let it happen again. The key to this kind of work is patience and-"

_Whap!_

A third guard, whose body had barely appeared at the door, fell forward into the darkened hallway.

"Sora!" Matt hissed.

"Well, I couldn't let him see the other two, could I?"

Hatori let out a sigh. "We better hide the bodies and get out of here before someone else comes."

_Whap! Whap!_

"Sora!" The last two shots broke Hatori from his usual military stoicism. "What the hell? Stop it!"

"Okay, okay, sorry. I thought I saw one of them move. But I only fired once." She turned an accusing gaze at Matt.

"I uh, thought I saw him move too." He admitted.

Hatori ran a hand over his face in exasperation. "Come on. Help me move them."

The three holstered their weapons and crept into the light, over to the fallen men.

"Okay, quickly." Hatori ordered. "Let's get them hidden away in the dark area."

He directed Sora to grab the smallest of the three by his feet, while he and Matt dragged the other two by their arms. They had just about finished successfully hiding the men when a loud crackle suddenly rang out over the otherwise quiet hallway.

Sora dropped her quarry's legs and let out a small yelp. "What was that?"

"One of them has a radio." Hatori said.

He laid his man down and began searching for the source of the sound. Abruptly, he found it in one of the man's pockets and pulled it out. He was just about to turn the device off when someone began to speak.

"They escaped!" Said a static filled voice on the other end.

"How many?" Came a slightly clearer, yet gruff, reply.

"All eight of them."

"You have to be effing kidding me."

Matt looked between Hatori and Sora, his expression anxious. "All eight of them? Do you think-"

"Quiet," Hatori admonished. "There's more."

"…contact the Assassin and Hitachi-"

"NO! Are you crazy! They'll kill us! We need to capture them and bring them back immediately. Keep this on the lower channels."

"Fine." The gruff voice sounded less than enthused at the idea of subverting their bosses, but seemed resigned to it. "Where was their last heading?"

"They may be headed to the research center to recover their digimon, but we're not sure. Hardesty and his team are on their way there, just in case."

There was a long sigh. "If we let Gennai's Knights get away, we are all so dead."

"Exactly. So get your team into the streets as soon as possible and get them back here."

"Alright, I'm on it."

Another hiss of static signaled the communication ending.

"Just as I suspected." Said Hatori calmly. "Hitachi didn't kill them. It's not his M.O."

Sora let out a whoop and leapt into Matt's arms with a bright grin. "They're alive, Matt! Did you hear?"

He laughed and held on tightly as he twirled her around. "I heard, Sora. I heard."

"You two, quiet down!" Hatori admonished. "We still have work to do."

"But, shouldn't we leave to go find Tai and the others?" Asked Matt as he gently let Sora down. "They'll need our help."

"We are helping them. We're clearing their path."

"What?"

"Come on." Hatori headed off towards the security door and the engaged pair shared a curious glance before hurrying off after him.

* * *

**Odaiba, the streets**

Two advanced SUVs slid out into a wide downtown intersection, side by side, their tires squealing in protest as they both sharply turned, straightened out, and began to accelerate down the smooth asphalt city streets.

"Whoohooo!" Terence yelled as he guided one of the vehicles at high speed. "Now _this_ is driving!"

"Would you stop that and pay attention?" Rosa grumbled from the backseat, "The isn't The Fast and the Furious. Damn it, I knew I should have rode with the others."

At that, Tai glanced out of his window at the other car, in which Jun, Clara, Curtis, and Kuri were riding. Davis and Kuri had split up in order to provide the rest with some kind of communication between the two vehicles, since the radios seemed to be down and their D-Terminals were too cumbersome. The other pairs had followed suit out of empathy.

"Remind me again why we're letting you drive?" Rosa grumbled as she was jerked again by another sharp turn.

"Because Tai's best with weapons, Davis is the relay, and you can barely see over the dashboard. Besides, I put in the second most hours in simulation, behind Kuri. Now quit backseat driving and put on your damn seatbelt."

Rosa grumbled some choice curses as she strapped herself in. "You only put in so many hours because you were jumping rooftops and running over old people."

"Hey, the point is that I passed…eventually."

"Yeah, right. Whatever."

Terence shook his head and gritted his teeth. "It's a shame that Curtis is going to be so mad at me."

"What?" Asked Tai, adjusting his passenger side weapons display. "Why?"

"You know, after I throw his girlfriend out of a moving vehicle."

"Hey!" Rosa kicked the back of Terence's seat, causing him to lurch forward.

"Guys, cut it out, Kuri says we got bogeys at our two." Davis pulled down the weaponry panel strapped to the back of Tai's seat.

"I see them." Tai said, peering out the window at several dark shapes cropping up in the night streets. "Mutants jumping down from the rooftops."

"You mean driving up from the rear, don't you?" Rosa said, looking out of the back window.

Tai noticed several mutants rushing out into the streets from the many alleys lining it and beginning to run alongside the rear of the vehicle. Behind them, numerous military outfitted jeeps and utility trucks swerved into the road, each vehicle's windows filled with the bright, strobe-like, flashes of its occupants firing automatic weapons.

"Mercs too?" Rosa grimaced as their weapons fire ricocheted off of the SUV's titanium alloy reinforced hull. "This is crazy!"

Tai scowled. "Damn it, they're coming from all directions. Everyone, get your weapons ready."

All of them began inputting commands into their panels, small rectangular boards with graphic displays that showed a variety of camera angles outside the vehicle along with targeting crosshairs and an accompanying weapons list. Shortly after, several miniature sidewinder missiles exploded from hidden compartments under the vehicle. With a loud hissing noise, the projectiles sped out into the street, towards their targets.

"That should slow 'em down." Tai said with a nod.

A few of the jeeps scattered amid the explosions of the volley of missiles, but reformed their ranks quickly, and began their pursuit once again.

"Tai, Kuri says stop wasting the heavy artillery!" Davis yelled.

"What?" Terence shouted as he guided the vehicle though a particularly sharp, screeching, turn. "She expects us to use pea shooters?" He flinched as a well-aimed bullet popped off of his driver side window.

"She says we can outrun them."

"They're friggin shooting at us!"

"And we're in bulletproof cars, genius." Quipped Rosa.

Tai looked ahead and saw that Kuri had pulled away from them a small distance. "She's right." He conceded. "We need to speed up and get to our destination as fast as possible."

"So, what, they're trying to stall us?"

"Yeah," Tai answered ruefully, "and she's also right about the weapons. I should have saved those missiles for something more worthwhile."

"Like what?" Terence asked.

"Like that!" Rosa thrust herself between the front seats and pointed forward.

"What?" Tai looked up and immediately noticed what had her so alarmed; a large metal tank had pulled out into the street and was blocking their path. Its roof-mounted turret was aimed directly at the two oncoming vehicles. "Is that a- Terence!"

"I'm on it!" He jerked the wheel sharply to the left, practically turning the car onto two tires, as the ground where they would have been moments later exploded in a shower of flame and gravel. The vehicle teetered for a moment before finally falling back down on all fours and Terence turned it away from the tank, only to face the army of mutants and mercenaries that had been pursuing them from behind.

"Davis, your girlfriend got any ideas?" Terence asked, throwing the vehicle into reverse.

As the tires squealed and they accelerated backwards, the ground between them and their attackers exploded with the force of another blast from the tank.

"Yeah," Davis answered, "she said hold them off. She's working on it."

Tai glanced out of his window at the other SUV, which was moving around far less erratically than theirs, mostly due to the protection afforded by a transparent yellow dome that now surrounded it.

"I _knew_ I should've rode in that car." Rosa lamented again.

"Alright Davis," said Tai. "You and I are going to hold them off the best we can with our light artillery."

Rosa scowled. "And what am I doing?"

"We still have homing missiles left to take out that tank's cannon?"

"Yeah!" Rosa said with a sudden eager grin, "I'm on it!"

She reached up, pulled a black helmet and visor down from the ceiling, and strapped it on.

"Then do it."

"Hold on. Targeting's coming online."

Terence jerked the vehicle to the left again just as Tai input the command in his weapons panel to unveil several small gun turrets on the roof. Tai immediately started pouring hot lead rounds into the midst of their attackers. Another explosion knocked them off kilter.

"Keep it steady, Terence!" Rosa said as she struggled to line up her shot at the tank.

"Oh, please pardon me if my attempts to keep us from getting our asses blown from here clear to Kyoto is interfering with your aiming, Rosa." He jerked back to the right, just avoiding the tank's next shot, which fortuitously sailed past them and right into an oncoming formation of jeeps, incinerating them upon impact. "I have this annoying desire to live that really can be a bitch sometimes."

"So do I." Rosa smashed her palm onto her weapons panel and once again they all heard the wooshing noise of a volley of missiles being unleashed from underneath the vehicle.

Two of them sailed wide of the target, but the other two collided directly into the turret, blowing it clear off the tank with a couple of loud, bright flashes.

"Nice shot, Rosa!" Davis said, pumping a fist.

Tai looked at the remaining metal hulk, with smoke billowing out of its top, and frowned. "It's still blocking our path though. We're still trapped."

"Kuri got any ideas?" Terence asked.

"She said use the vertical accelerant," said Davis.

"Verti-what? I have no idea what that is or which one of these damn buttons does it."

He looked at Tai, who shrugged in reply.

"Okay, she's going to try something else."

Tai watched as Kuri's vehicle turned and sped directly towards the immobile hunk of machinery that had been the tank. From the roof of their vehicle there was a small blast of smoke followed by something resembling a small harpoon shooting forth. The projectile easily pierced the side of the tank and disappeared within.

"What good did that do?" Terence complained.

"Kuri said 'heads up.'" Davis said.

"Heads up for wh-?"

The sentence was interrupting by a powerful explosion literally ripping the tank into a thousand flaming pieces.

"Holy-!" Rosa gasped.

After negotiating the initial shockwave of the blast, Terence deftly maneuvered the car to avoid the many falling pieces of debris. He followed Kuri into, and out of the other side, of the mass of black smoke that billowed from where the tank had just been.

"What weapon was that?" Rosa asked in awe, still looking out of the back window at the destruction as they sped away from it.

"No idea." Terence said. "Davis, ask her what in the world she just did."

"I already did."

"And?"

"I'm sure she'll tell me when she's done criticizing you for not knowing what any of the specialty weapons are."

"Ouch." Tai said, allowing himself a small smirk in the momentary respite from their pursuer's attacks.

Terence scowled. "Hey, I may not know where all the stupid buttons are, but I'm driving the hell out of this thing. Tell her that."

"Can't. She's still telling me how much Jun and Curtis think you suck at this too."

"Be sure to relay to them that they can all kiss my ass."

Davis chuckled. "That'll go over well."

"Get serious guys." Tai cautioned, glancing at his side view mirror. "Next wave's coming in."

More creatures began descending from the surrounding rooftops, but these were smaller than the typical blue and gray ones that had been attacking previously. They ran down the sides of the buildings, limbs moving so fast that they were practically blurs, and looked like an army of giant ants on the move.

"Oh no." Rosa groaned. "Not those little green ones. I _hate_ the little green ones."

Tai narrowed his eyes as he watched the creatures approach. He had to agree with Rosa. Though the green mutants were small, they were far more formidable and dangerous than their larger counterparts. They didn't pack as much of a punch, but their unmatched speed more than made up for that shortcoming.

"Everyone, give 'em what you got!"

Tai, Davis, and Rosa went to work on their weaponry panels, unleashing a bevy of missiles and machine gun fire at their quickly approaching attackers. The mutants treated the projectiles as mere annoyances, dodging them all with a minimum of effort.

"Argh!" Rosa grunted. "I hate them so much!"

She'd barely finished the exclamation when one of the small creatures leapt onto the roof of the car and began banging away at it furiously. His companions did the same, leaping onto the hood, trunk, windshield, basically anywhere they could find a hand or foothold. All of them clawed, banged, and snarled, eventually beating small dents into the reinforced hull of the vehicle.

"Any ideas?" Terence asked, frantically. "Anyone?"

Davis leaned forward. "Kuri says look for a button on the middle dash with a picture of a lightning bolt on it."

"Found it!" Rosa shouted, lunging forward and smashing it down.

Arcs of electricity suddenly surrounded the entire vehicle, engulfing them all in a white glowing light. They heard several reptilian screams as each of the mutants on the vehicle were blasted away with loud electric pops.

"Alright!" Terence exclaimed. "Now that's what I'm talking about!"

Tai looked ahead to the vehicle in front of them, and noticed that it was covered with even more of the creatures than theirs had been. "Why hasn't Kuri used hers?"

"Because she says we used ours too early." Davis said.

Terence gave a look that was both insulted and confused. "What?"

"It's a one time only weapon. We were supposed to take out as many as possible."

A loud thump came from the back of the car, followed by another, and another.

"What is that?" Asked Tai.

"They're jumping on the back now!" Shouted Rosa with wide eyes. "Trying to force their way in through the trunk!"

"Oh, calm down, girl." Said Terence. "This thing is made of super whatever titanium, remember? I think we could drive it straight through a brick wall if we needed to."

At that, Rosa directed her gaze to the ceiling. "Please God, I know he's slow, but don't let him be dumb enough to test that theory out."

Another thump at the back of the car preempted Terence's retort and caused him to swerve slightly. Too much weight was now being concentrated at the rear of the vehicle.

An idea suddenly struck Tai. "Terence, remember what we did when we used a ramp to drive off that bridge back in the simulation?"

"Yeah…" Terence looked at him for a moment before recognition dawned. "Yeah!"

"Um, I don't like the sound of this," said Davis.

"It's nothing bad." Terence quickly reached under his steering wheel and pulled a small lever. "Just this."

There was a loud _woosh_ from the back of the SUV as a large parachute was suddenly deployed. The giant white piece of fabric knocked all of the mutants away as it unfurled from the back of the vehicle, but also had the effect of slowing them down drastically.

"And now to cut it loose." Terence pushed the lever back in and the parachute was released, allowing him to accelerate once again. "Good thinking Tai. Doubt Kuri discovered that one."

Tai chuckled. "Who says goofing around doesn't pay off every now and then?"

Ahead of them, Kuri had finally used her vehicle's electric defense grid, and it was glowing brightly with arcs of electricity that sent the dozens of the small mutants on her SUV flying in all directions.

Terence ran over a couple and let out an unceremonious, "oops" as their vehicle was rocked by the bodies passing underneath its wheels.

"Whew," said Rosa, wiping a hand across her forehead, "I'm glad that's over. Now we can-"

She drew back with a slight gasp as one of the green mutants suddenly appeared on her door, snarling and clawing at her window.

"Looks like there are still a few stragglers," said Davis. "Anybody got any ideas for this one?"

"Yeah, this!" Rosa rolled down her window, surprising the creature, who noted the sudden loss of the barrier with a curious sneer. She then reared back and delivered a punch right to the mutant's nose, sending him sprawling to the concrete with a reptilian shriek. He rolled and bounded along the ground beside them for a moment, before violently colliding with a lamppost.

"Son of a-" Rosa kissed the knuckles on her fist and shook her hand furiously. "That hurt!"

A sudden thumping noise brought Tai's attention to his own door, where he saw yet another mutant. He was snarling and scratching at the window, just as the one on Rosa's side had been, but before Tai could repeat her feat and roll down his window to punch the creature, it's head suddenly disappeared in a metallic flash.

Tai recoiled in surprise as the rest of its body fell away, as well. "What th-"

He noticed that the super-fast mutant had been replaced by a large, armored one riding a motorcycle. Tai grabbed his weapons panel in order to prepare another volley of missiles, but stopped when he saw a familiar person riding the bike with the mutant. He hurriedly rolled down his window.

"Noriko?!" He asked in surprise, before taking a closer look at the mutant she was riding with. "Cody?"

"Yeah, it's us!" Noriko shouted with a grin. "Figured we could lend a hand! And we brought friends!"

Tai looked in the direction that she nodded and saw a dilapidated white van that looked like it had no business driving anywhere, much less at the high speeds they were traveling. Atop it rode Digmon, who comically appeared to be surfing as he fired gold rush missiles at any creature unfortunate enough to appear in the path of the van. At its wheel was Kin and the burly Kentaro rode beside him. Tai could make out the anxious face of Jiro in the seat behind them.

Driving beside the van was a small blue sports car with a shadowed figure that looked remarkably like Krista Lee at its helm.

"What th-?" Tai exclaimed, noting that the car Ms. Lee was driving was a very familiar looking Tiburon. "Is that my car?" He turned around further in his seat and squinted. "Damn it, that _is_ my car!"

Terence laughed as he swerved the SUV to avoid a pothole. "That's your car? What, you went for the fuel economy option?"

"It would smoke that Hummer of yours."

Two streaks of white light flashed past their vehicle, colliding with a pair of green mutants that had just leapt in front of them. Terence maneuvered to avoid the twin explosions and smiled. "Well, we know who was responsible for that."

"I think so." Tai said as he stuck his head out of the window. He looked up to find Keyan flying along above them. She nodded at him with a small grin. Tai nodded in return and ducked back into the car.

"It's Keyan, all right. We're putting together quite a convoy here."

Davis then leaned out of his window. "Hey Cody, we need you and the rest to pull up between our two cars! We want a tight formation!"

Cody nodded and guided his bike around them

"You told Kuri they were here, didn't you?" Terence said, looking at Davis in the rearview, "And now she wants them closer to her because she thinks she can better protect them."

"You disagree with her?" Davis asked.

Terence seemed ready to protest, then shook his head. "Well, no."

"He better not." Rosa said. "Hell, he's liable to run over them himself."

The new vehicles joined rank in front of them and the eclectic motorcade followed Kuri as she took a left.

"This is the home stretch." Tai informed everyone. "The complex is just up there."

No sooner had he pointed towards their destination than did something large and gray with a snarling toothed visage land on their windshield. Terence cursed as the car swerved slightly out of control.

"Persistent bastards, aren't they?"

"Terence, get him off!" Rosa shouted. "I can't see anything!"

"_You_ can't see anything? _I'm_ the one that has to drive this thing! What do you want me to do, turn on the friggin' windshield wipers?"

Tai sighed angrily as the vehicle dangerously swerved from one side of the road to the other. "I'll handle this." He said.

He quickly climbed out of his passenger side window, to the point that he was actually sitting on the door. The creature ignored him, instead concentrating on its futile task of clawing at the windshield. Tai formulated a plan of action.

"Davis, grab my legs!"

Davis quickly did as he said, leaning between the front two seats and grabbing Tai around his ankles.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"When I tell you, pull!"

"Alright!"

Tai moved further out of the window and leaned across the windshield, steadying himself as the vehicle swerved and the chilled night wind beat against his face. He reached out with an arm and took a swipe at the mutant, barely grazing it's rough scaly leg. Predictably, the creature turned its attention to him and snarled, allowing stray drops of saliva to fall from its mouth and splatter against the windshield. For a moment, Tai forgot what to do next, overcome by the sheer absurdity of the situation he now found himself in.

As the creature reared back to take a retaliatory strike at him, Tai suddenly remembered what it was he was trying to do and shouted, "Davis, now!"

Just as the mutant leapt at him, Tai felt his legs being jerked and his body forcefully being pulled back into the car. His attacker missed clawing his face by mere inches and it growled as its momentum sent it flying off the side of the SUV and into a rather rough landing on the street.

"That was crazy, man!" Terence exclaimed, as Tai settled back into his seat. He reached out with an arm and patted Tai on the chest, as if to make sure he was still in one piece.

Tai nodded, slightly out of breath. "Yeah, it was, wasn't it?"

"Oh no!" Rosa shouted, pointing forward. "Look!"

As a result of the unexpected mutant's attack, they had fallen a small distance behind the rest of the convoy. The others were now approaching the street level garage entrance to the facility, where a set of large metal doors were slowly descending in an attempt to keep them out. All of the vehicles barely made it under the massive doors, and at the last moment, Keyan had to speed up with a burst of light to dive under the low clearance.

"Damn it!" Tai growled, slamming a hand into the dashboard. "We're not going to make it."

Tai was proven right, as by the time they reached the entrance, the doors had lowered completely, and their SUV's tires squealed as Terence suddenly brought it to a complete stop.

"No other way in?" Rosa asked.

Tai looked at the façade of the non-descript building, noting that all of the ground floor doors and windows were now covered with metal barricades, as were the ones on the second story.

"Not that I can see." Said Davis.

"Whatever." Terence said, furiously turning the steering wheel and mashing the gas pedal. "Like they say, for whatever reason, 'there's more than one way to skin a cat.'"

He guided the vehicle away from the building and across the street, where he immediately began driving up the spiraling ramp of a ten-story parking garage.

Tai looked at him warily. "Terence, please don't tell me you're doing what I think you are…"

"Yeah," said Rosa. "What the hell _are_ you doing exactly?"

Terence remained stone-faced and concentrated on maneuvering the large vehicle up the rather small ramp. "Hopefully stalling long enough for one of you guys to find that vertical accelerant button Kuri was talking about."

Tai took the hint and immediately began scanning the dashboard carefully.

* * *

**Hitachi Research Complex, Interior**

Cody burst through the door that led from the service stairwell to the fifth floor without much effort. He pulled out his katana immediately and waited as the group he was heading up entered the room behind him, all brandishing firearms provided by Krista and Noriko. They found themselves in a massive chamber, the size of an average high school gymnasium. Scattered about the concrete and gunmetal room were several weightlifting benches, treadmills, and metal sparring rings.

"Looks like some kind of training area." Curtis observed. "Probably made for the mutants. Let's go."

No sooner had the group fully entered into the room than did two-dozen or so guards, mercenaries and mutants, came flying at them from all directions. Keyan quickly leapt to Cody's side at the forefront, unleashing a series of brutal energy attacks that cleared out almost half of the attackers immediately. Krista wasn't far behind her, as she knelt and fired off a round from the shoulder-mounted bazooka she'd brought. The resulting explosion literally blasted at least five mutants through a wall on the opposite side of the room.

By the time their enemies were able to gather themselves and fire off retaliating attacks of their own, Clara had already reached the middle of the group and constructed a glimmering shield around them all.

"Take 'em out!" Jun shouted.

Those with weapons began to pour rounds into the midst of the hoard, taking out half of the oncoming mutants, while causing the rest to flee along with the already retreating mercenaries. One particularly devious soldier decided to wait just outside one of the doorways until Clara lowered her shield. He then reappeared, smiling devilishly as he aimed his weapon at the Protective Knight.

Before anyone could react, a loud blast rang out and the man's weapon disappeared from his hand with a loud metal _ping_. He yelped in surprise and shook his hand in pain before turning and sprinting away.

"Bull's-eye." Noriko said with a smile, before bringing her weapon to her lips and blowing away the smoke rising from its barrel.

Cody turned back to look at her, his mouth slightly agape.

"What?" She asked innocently.

"Nothing. I just- I can't believe I actually thought about making you stay back at the vehicles with Kin, Kentaro, Jiro, and Digmon."

"Me neither." Noriko reloaded one of her guns. "This is fun."

Cody shook his head. "Just stick with me, okay?"

She smiled back at him sweetly. "Wouldn't have it any other way."

Kuri allowed a smirk to cross her face as she watched the two run off behind the already departing Curtis.

Jun walked up beside Kuri and put a hand on her shoulder. "How are the others?" She asked.

Kuri concentrated on her connection with Davis, which was slightly faint due to distance. "I think they're about to try something really stupid."

"Good. They're fine, then." Jun said. "Come on, let's go."

The girls caught up to the others in the next room, where Curtis was standing in front of a control panel next to a security door, muttering a string of curses.

"How could I be so dumb to not expect this?" He said in exasperation, shaking his head. "It'll take a while to figure out how to override the passcodes."

"Um, Curtis," Kuri said. "Just move out of the way."

"What?" Curtis looked up just in time to see Keyan wielding a giant sphere of light over her head. He quickly leapt to the side and Clara shielded him as the powerful avatar's attack literally blew the reinforced steel door from its hinges and into the next room.

As one, the group entered through the blasted doorway and were collectively surprised when they all came face to face with a lone figure in a white lab coat, wielding a remote control in one hand and a firearm in the other.

"Take one more step," He warned, pointing the gun at them, "and they all die."

Clara gasped. "The digimon."

Behind the man, in the center of the laboratory, were eight tall, cylindrical, chambers filled with pink fluid. Suspended in each one of the chambers was one of the Knight's digimon partners in their in-training states, each with a menagerie of tubes and electrodes attached to their bodies. All were unconscious, and looked as if they had been so for quite a while.

"What have you done to them?" Clara demanded, taking a menacing step forward.

"Ah, ah, ah," The doctor waved his gun back and forth slightly in reprimand. "If you look closely, you'll notice that each one of their containers is attached to a high capacity explosive," He gestured towards several black boxes with blinking red lights atop the tubes. "All of which are controlled by the remote I hold in my hand. Any sudden movements and they all go up in flames."

"You wouldn't." Jun asserted. "Your boss would kill you."

The doctor shrugged. "It was a lost cause anyway. Whatever that Willis boy did to create you, it isn't detectible by any of our means of testing."

Jun narrowed her gaze at the man. "You all would never be able to understand the principles by which we were create-"

"Shut-up. Please, just shut-up. It's over. You lost anyway, so let's just dispense with the useless chatter. Hitachi will initiate the joining soon, and there's nothing you can do to stop it."

"And just where do you expect to be?" Kuri asked. "Because right now all I see is a stalemate. You blow those bombs, and you're not getting out of here alive, either."

The doctor rolled his eyes. "Please. You should know that I have planned for this contingency." He raised his voice. "System: initiate portal sequence: lab, authorization, Lead geneticist 001."

He looked back at the group with a smile. "Be seeing you around, or not-"

"Portal sequence deactivated," Interrupted a booming computerized voice. "Primary systems down.'

The doctor's smile faded quickly. "What?" He looked around anxiously before his gaze settled accusingly on the group standing before him. "What did you do?"

Kuri glanced at Curtis out of the corner of her eye and he responded with a very slight shake of his head, indicating he wasn't the one responsible for this particular development.

The doctor took a deep breath and settled himself. "No matter. I can still do this the old fashioned way."

He slowly backed up, edged around the glass tubes and retreated to the other side of the room, all the while never lowering his weapon or taking his gaze away from his enemies. Once he'd backed all the way into the wall on the opposite side of the lab, he used his elbow to press a hidden panel there. Immediately a small, man-sized partition in the wall slid away, revealing a pane of glass behind it that led directly outside. It reminded Kuri of the secret door at the academy that she and Davis had used to sneak out all the time.

The doctor raised the hand that was holding the remote to his face and spoke into a small communicator on his wrist.

"Mutants! I need a pick-up at the back-up drop point. And don't dawdle."

Kuri scowled as she heard a gruff voice on the other end acknowledge the doctor's command. They were in quite a bind now. If any of them made a move to stop the doctor from leaving, he'd incinerate them all, but if they allowed him to leave, he'd still activate the bombs after the split second it took him to get out of the range of the explosions.

"Well," He said, with a grin. "My 'ride,' if you will, is on its way here. So close and yet so far, right Knights? Such is life. You know, the commendation I get for this should just about make up for not being able to decipher exactly how you were created."

Kuri suddenly felt a flood of emotions coursing through her that she knew weren't her own. It was a familiar feeling, a determined bravado that she had last felt right before Davis and the others had burst in upon her interrogation. There was another emotion as well, however, an emotion that Kuri could best describe as outright terror.

"Davis," she whispered under her breath, "What in the world are you doing?"

The doctor very quickly turned his head to peer out of the window and back again. "Looks like it's just about time for me to go- wait a minute."

He did a double take and turned back to the window again. "What in the-?"

A pair of bright lights flooded the window, turning the doctor's form into only a silhouette against their brilliant glow. He cursed, turned around, and began to run, but only made it a couple of steps before the entire wall behind him exploded inward and chunks of metal, glass, and concrete flew everywhere while something large and black barreled through. The doctor screamed and fell when a piece of debris caught him from behind. The remote was knocked out of his hand and went flying across the floor just before dust from the destroyed wall engulfed the entire room and visibility was severely hampered.

"Did you all see that?" Kuri asked, immediately dropping to her hands and knees and searching the ground for the device.

"Of course." Answered Krista. "How could we miss that?"

"No, not that. The doctor, he dropped the-"

"Don't worry, Kuri," interrupted Curtis, between coughs. "I found it. I have the remote."

Kuri let out a sigh of relief and squinted as she scanned the room. The dust kicked up by the sudden explosion began to settle and thin enough so that she could now make out the headlights and frame of a battered black SUV parked in the middle of the room. Davis?

"See, I told you that would work! Whooo!" The driver's side door of the vehicle opened and someone jumped out. "I may not know all those weapons systems, but I sure as hell know a thing or two about rooftop jumping!"

The other three doors opened, and the rest of the vehicle's occupants got out as well.

"Never again," said Rosa. "Never again in my entire natural life. I did it this time. I shouldn't have, but I did, and now I know… Never. Ever. Again."

"You were right." Jun commented after walking over to Kuri. "It _was_ something very stupid."

Tai spotted the two and rushed over to them. "Is everything alright?" He looked over the rest of the group. "Where are the digimon?"

Kuri pointed to the chambers in the middle of the room. Tai followed her gesture and stared up at their inanimate partners with a first surprised, then pensive, expression.

"Are they-?" Davis asked as he joined the group. "You know?"

"No." Answered Curtis. "They're in some kind of suspended animation. I can probably figure out some way to reverse it-"

A sudden yelp of pain interrupted him. Everyone turned towards the sound, and collectively they came face to face with a horrible sight. The doctor now stood behind Noriko, holding one of her arms uncomfortably behind her back, and his gun to her temple. His white lab coat was now a mottled gray and torn in several areas and there was a severe gash across his forehead from which blood poured abundantly.

"Noriko!" Cody shouted, moving toward them.

"Not another move!" The doctor warned, jerking Noriko's arm fiercely and eliciting a grimace of pain from her. "I will kill her without hesitation!"

Tai rushed over to Cody and grabbed a firm hold of his armored shoulders to prevent him from doing anything rash.

Davis raised his arms in a non-threatening gesture and walked toward the doctor. "Okay. Whatever you say, man. Just, calm down. What do you want?"

"I want the remote back." The doctor narrowed his gaze upon Curtis. "Give it to me."

"Remote?" Asked Terence.

"Each one of the digimon chambers has an explosive device attached to it." Curtis explained. "This remote controls them."

"Give it to me!"

Curtis looked at the rest of the group, then to Tai.

"We don't have a choice." Tai said.

"Wait. Hold up, bro," said Terence. "And just how does _he_ have a choice? This guy's dead no matter what, whether he shoots Noriko or we give him that remote. The way I see it, the only real choice he has is let her go and give up. That's the only way we might let him live."

The doctor scowled. "I'd rather die than give myself up to the likes of you."

"Then you're a fool. Just what can Hitachi do for you? You think he really gives a damn about you?"

"It does not matter. His retribution would be swift and thorough, and there's nothing you could do to stop it."

"Then you are underestimating us." Davis said. "Because we will stop him."

"Right." The doctor scoffed. "But you know, you all do have a point. There truly is no longer any way out of this for me." A malevolent smirk crossed his face as he pressed the weapon harder into Noriko's head and his trigger finger tensed. "At least now I can cause you all some modicum of grief before I go."

"NO!" Cody screamed, breaking loose from Tai's grasp.

But he was too late. The gunshot blast rang out, echoing throughout the room like a clap of rolling thunder. Their faces froze, overcome with the utter disbelief and shock of what had just happened.

"No." Kuri whispered.

Then something peculiar and entirely unexpected happened. It was the doctor that slumped forward, fell onto his knees, then to the side. Noriko continued to stand, trembling and drawing in quick shallow breaths, but otherwise unaffected. Cody ran up to her without asking a single question and pulled her into his arms.

"You're okay?" He did ask frantically after a moment had passed, pulling away so that he could look her up and down critically. "Nothing hit you?"

Noriko shook her head slowly, numb with the shock of what had almost transpired. "I-I don't think so."

"What just happened?" Keyan asked, palm to her chin, perplexed.

Krista walked over to the fallen geneticist and kneeled beside him to examine him more closely. "Well, he's definitely dead," she announced. "Precise shot to the medulla, very little blood… this was the work of a professional at close range." She jerked her head up quickly and glanced around the room. "But who?"

"The doctor there was practically asking to be killed, so I obliged him"

All heads in the room turned towards the source of the voice, a stealth uniformed Hatori standing near one of the laboratory's anterior entrances, pistol in hand. He walked over to where the doctor lay, beside Krista, and observed him with a grim frown.

"Two down." Kuri heard him whisper. "One to go."

Tai gave the newcomer a speculative stare. "And exactly where did you come from?"

"Good to see you all too," Hatori responded dryly without looking up. "I came from-"

"Noriko!" The interrupting shriek came from the doorway, where an auburn haired blur that Kuri was just able to make out as Sora came sprinting through, not stopping until she reached the girl in question, forced Cody aside, and wrapped her up in a tight embrace.

"You're alive! I can't believe it! What happened?"

Noriko, still slightly dazed from her near death experience, glanced over at Cody. Sora followed her gaze to the armored digidestined and smiled, albeit in a slightly annoyed manner.

"Ah, I see. Well, next time you're going to ditch me for the sake of a boy, at least have the common courtesy to tell me first. I was so worried! When I didn't see you after the evacuation to the Realm, I thought you were the only one still in the Chamber when it was destroyed."

The Knights exchanged a few surprised glances at that, but didn't say anything. The Chamber's destruction pretty much fit with the way most everything else had gone for them recently.

"I-I'm sorry Sora," said Noriko. "But there's no way you guys would have let me leave if I'd told you. I'm just glad to see you all got out okay."

"Ahem," said Terence. "You know, we're alive too."

Sora turned to him and her beaming smile turned somewhat sheepish. "Yeah, we kinda knew that already."

"You did?"

"Yeah," Came another male voice from the doorway Sora and Hatori had come in from. In seconds Matt entered the room, dressed in the same garb as the other two. Uncharacteristically, he wore a large grin, which he flashed at Tai and Jun in particular. "We took a com link from one of Hitachi's soldiers downstairs. You guys are the talk of their airwaves."

Jun greeted Matt with a smile, then frowned, "That's not necessarily a good thing."

Tai's expression mirrored his girlfriend's. "And not that I'm complaining, but it still doesn't explain what you guys are doing here." He shot a glance in Hatori's direction.

"No big conspiracy." Hatori explained. "Just something the good doctor here told me during our raid on Hitachi's lab a while back. For someone as meticulous and eager for knowledge as his employer, it would make no sense for him to kill you all, not when you've shown yourselves to be so much superior to his own creations. He'd want to know how you were created first.

"When I saw several newly built research facilities in the schematics we obtained from the now deceased Mr. Barke," Hatori nodded and smirked at the few surprised glances he got, "it was easy to piece together what had actually happened."

"Yes," said Curtis, who'd begun to work at the lab's control console. "He didn't use the full force of his attack on the bridge. He put us into comas instead of killing us, so that we could be questioned and studied."

Rosa contorted her face into a scowl. "We're going to make that the biggest mistake of his life."

"Perhaps." Hatori holstered his weapon and walked across the room, to the massive hole in the wall and the beat-up CADE vehicle conspicuously parked next to it. He frowned in thought, then glanced up at the rest of the group. "But not like this."

"What?" Asked Davis.

"I can't say that I really approve of your use of tactics in this situation. I mean, really, leaping across a street, five stories in the air and literally driving through a wall?"

"Seven stories, actually." Terence said, puffing his chest out proudly. "Had to compensate for gravity, you see."

Hatori shook his head. "And the rest of you, tearing through this facility like bulls in a china shop. Honestly, what were you hoping to accomplish here?"

"Bust some heads?" Clara suggested tentatively, reciting her cousin's oft-repeated mantra.

"And while you were 'busting heads,' you gave the doctor here plenty of warning to set up his trap, didn't you? Had I not disabled the primary command systems downstairs, he would have gotten away with it."

At that, Krista stepped away from the others, towards Hatori.

"Don't you lecture them." She said. "I trained them personally. They know how to use stealth techniques, and this situation, in my opinion, did not call for any."

"And your opinion really doesn't matter in this case, does it? Because they almost failed spectacularly."

Krista fumed. "That's _your_ opinion."

Kuri observed the exchange without comment. It was strange, almost like watching her parents argue.

"My opinion is that we shouldn't do anything to waste this second opportunity to take down Hitachi. With all the power he's attained, one mistake could be all that stands between us and this world's complete destruction."

Predictably, it was Davis that finally broke the argument.

"You know," He said, "anyone with sense would say we've been screwing up and making mistakes since we first started all of this. And guess what? We're still here. It's more important that we concentrate on doing what's right, on standing up against Hitachi's forces and never backing down, rather than operating in fear, scared of making a single error."

He paused and looked at Hatori directly. "We're going to win this war, but it's going to take us, all of us, being ourselves and nothing else. Hitachi has shown that he has an answer for even the best-made plans, but you know what he doesn't have answer for? Tai's courage, Jun's insight, Terence's inspiration, Rosa's will, Kuri's compassion, Curtis's meditation, Clara's protection, my perseverance… He can't even imagine the power of these things. It's why his scientists couldn't figure out how we were created, and it's why we'll beat him in the end. Anyone that believes differently shouldn't be here."

Hatori found himself silenced by the strength of Davis's words. Krista crossed her arms and treated him with a smug smirk, as if to say, "that's _my_ student talking."

Kuri smiled. Davis's conviction was just so damn infectious. Were there not so many people around, she would have passionately jumped on him right then and there. She knew Davis had detected the thought by the way he looked at her with a slightly red tint to his cheeks.

"Okay guys," Curtis called out from the console where he'd been working, "they should be ready to open soon."

Everyone's attention turned to the glass cylinders and they watched as the pink goo slowly drained from each, leaving only an in-training digimon behind.

Kuri was the first to reach the cylinder with her partner digimon contained within. She stared down through the glass at the slumbering Peko and frowned at the tubes and wires still attached to her. Kuri turned to Curtis with a pensive expression.

"Is it safe? We won't hurt them?"

Curtis shook his head as he arrived at the tube that held Taps. "I don't think so. The tubes just delivered nutrients to their bodies and the wires monitored their health. You can detach them without a problem."

"How do we open them?" Davis asked, searching up and down the glass cylinder that held DemiVeemon.

The sound of shattering glass preempted any answer that Curtis could have given, and they all turned to see Rosa reaching into the newly created hole in the container before her to pick up Motimon.

"You could do that…" Curtis observed.

Kuri was just beginning to rear her fist back when he added, "Or you could just use the bright red 'release' button at the bottom of each chamber."

"Right." She let her arm drop and reached down and pressed the button, which caused the glass cylinder to gradually rise with a mechanical hum.

"Well, that's one way." Rosa shrugged indifferently as she hugged her dozing partner tightly to her chest.

"Be careful guys," Curtis cautioned as he walked over to the container that held Taps. "They're extremely weak, and will be so until we can get them some real food and rest."

As soon as she could, Kuri reached down and removed the tubes and wires from Peko's body. She then picked up her small partner gently and cradled her in her arms.

Peko's eyes fluttered open for a moment.

"K-Kuri?" The tiny digimon said weakly.

"Shh." Kuri whispered, putting a finger to her lips. "It's okay sweetheart. I've got you now."

"I knew you would come. You and Davis. I told them…" Peko smiled, the familiar distant smile of someone having a pleasant dream, before falling back into slumber.

Kuri shared a concerned glance with Davis, who held DemiVeemon in a similar, delicate manner.

"They've been through a lot." He said. "But they'll be okay."

She nodded, allowing the confidence of his words to assuage her worries.

"Okay," Hatori said, after all of the Knights had recovered their partners. "We need to get out of here -"

"Right." Tai interrupted. "And here's what we'll do."

He carefully nestled Koromon in the crook of his arm and walked to the forefront of the group.

"Keyan, we're going to need you to blast the doors open downstairs and clear the immediate vicinity of the garage entrance so we can get out."

Keyan nodded and went to stand by the large hole in the wall, ready to strike at a moment's notice.

Tai then turned to the woman that had been standing beside her. "Ms. Lee, I need you to lay down some suppression fire along the street outside that hole. That will be our escape route."

"I can help her." Noriko volunteered. "My bag's full of ammo."

"Okay." Tai nodded. "Sora and Matt. You guys help her as well. Cody, you stay with them for added protection. Our departure should have the complete attention of the soldiers and mutants, but just in case, I'd feel better with you there. I'll make sure your bike's okay and send Digmon up to help."

Cody nodded and Tai turned to Hatori.

"I'm assuming you came here in a vehicle? Likely parked in the alleyway we passed on the other side of this building?"

He nodded. "I can take them."

"Good. Since we lost an SUV, we'll need the extra vehicles down in the garage." Tai turned back to the others, who were taking up positions beside the gaping hole. "Once we're clear, you guys get to Hatori's vehicle. Hopefully we'll be able to lose anyone following us under the cover of your fire. If all goes as planned, they won't be able to figure out what's going on or realize that anyone is still here. If you exit from that back alley quickly, as soon as we leave, you should be able escape their notice."

"How do you figure?" Asked Matt. "Won't they come up here after they see where the shots are coming from? Why would we escape their notice?"

"Because Curtis is going to give you the remote to those bombs the doctor planted. If you leave this room as soon as we're clear, you can set them off once you get to the car, taking out anyone that happens to come up here looking for you and distracting any others away from your exit."

"This place should be destroyed, anyway," said Rosa, looking around with a grim frown. "It's horrible."

"I agree." Tai turned to Hatori once more. "I'm also assuming you have a fallback point. Somewhere Willis will open a portal to get back to the realm?"

"Yes, in about an hour and a half at a site called Lotus Tree Hill."

"Our old summer camp?" Tai glanced at Matt and Sora. "Well that's…symbolic."

"That's what we said." said Matt.

"Okay. Well then, that's where we'll meet in an hour." Tai clapped his hands together. "Alright people, let's get it done!"

As everyone rushed to take their places, Kuri walked over to Jun.

"Well, that was impressive," she said. "He even has Ms. Lee and Hatori jumping."

Jun smiled as she gently cradled Sparks in her arms. "Honestly Kuri, did you expect anything less? If he can get you, of all people, to follow his orders, what's a combat instructor or government agent?"

Kuri smiled in return and gave a conceding nod. "Jun, you certainly have a point, there."

* * *

**Lotus Tree Hill**

"They should be here by now." Tai grumbled, staring at the hills on horizon as the dull light of an impending sunrise streaked across the sky. The dirt road he stood next to remained frustratingly empty.

The plan had gone off virtually without a hitch. Keyan's powerful attacks had cleared out the street and given them a wide escape route. No one was allowed to follow, due to the wall of gunfire provided by those still in the building. As soon as their convoy had cleared the immediate area of the research complex, they found themselves alone, all of their potential pursuers lost. The rest of the drive to reach the old campgrounds had been relatively uneventful.

Now Tai could only be preoccupied with the welfare of the others they had left behind. Part of him felt guilty about leaving them, but another part of him knew that he couldn't afford to fail Davis again. He had a mission. He had promised Gennai that he would get Davis to where he needed to be, and were it not for Kuri's intervention earlier, he would have already failed spectacularly at that. For the sake of them all, and the world perhaps, he couldn't afford to slip up like that again. He turned to look at Davis, seated with Kuri on a bench near what had once been the entrance to the camp.

The couple seemed to be having a very engrossing private conversation. Tai could hardly blame them. The days immediately after Jun had saved his life and they'd joined as J'ai, he'd hardly wanted to let her out of his sight.

"Davis is okay, you know."

Tai turned to the sound of the voice and found Jun standing next to him.

"I thought you were helping Clara with the digimon." Tai glanced to where they had left their various vehicles clustered. The sleeping digimon were all gathered in the back of the CADE vehicle, where the Protective Knight could fuss over them like a mother hen.

"I was, but then I saw you standing here and thought you could use this." She leaned up and gave him a tender kiss on the cheek, then said quietly in his ear, "And the others are okay, too. They'll be here soon."

"You may be right." Tai said, allowing her comforting words to take effect. "But it's hard to just stand here and wait."

"I know." Jun looked around the old camp, at some of the neglected wood cabins that had now become overgrown with ivy. "Can you imagine what this place would be like if it were still open?"

"There'd be plaques everywhere commemorating every single thing the "OD's" had ever done here. Every kid in Japan would want to come, and I'd probably have to show up for guest appearances from time to time. It would be a nightmare."

Jun giggled. "I could see that."

A feminine voice faintly cried Jun's name from one of the vehicles.

"It looks like Clara needs me again." She said. She reached down and squeezed Tai's hand. "They're going to be alright, okay?"

"Okay." He nodded and watched her depart, before turning back to begin his vigil once again.

She was right. It wasn't long before a pair of headlights appeared around a nearby bend in the road, and soon a CADE vehicle followed. It rolled over to the other vehicles and the waiting group of people before coming to a stop, where it's doors opened and all of its occupants began to get out. Tai, upon seeing that everyone they'd left behind at the complex were all there and accounted for, finally allowed himself to relax.

"Sorry we took so long," said Hatori as he walked over to shake Tai's hand. "We had to take the scenic route. When they couldn't find you, Hitachi's minions decided to try setting up random roadblocks around town. We managed to avoid any major conflicts, but it was rather difficult finding an alternate route out here."

Tai took in the relatively good news with a nod. "Everyone's okay?"

"Yes." Hatori gave Tai a pat on the shoulder. "I have to commend you. I don't know that it means much coming from me, but your plan worked out quite nicely. The bombs, in particular, were a very effective touch."

"Thanks." Tai, never one to care much for praise, turned to observe as the new arrivals began to mingle with the others. He noted the small pockets of conversation that began to form between most, and the isolation of one person in particular that apparently preferred to be alone.

"How much time do we have?"

"Just a few minutes," said Hatori. "The portal should open soon."

"Good. That's enough time."

"Enough time for what?"

"A long overdue conversation." Tai provided Hatori with no more information than that as he headed off towards the lone figure, standing at the top of a grassy ridge that overlooked the entire camp. As he approached, Tai noticed that the person was staring out over the area as if the cabins and kids at play were still there.

"Reminiscing." Tai whispered to himself as he began to crest the ridge. "Not that I blame him. Everything was a lot simpler back then."

Once he finally reached Matt, Tai cleared his throat to announce his presence. "Suited up and got yourself a taste of action, eh?" He said.

Matt didn't turn to face him as he replied. "It was the least I could do- no, _should_ do. I just hope it's not too late for you guys to save everyone else."

Tai agreed with a slight nod and decided to change the subject to a matter of less gravity. "Remember what we were like the last time we were here?"

Matt smirked. "Yeah. Sora had a crush on you which you absolutely refused to acknowledge, and I had an unhealthy obsession with protecting TK from harm."

Tai grinned. "And every guy in the camp wanted to date Mimi."

"Which was so annoying for the rest of us girls." Said Sora, walking up behind them. She joined the duo at the top of the ridge and stood between them as she also stared out over the former camp.

"Hey," said Tai. "_I_ didn't want to go out with her."

"That's because you were undoubtedly the most clueless twelve year old in history when it came to girls."

"You know what the funny thing is?" Said Matt, "Mimi's current boyfriend didn't want to go out with her either, back then."

"Yeah," Tai responded with a mischievous smirk, "because it would have been adultery. I think he already had some kind of relationship going with that pineapple laptop of his."

Sora put a hand to her chest and let out a laugh. "Oh my god, I'd almost forgotten how he was with that thing. It _was_ kind of sick, wasn't it?"

Tai shook his head and laughed also. "Hey, I'm not complaining. That thing saved our lives so many times… I think by the time we fought the Dark Masters I was depending on it as much as Izzy."

"Well," said Sora, "even that young, you always had the ability to know what was best for all of us, even if it meant depending on a nerd and his crutch-er… computer."

Tai smiled at the compliment, though he didn't entirely agree with it. He shot a furtive look in Davis's direction.

"She's right, Tai. I'm really glad you're alive and you're here." Matt said. He kept looking straight forward as he spoke the words, as if to alleviate them of any uncomfortable intimacy. "I don't know that any of us would know what to do without you. And I'm sorry it took me so long to realize that."

Tai clapped him on the shoulder with a grin. "Yeah well, I did put the moves on your fiancée. Can't say that I blame you for not being too fond of me."

Matt chuckled at that and so did Sora.

"You know," said the latter. "This moment should be a lot more awkward than it is." She wore a slight look of confusion. "I don't know whether to be relieved or ashamed."

Tai shrugged. "We've been dealing with this kind of drama in our lives for what, the past eleven years? I guess you kind of get used to this stuff."

Matt sighed. "Life as an OD, right?"

"Right. I'm just glad I have Jun now to put all of this crazy stuff in context."

"Yeah." Matt glanced over at the short-haired beauty as she spoke with some of the others around the parked vehicles. "You two were made for each other."

"It's weird huh?" Said Tai with a musing expression, "How we each wound up with girls that once had crushes on the other."

"Humph," Sora reared back a little and frowned. "That _is_ weird."

"Yeah, I guess so." Matt then snapped his fingers as something abruptly came to his mind. "Oh man," he said. "Remember that 'camping' trip we took Jun on a few years back?"

Tai chuckled but shook his head. "Do _not_ mention that to her. Ever. She will totally kill you."

Matt pursed his lips to stifle a laugh. "I wouldn't blame her. I'm glad she's so much more mature now. Honestly, if I were her, I'd still hate just to look at me."

"Yeah." Tai glanced over at Jun and could feel his heart swell with a mixture of love and pride. "If there's one thing those Motomiyas don't how to do, it's hate anyone. I don't know how she does it, but Jun is just full of love and cares for everybody."

"That's sweet, Tai," said Sora, wearing a wistful smile that betrayed her fondness for all things involving the 'L' word. "I really am happy for you to have found someone like her. It's what you deserve."

"Hey, look." Matt nodded towards a point near the main group below, where a swirling white light had abruptly appeared and began to grow larger. "Looks like it's time to go."

The three turned and had begun to walk back down the hill, when Sora suddenly stopped and grabbed both of the guys' arms.

"Wait a sec." She said.

"What is it?" Both Tai and Matt asked simultaneously.

Sora tucked a few stray wisps of her auburn hair behind her ear and flashed them a bright smile. "I just wanted to say I'm glad we were able to talk like this, even for just a few minutes. It's been a really long time."

"Too long." Tai admitted. "I glad we talked too."

Matt nodded. "Me too."

Sora stretched a hand out in front of the two of them, palm facing down. "Friends forever, right?" She said, looking between the two expectantly.

Tai and Matt glanced at one another, then Sora.

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, I know it's corny. Just put your damn hands in for me, okay?"

They did as she said, placing their hands on top of hers and smiling as they repeated the ridiculous "friends forever" mantra.

"Okay then." She said satisfied. "_Now_ we can go face reality again."

The three old friends descended the hill together, each happy to have found some small measure of contentment at such a bleak time. Their tenuous three-way relationship had been a source of angst and contention between the trio for so long, it was delightfully odd that they now found a measure of strength and unity from it, as well.

As Tai worked his way back to Jun and the others, he found himself just as grateful for this development as he was for being given second opportunity to face Hitachi. One only got to make so many good friends in life, and for what was coming, Tai knew that he would need every single one of them.

* * *

**The Realm**

Mimi looked out as twilight descended over the realm. She sat at the top of the steps in front of the mansion, silently keeping vigil. The others were all resting now. To them, nothing had really changed. To them, everything was just as hopeless as it had been mere hours earlier. But she knew. She had seen the look in Matt and Sora's eyes. She saw the way Hatori had walked purposefully out of the mansion. Something was going on, and she was certain that that something had to do with her lost friends being alive. She didn't know how or why, but she really didn't have to. She simply believed.

"Sweetheart?"

Mimi turned to see her boyfriend standing in the front doorway.

"You're still out here?" He asked.

She answered with a nod. "How are the others?"

Izzy stepped down and sat down next to her. "They're coping okay, for the most part. At least everyone feels a little safer here. But they'd feel a lot better if…" He let the sentence trail off, leaving the obvious unsaid.

"I know."

Izzy placed an arm around Mimi's shoulders and she nuzzled into him with a peaceful murmur. His gaze followed hers, out to the point where they had seen Hatori, Matt, and Sora depart.

"It's like I'm almost scared to hope right now." She admitted. "And it's not just about saving the world either. I just miss them so much, Izzy. I miss Kuri being so blunt, Rosa always ready to fight someone, Terence telling a joke, Tai being…well, Tai."

"So do I. And I wish we had kept in better touch with them. I should have been a part of all this. For someone that supposed to be such a genius…" Izzy shook his head. "You should have seen me in there, doing my best just to keep up with the concepts that Willis was explaining to me."

He gave a sad chuckle. "And to think, when Gennai called for my help in this, I told him _I_ was too busy."

Mimi turned to look at him in surprise. He had never told her about that, and she had a sneaking suspicion why. "You did that for me didn't you?"

"What? No…of course not." Izzy waved off her concern with a nervous guffaw. When he saw that Mimi wasn't buying it, he cleared his throat and added, "Well, maybe."

Mimi rolled her eyes. "Silly boy. Don't you know I would have come with you? I love you Izumi. That means I'll follow you to the ends of the earth if I have to, just like you do for me."

"I'm sorry, Mimi. I just…" Izzy sighed and shrugged. "I don't know."

"It's the whole 'guy like you with a girl like me' thing again, isn't it? You're lucky it's still cute, but it has to stop. I'm a bombshell, you're a genius, and? We've known each other since we were little kids and we love each other. You want to be a humongous, super-genius, nerd, go ahead. Just be yourself and I'll only love you more, Izzy."

Mimi emphasized the words by poking him in the chest with her index finger.

"I know." He gave her a small smile. "It's just, sometimes it's hard for the rest of us to live up to your shining example of being oneself."

Despite herself, Mimi smiled.

He continued, "And that's what _I_ love so much about _you_."

He leaned forward and she moved into the kiss, as well. Mimi savored the fleeting moment of happiness for all it was worth, gaining every bit of joy she could out of the electric touch of their lips as they tenderly joined and delved into one another.

When they came apart again she settled back into her position of leaning onto his chest. They watched the remnants of sunlight on the horizon wane for a few minutes.

"So, what are we doing now?" Izzy asked.

"Just waiting." Mimi kept her smile. She could feel it in her heart. Something great was about to happen. "Waiting for good news."

At that moment, a small point of light appeared in the middle of the clearing. It swirled and began to grow larger.

Mimi bolted upright, her heart thundering madly. "Look!" She pointed. "Another portal! They're back!"

Izzy sat up, as well, as the swirling light grew several times larger.

"I see." He sounded notably less enthused than she. "Mimi, now don't get your hopes up too high-"

He was quieted by the arrival of a beat-up white conversion van through the portal, followed by a motorcycle, a blue car that looked a lot like Tai's, and two CADE SUVs. "What's going on?"

The vehicles all came to a stop a small distance away and their doors began to open.

"They're alive!" A bespectacled kid shouted as he exited from the van. "And they're back!"

"Who-?" Izzy began to ask, until he saw several familiar forms piling out of the other vehicles. He leapt to his feet in astonishment.

"It's them! Oh my god! Mimi! It's them!"

Mimi nodded and beamed. She could feel her eyes watering, the hot tears of joy already rolling down her cheeks. "I see."

"Oh! I have to go tell everyone!" Izzy turned around and ran back up the mansion's steps, stumbling in his fervor. "They'll never believe it!"

Mimi chuckled at him and walked down the steps while performing a mental head count of the approaching group. They were all there, twenty-six of them in total, human and digimon alike. Even Noriko. All there and accounted for. She had never seen anything more beautiful.

"Hey Mimi." Tai said, standing at the front of the group as they reached the steps. He was wearing that silly grin that she always found so cute on him. "Miss us?"

Mimi bit her lip, lest she break into sobs of happiness. She opened her arms and he obliged by filling them, picking her up off the ground even, in a joyful embrace.

"I guess that's a yes." He said after putting her back down.

Mimi sniffled, dabbed at her tears and looked over the entire group with a grin. "I just have one thing to say. What took you all so long?"

_To be continued…_

* * *

Next up: **Destines Pt II: The Start of Something New**. The Knights have taken Hitachi's best blow and now it's time to strike back, once and for all. Can they formulate an effective plan to take sown the all-powerful dark being? How long can Willis hold off Ineg's inevitable attack? And just what is Davis's ultimate role in all this? Find out over the next two chapters of Digital Knights!

(Man, we're getting close to the end now. I've actually had much of the last chapter to this story written out for so long now, it's going to be weird when I actually apply it.) Anyway, reviews are always appreciated.

(Post final edit AN (2012) I really have no idea what the hell possessed me to think there would only be two chapters after this. lol)


	25. Destinies Pt 2: Start of Something New

In the words of RAKIM, "It's been a long time, I shouldn't have left you, without a strong rhyme to step to..."

Yes, I know, I suck. Really suck. Life got buzy and I totally dropped this fic like a hot potato. But I'm back now and I promise that I'll never leave you guys waiting for almost a year for a new chapter again (not a hard promise to keep with this being almost over). In fact, you're getting two updates this week (yay)! I did my typical "write a chapter that's entirely too long (30,000+) so I'm forced to split it into two" thing. So here is the first half of "Destinies Pt II: The Start of Something New/Plans for War." The second half will follow on Friday (for real, I promise).

* * *

**Destinies Pt. II (1): The Start of Something New**

**Tokyo, Hitachi Tower**

Ineg grimaced as he headed down the wide hallway of Hitachi's new technological complex. After turning the corner that would take him to the new portal provisioning department, he let loose an angered sigh. It was insulting, frankly, for he, as powerful and skilled a being as he was, to have to depend on the meager abilities of mere men in order to survive.

Ineg's thoughts were abruptly broken by his left hand wavering between its normal solid state and a strange, flickering translucency, akin to a broken light bulb. He stopped and closed his eyes, focusing on the troubled area until it finally returned to normal, then resumed his trek with an irritated grumble. This was something he was not used to; the abject desperation that his current condition brought upon him. It was an unmitigated assault on his usually overconfident psyche that placed him in a virtually unceasing neurotic state.

He didn't have much time left. Hitachi's final plan, mysterious though it was, was set to go into motion soon. He needed to be whole once again in order to take his place in the impending order of the dark empire that would soon engulf the world.

"I will not be left behind." Ineg muttered the words to serve his own lacking sense of self assurance more than anything. He slowed to a stop as he finally arrived at his destination, a large metal door that read, "portal provisioning."

With an unpleasant grunt and no preamble, he pushed the door open and barged into the room.

"What news, Miko?" He asked of the single technical agent seated in the expansive advanced lab within. The much younger man looked up in alarm from the monitor and keyboard before him and swallowed loudly.

"Good news sir." He nervously ran a hand through his hair and looked up at the dark guardian with anxious eyes.

"Yes?"

"Y-yes. It appears that the portals to the realm have re-opened. Defenses have currently been drastically lowered."

"Truly?" There was a hint of disbelief in Ineg's voice.

"Y-yes sir."

"Good." Ineg clapped his hands together and smiled broadly. "Prepare the portal. I'll depart at once."

"Um, I would advise against that, sir."

"What, why?"

The man pointed to the screen before him with a trembling hand. "There's a reason the securities were taken down. Look at what recently passed through the portals into the realm."

Ineg leaned forward and closely scrutinized the screen. After a moment of reading the lines of encoded data, he drew back with a slight look of confusion. "How? How is this possible? I thought they were dead."

"Yes. Well, not exactly...apparently."

"But how-? Why?" Ineg paused as he suddenly remembered something Hitachi had told him during their initial meeting. _"… See the look in his eyes? That's not a thirst for blind vengeance. He wants to know how I did that, and how he can repeat the feat in the future. Precisely what my reaction would be."_

Ineg rubbed his temples as a grimace of regret came to his face. It was perfectly within Hitachi's personality to do something as stupid as to _study_ the biggest threats to his burgeoning empire rather than _destroy_ them.

"Hitachi, you fool!"

"Pardon?" Miko looked up in surprise. Ineg knew that the tech's surprise stemmed from the fact that he'd heard no one, not even The Assassin, speak of their leader in such a manner.

Ineg ignored him. "Does he not realize what he's doing? He is toying with fire."

"H-hardly." Miko contended. "How can they pose any threat to him? What little of the Dark God's power that he has within him to this point has already made him formidable. And soon he is going to initiate the full joining."

"And none of that matters if he just ignores the prophecy!"

"Prophecy? Oh I hardly think such superstition is relevant here."

"Superstition?!" Ineg was incensed by the nonchalant way the lowly tech addressed the matter. Insignificant speck. Who was he to speak that way? "If it is such a superstition, then how would you explain me? How can you explain how the digidestined defeated Myotismon seven years ago? The prophecies are not a matter to be taken lightly."

Miko cowered considerably under Ineg's verbal onslaught. "B-But, do you honestly believe that they are in any position to-"

"Defeat Hitachi? Of course I do"

"But he's so strong now-"

"The prophecies rarely make any real sense in terms of strength and experience."

"But you said before that they each have dark counterparts-"

"Which we are obligated to fulfill...and I thought Hitachi had. Damn fool." Ineg shook his head ruefully and stared at the information on the screen. "What are his plans to combat them when they inevitably return?"

"Well, he doesn't actually have a plan exactly..."

"The arrogance! Why not?"

"Because he was never told that they escaped from the prison and research facilities in the first place."

Ineg took a deep breath in a vain attempt to steady his nerves. The chain of command around here was in a ridiculous state of disrepair.

"We couldn't tell him." Miko continued. "You know how much he would've wanted to discover the knight's abilities. He would have killed us all without prejudice."

"And what makes you think you can delay the inevitable? Sooner or later, he's going to find out."

"Yes, but hopefully it will be after the joining has been completed, by when he should find it irrelevant."

Ineg shook his head. Humans practically redefined the word fallible. How they could place so much of their faith and well-being in plans rife with words like "should" and "hopefully" was beyond him. "Don't you see?" He said with a grated sigh. "That is the ultimate flaw in this entire operation. With the prophecy still in play, there may not _be_ a joining."

"So, what are you saying?" A voice carried in from the doorway. "We should inform Hitachi to launch an offensive against the Realm?"

The owner of the voice, KiAdjae, walked into the room then, Jade trailing behind him.

"Assassin!" Miko immediately launched himself from his chair to the floor, head bowed deeply in a groveling poster that Ineg couldn't have found more sickening. For his part, he greeted the two newcomers with barely a nod.

"No," He said. "It is now too late for that. We cannot disrupt the timetable. We will have to let them come to us."

"I agree." Said KiAdjae, hand to his chin, with a musing nod. "But in the end, it does not matter. They are only a nuisance, and safely imprisoned. There is no need for Hitachi to worry himself with them."

Ineg raised a brow at the statement. So, KiAdjae didn't know of their escape either? He was discomforted by this notion and frowned momentarily. Jade must have noticed his expression, because she said. "You do not agree?"

"Of course not." KiAdjae answered when his counterpart didn't respond. "Though he has sided with us Jade, you must remember the person whom he once a part of. No Guardian put as much stock into the prophecies as dear Gennai here."

"Do not call me by that name," Ineg said, bristling. "I am not him. We are not one and the same."

"Of course not. But that doesn't mean you don't share many of his traits."

Ineg narrowed his gaze suspiciously. "Meaning?"

"Meaning what I said, you share much of his traits, in so much as you trust the prophecies anyway. The only difference between you two is that you try to complete the dark portion of each prophecy, whereas your counterpart is a slave to the light."

"And you never respected the prophecies at all." Ineg countered. "Whether or not you agree with their use, you never respected their power, and it ultimately led to your downfall."

The room fell deathly silent and the last visage of a sneering smile disappeared from KiAdjae's face.

"How dare you?" He said in a lowered tone. "Nothing I did led to my own downfall. That was all your doing. You condemned me, forced me to wander the digital world for years without my powers. _You_ judged _me_!"

"As I have said before, KiAdjae, I did not judge you. I was the part of Gennai that-"

"Always agreed with me, right? I knew there was a good reason I always remained suspicious of you. It all makes perfect sense now."

"What does?"

"You never agreed with me. That is an outright lie. You are the dark component of Gennai, which means that you always wanted to bring the dark prophecies to fruition."

"Like you-"

"No, not like me. I never sought to complete the dark prophecies. I simply wanted to get rid of the prophecies altogether. I found them pointless and vapid and preferred taking matters into my own hands. You, however, -both sides of you- thought the prophecies were the end all and be all. Now that I think about it, my banishment was probably the only thing your two sides ever agreed on."

"KiAdjae-"

"My eyes are opened now." The restored Guardian smirked. "You've done everything- given me my abilities back, attacked the Knights, simply for your own benefit. In order to fulfill the prophecy. Your goals are not in line with Hitachi. Studying how the Knights were created could play a vital role in building our future army, yet you simply want them destroyed."

Ineg clenched his fists. How could they all be such fools? "Fulfilling the Dark Prophecy is what the Dark God would want, do you deny that?"

"No, of course not."

"Then where do _your_ loyalties lie?"

"With the only visionary involved in this entire operation, Hitachi."

"Then you are making a grave mistake."

KiAdjae chuckled. "Am I? We don't exactly know who will come out of this joining in control. Better to play both sides than foolishly choose only one."

Ineg drew back at the words and sneered. "You are as much a spineless snake as you ever were."

"I am not sure if I should take that as a compliment or not from you." KiAdjae continued to smile, prompting Ineg to wonder how he could maintain such a jovial visage in the midst of such a volatile conversation. Something was giving the deposed Guardian a heightened level of confidence, and Ineg had a good idea of what it was.

"And so we find ourselves at a crossroads…" KiAdjae continued. "There can only be room for one second in command in this empire, and neither of us is completely loyal to our impending emperor, whoever he may be." A sphere of energy began to take form around his hand.

Ineg narrowed his gaze at his newfound adversary. "This was always your plan, wasn't it?" He said, purposely making his voice sound as unimpressed as possible. "Wait until my condition had sufficiently deteriorated, then attempt to eliminate me. So much for brotherhood."

"Brotherhood? That ended with your judgment, judgment that _both_ sides of you, darkness and light, passed down upon me. Simply because I decided to follow my own path and not the one provided by your little fairy tales and bedtime stories. You had to know this was coming."

"Please gentlemen," said Miko meekly from his cowering position. "Not in here. You'll likely destroy Mr. Hitachi's equipment and-"

"Silence!" Both guardians yelled at once.

Miko only responded with a slight whimper and slid further down out of his chair and onto the floor. Jade let out a disgusted snort at his cowardice and produced her digitally enhanced sword from its scabbard. "If we are to battle, I prefer to get it out of the way now."

Ineg looked between the woman and her master. He'd had momentary inklings that this might happen; that the enhancements he'd given the two would ultimately be used against him, but his dedication to recovering his other aspects and serving the Dark God had been so complete that he'd foolishly ignored the warning signs. Now he found himself with a debilitating quandary.

"So it all comes out, KiAdjae. This is why you were never eager to help me return to the realm. This is what you wanted all along."

KiAdjae shrugged. "Not initially, but it soon became an indulgence of mine, bringing about your destruction by my hand. I had considered simply allowing you to waste away, as you currently are, but it then occurred to me, 'what would be the amusement in that?' Why simply allow you to die, when I can take my vengeance by force?"

Ineg glanced out of his periphery at the portaling panel Miko was hiding under. He was in dire straits now. There was no way he could defeat KiAdjae in his current condition, not while he could feel his entire body phasing in and out of his current reality. He had to find another way.

"There's no escape." KiAdjae said, as if reading the dark guardian's mind. "You'll never recover your missing parts, and frankly, you'll never leave this room alive."

"I beg to differ."

The attack flew forward from KiAdjae's hand like lightning, just as Ineg had expected. He'd started to dive to the side before the projectile had even been hurled at him. The powerful mass of energy plowed through a wall on the other side of the room and left a billowing cloud of black smoke, along with many crackling severed electrical wires, in its wake.

"You missed." Ineg said, his voice tauntingly arrogant. He needed his opponent angered and temperamental to pull off what he was planning.

Another attack came forth, this time originating in a wide arc from the tip of Jade's sword. Ineg dodged the expanding band of white energy, stopping to hover in midair as it passed underneath him, and gave the offending woman a calculated glare. They had definitely prepared for this attack if her sword was already charged. She stood in front of her master, in a threatening and all too confident pose. That brought a sneer to Ineg's face. He'd have loved nothing more than to utterly obliterate the insufferable wench at the moment, but that would prove as impossible at this point as him winning this entire battle. He had to stick with his plan.

He darted to the side again, just as another of KiAdjae's attacks singed by him, and came to a rough landing beside the portaling machine. He quickly grabbed a hold of Miko by his shoulders and dragged the programming engineer away, behind a nearby partition, just before another of KiAdjae's attacks streaked by and blew up a nearby console.

"Oh, come on Ineg," KiAdjae shouted, a cocky smile evident in his tone, "Running and hiding? Isn't that beneath even you?"

Ineg peeked around the edge of the partition at his opponent. "Continue this assault KiAdjae, and Hitachi's head technical agent dies at my hand! There can be no joining without him!"

KiAdjae narrowed his gaze at his adversary. "You wouldn't."

Ineg felt insulted at that. "Honestly, why would I not? What of what you know of me would lead you to that conclusion?"

"I know that all you want is your precious 'Dark God.' You would never risk Hitachi joining with him and bringing him into this world."

Ineg chuckled derisively. "If I believed Hitachi worthy, perhaps, but then we both know now that I don't believe that, don't we?"

KiAdjae visibly seethed and an expected moment of silence passed before he said in an even voice, oozing with suppressed rage, "You worthless...sniveling...coward, GET OUT HERE AND FIGHT!"

Two flashes of white streaked by on both sides of the column. Warning shots. Ineg knew that The Assassin would never risk the power that Miko's skills afforded him.

"This is what you're going to do," he whispered to the trembling man. "I will provide a distraction and you will go to that machine and open the portal to my realm."

"B-but," Miko glanced back and forth between Ineg and the console anxiously. "that could t-take t-t-ten minutes."

"You have two. Do it, or my vow to end your life will become much more than just a threat."

"B-but-" Miko looked up at the imposing guardian incredulously.

"Those fingers had better fly, Mr. Kori, or your head will."

The small man gulped and nodded. "Y-yes sir."

"Good. Now go!" Ineg pushed him away from the partition and leapt out in the other direction. Predictably, Miko went unnoticed as Ineg drew the majority of his adversary's fire. Ineg rolled into a somersault as he flew through the air, barely avoiding a couple of well-aimed strikes from Jade's sword. He dove behind a large piece of machinery as the strikes plowed through one of the room's reinforced steel walls.

By the way they were tearing this place apart with reckless abandon, Ineg knew that this attack had to have been sanctioned by Hitachi himself. They didn't trust him, probably never had. Like everyone else in their organization, they'd only tolerated him for so long as he could serve some kind of use to them. Now, with the impending joining so close, they were effectively tying up all of their loose ends. He glanced over to where Miko was, huddled next to the portaling machine, diligently at work. Ineg knew he could trust the cowardly engineer. Though he showed marked loyalty to Hitachi, it was bought loyalty. A young wife and mother held captive tended to bring such a measure of devotion, at least from men that valued such things. Ineg allowed himself a small smirk. Miko would likely take his small act of insurrection as some type of moral victory.

Another attack came, this time from KiAdjae's hand, forcing Ineg to abandon his cover as the powerful sphere of energy reduced it to flaming scrap metal. He dove forward and for a panicked moment saw his hands disappear into nothingness. They only reappeared after he'd suffered the ignominy of a particularly ungainly landing and tumbled to a harsh stop against a wall.

KiAdjae's mocking laugh echoed around the room as Ineg struggled back to his feet and stumbled behind another console. "You appear to be a bit out of sorts, Ineg! How about we just end this, and you retain some semblance of dignity? Stop hiding like a coward! Come, receive your death in an honorable manner!"

Ineg allowed himself a small smile. KiAdjae's arrogance was affording him an opportunity to concentrate on regaining his senses and strength. Once his hands had ceased wavering and regained their form he made a fist and formed an energy attack. "I'm afraid you don't know me very well, brother!"

He stuck out from his cover, firing the attack in a continuous beam rather than the usual sphere. KiAdjae dropped to the ground to avoid the strike and rolled away as it carved through the wall behind him.

"Now who's the coward?" Taunted Ineg. He felt suddenly empowered by the effective force of his attack. If he could continue to fight like this, he might not need Miko's portal after all. He struck out again with his other hand and this time caught KiAdjae with a glancing blow to the shoulder. KiAdjae rolled with the blow and slid to a stop behind a column on the other side of the lab.

Ineg let out a hearty laugh. "I see you have forgotten who was always the better fighter between the two of us. Maybe you should take _your _death honorably."

"I haven't forgotten," came the reply from the other side of the column. KiAdjae's voice was strained and somewhat subdued. "I underestimated you for the last time years ago...JADE!"

The sudden shout brought Ineg's attention back to something, or rather, someone, he never should have taken it from, and he knew almost immediately that it was too late. No sooner had he turned than did he see the band of energy come at him from behind. He had no time to dodge the oncoming attack, and the last thing he registered before it would slam into him was the brilliant white hue the energy gave off as it sped towards him. KiAdjae must have charged the sword with as much of his power as possible and Jade had just released it all at once. It was obvious that they desperately wanted him to die here. The wave of energy collided with him, and an excruciating pain like he'd never experienced prompted Ineg to release a guttural scream as he was sent flying through the air. He slammed into a wall and fell to the ground with a whimper.

Then...nothing.

But only for a moment. Though the world remained dark and unseen, Ineg soon regained enough of his senses to realize that someone was standing over him, and he could just make out a pair of voices.

"How he managed to survive that, I have no idea." The embittered voice belonged to KiAdjae. "Look at him, his whole body is phasing in and out of reality. He's damn near invisible, yet he's still alive."

Jade's voice followed. "Your plan did work, however. By sacrificing that blow to him, you managed to get him to open himself up to my strike."

KiAdjae grunted. "Whatever, at least I can finish the job now."

The faint hum of a charging attack drifted down to Ineg and after a moment of struggling and intense concentration, he was able to open one of his eyes. Despite his slowly adjusting vision, he could see that he was lying on the floor of the lab, his body contorted into a fetal position. Fortunately, KiAdjae and Jade were standing behind him, and could not see that he had regained consciousness. He was also fortunate to have an unobstructed view of Miko at the portaling machine from his vantage point. The tech was looking directly at Ineg and after moment he gave him a very slight nod.

_The portal is open,_ Ineg realized. From here, where he lay on the very edge of death, he could see his salvation awaiting him just across the room. He struggled to move and felt his entire body shudder from the strength expended in simply trying to lift a hand.

"This is pitiful;" KiAdjae chuckled at the slight movement, "and very amusing. Trust me, ending your suffering now will not be an act of mercy or benevolence. I simply don't have time for this."

Ineg stared desperately at the machine as he heard KiAdjae powering up his attack for a killing strike. There was no way he would be able make it to the portal, let alone stand, in the precious few seconds he had left. He could barely move at all. Never had the saying, "so close and yet so far" been so thoroughly understood. Still, he could not die like this, not when there was vengeance to be wrought upon Gennai, and now KiAdjae. Maybe he could find a way to repeat what he, or his counterpart, rather, had done all those years ago. He could hardly move, and certainly couldn't outrun KiAdjae's attack, but perhaps he could use his disowned brother's own strength against him. A precise, well-timed, movement on Ineg's part may be all that was needed.

When Ineg heard KiAdjae shout and saw the slight movement of his arm coming down, he summoned every bit of strength he had remaining to roll to the side and curl himself into a ball. As he hoped, the late movement caused KiAdjae's attack to miss him, and instead blast the ground where he had just been. The close proximity of the explosion caused the resulting shockwave to actually lift Ineg up from the ground and send him hurtling across the room. With his senses as dulled as they were, Ineg could only hope that he was sent flying in the direction he'd planned. He struggled to make sense of the streaking sounds and shapes around him, but could only make out what sounded like a shout of frustration from KiAdjae and a frightened scream from Miko. For a moment he thought he saw the silver hue of the side panels of the portaling device, then the white glow of its main screen. It seemed they were getting closer as he continued to rapidly flip head over heels, but he couldn't be sure. Briefly, in the dizzying haze of everything that was going on, Ineg heard the sound of KiAdjae shouting and firing another attack. Then, shortly afterwards, everything faded into white and he lost consciousness once again.

* * *

Miko let out a groan as he lay on the ground, not from the substantial amount of pain now coursing through his body, but from the amount of work those two "guardians" and that woman had created for him. Their wanton destruction of his laboratory would certainly keep him busy for the rest of the night. All over the room were broken console screens, crackling circuitry panels, and open gashes in the walls from which plumes of smoke liberally spilled. Miko turned his head in order to take a look at the area where he'd previously been standing and frowned angrily. The Assassin apparently had fired another shot at Ineg's just as he'd reached the portal. Miko couldn't be sure if Ineg had made it through or not before the attack had destroyed the device, but in the end it really didn't matter. Neither result could save him from Hitachi's wrath if he didn't fix all of this.

"Where did he go?" The Assassin ran over to the smoking remains of what was once the portaling console and looked around anxiously. "Where did he go?!"

"N-nowhere I assume." Said Miko. The engineer slowly picked himself up from where he'd landed on the floor, adjusted his glasses, and walked over to view the scene himself. "It would seem that you destroyed him. In his weakened state, he pixilated rather quickly."

"That easily? I doubt it. Gennai was never so pitiful a combatant."

"That may be so, but was he ever so weakened? Perhaps he was desperate."

"Desperate to do what? He made a beeline for that portaling machine..." The Assassin paused as if something had just occurred to him. "Almost as if he'd had planned to use it. Is this possible, Miko?"

Miko quickly shook his head. "Most assuredly not, sir-"

"Because if I find that you are lying to me."

"He is," interrupted Jade. "He was crouching next to that device throughout most of the battle. Likely carrying out whatever orders that Ineg had given him."

The Assassin cut his glare at the man, giving him a fiery look that made Miko silently grateful that he had chosen to use the restroom shortly before Ineg's arrival.

"Is that true, you worthless little worm? Did you help Ineg escape?"

"I-I did not, I assure you."

"Then what, pray tell, were you doing at the portaling machine?"

"I was doing the responsible thing, what Hitachi would have wanted. I was backing up data and information from the machine into our main servers, in the event that in the midst of your thoughtless battle, it got destroyed. And it was fortunate that I did, because that is exactly what happened."

"He is lying." Asserted Jade, taking a threatening step forward.

Miko didn't flinch. "Oh, really? Am I? Because I would be perfectly willing to take this before Hitachi and have him decide. That is, if he gets past the anger of finding out that you two would so boldly put his plans for tomorrow at risk like this."

Jade let out a low growl and raised her katana. The assassin quickly reached out and stayed her hand.

"He has a point, Jade. I believe he is telling the truth. Let him go."

"Fine." Jade took a step back and kept a well trained glare on Miko.

"Thank-you. The disheveled engineer bent down and picked up a few papers that had been scattered across the floor. "Now I'll have to go downstairs to storage to get a new console and upload all of the proper programming into it. You two have certainly made my day that much busier. Thanks for that."

Miko left the room in a huff, hoping the entire time that his performance wouldn't be rewarded with a high powered blast to the back. When he reached the main hallway outside the destroyed room, he let out a sigh, relieved to find himself very much still alive. The relief was fleeting, however. He still had a lot to do if he wanted to remain alive past tomorrow, and so very much more than just Hitachi's plans depended on his survival.

* * *

"He certainly grew bold." Jade said, watching the tech's departure with disdain.

"Yes, he did." The Assassin replied in a thoughtful tone. "I wonder why." He turned his attention to the smoking pile of machinery in front on him. It was possible that Ineg had gone through whatever portal may have been opened, yet it was just as possible that in his weakened state, he had been destroyed. The Assassin finally shrugged. Either way, it didn't matter. Gennai's darker half was a lone entity with no allies or any power. If he wasn't dead, he would soon be. And he posed absolutely no threat.

"It doesn't matter." He said, turning with an angry flourish. "Come Jade, we have to prepare ourselves for what's coming tomorrow."

"Yes." She nodded and began to follow behind him, but not without flashing a last glance at the destroyed device herself.

"He's not coming back, Jade." The Assassin said without breaking stride. "If he isn't dead, in the state he was in, he soon will be. Gennai has lost and I have won. It is time to move on to more important things."

"You're right." Jade bowed her head and fell into step behind her master, whatever lingering misgivings she had quieted for the moment.

* * *

**The Realm, Training Fields**

"Strike!"

Krista Lee's shout was echoed by the sound of several fists smashing into various wooden mannequins, which was followed by more than a few groans of pain. She frowned in disappointment as her students, all lined shoulder to shoulder in a somewhat disciplined row, began to complain out loud.

"Tell me again," Said Matt, rubbing his fist gingerly and inspecting it for any signs of bruising, "Why are we doing this? Won't we have guns out there?"

Krista looked offended by his words. "You can't possibly think that a gun will be your only form of combat. What will happen when you run out of bullets?"

"Guess we'll just be S.O.L." said Matt under her breath

Krista rounded on him. "You certainly will be, if you do not take this training seriously."

"No offense, but a one day crash course in how to fight isn't going to suddenly change us into some crazy ninja warriors."

"Guys," came a gruff voice. "Just do as she tells you. Even the smallest amount of training might save your life."

"Easy for you to say, Cody," grumbled Sora. "We don't all have a lifetime worth of training and fists of steel."

"Just listen to them guys." Said Noriko. "Like she said, strike like you mean it, without fear of hurting yourself." She threw another punch and the mannequin made a loud crack as a chunk of wood splintered away from it. Noriko drew her fist back and began bouncing up and down on her heels, obviously doing her best not to start outright jumping for joy. "See? It works!"

Krista gave Noriko a nod of satisfaction. "Very good. Now, once again, strike!"

Four fists obediently struck out yet again.

This time the noise of four simultaneous cracks rang out and pieces of wood splintered everywhere.

"Much better. See what happens when you just shut your mouths and do as I say?"

There was a murmured agreement from Matt mixed with the others.

Krista crossed her arms and looked between he and Sora with a skeptical smile. "You know, you two wouldn't have to deal with me had you actually decided to attend the early morning session instead of sleeping in."

"Hey, you can't fault us for that. We were exhausted! We went on the rescue mission with Hatori, remember? Figured you would recall that with the way you guys were arguing."

"Ugh," Krista shook her head. "Let's not revisit that debacle again. Now, back in your attack stances!"

* * *

About a field's length from the training area, immersed in their own conditioning exercises were the Knights, sans Curtis and Rosa. Most of them were busily progressing through a series of holds and break maneuvers. Most, that is, except for Tai, who Kuri noticed seemed to be more preoccupied with watching Krista's training session than participating in their own.

"Hey Tai," She said as Terence easily broke from her half-hearted wrist hold. "We don't hold your interest anymore? I think I'm offended."

He ignored the jab and didn't turn around as he spoke. "They're doing ok so far, huh?"

"About as well as can be expected in so little time." Answered Jun, her voice strained as she grappled with Davis.

"Don't kid yourselves, you two." Said Kuri, pausing as Clara seized her with a simple arm hold and she twisted out of it. "They're barely passable. I heard the morning session with Hatori and the others went a lot better, though."

"I missed that one," said Tai. "Took a run after training with Curtis and Rosa to get our legs back. I'm surprised Cody didn't get up early for that session too."

"He did." Said Jun as she struggled to break free from a rather effective shoulder lock thrown by her brother. "He's pulling a double shift just like you and Agumon over there."

Tai turned and followed her gaze to where the digimon were practicing on the next field over. They were all in their rookie forms, practicing basic attack and defense techniques under the watchful guise of Krista's partner Ninjamon. As Agumon and Veemon alternately barked out orders, all of the digimon, including Sparks, followed through diligently. The Knight's partners had lost a lot of their ability due to the atrophy caused by their incarceration at Hitachi's hands. Accordingly, they were wasting no time in working to recover their strength.

"Wow, they look so...organized and focused," observed Davis. His momentary inattention allowed Jun to easily break free of his hold, though he barely seemed to notice. "They don't even need us to supervise them."

"Yeah," Said Clara. "Our little digimon are growing up."

"Yeah right." Terence rolled his eyes. "More like they don't like being captured and having their asses shoved into test tubes. They're just looking for some payback."

Jun gave him a smirk and shook her head. "You literally _live_ to ruin these types of moments, don't you?"

Terence shrugged. "I dunno. I guess I have a moral obligation to-" He stopped, mid-sentence, and looked into the distance with a furrowed brow.

"What is it?" Tai asked.

"I don't know." Terence pointed to the edge of the nearby forest. "I thought I saw something in the air over there. Like a flash or something."

"Oh no, don't tell me," groaned Clara.

"Tell you what?" Asked Davis.

"The flares. They can't be back, can they?"

Jun shrugged. "Don't see why not. Ineg's still out here and he still needs to rejoin with Gennai to live, right?"

"Oh, come on, guys," said Kuri with a huff. "There's nothing there. Terence is probably just seeing things. I mean, something always came through the old flares. Did you see anything?"

"No. Like I said, it was just a flash."

Tai shielded the sun from his eyes and squinted as he looked in the direction Terence had indicated. "In any case, we should check it out anyway."

"I agree," said Davis.

Kuri sighed. "Fine, you three guys go check it out. We'll stay here and take five. If you need our help, which you won't since there's nothing there, you know how to reach us."

Terence turned to her. "I wasn't aware that you were now running things around here."

The glare that Kuri gave him in response prompted Tai and Davis to hurriedly grab Terence by the shoulders and lead him away.

"Come on, let's go." Davis said, adding under his breath, "Before you get yourself killed."

As the three departed, the girls walked over to a nearby set of folding tables with several coolers of water perched atop. They refilled their water bottles and, as they drank, turned their attention back to the digimon's training sessions and watched how their partners interacted while progressing through their exercises.

After a few moments of observation had passed Jun asked, "Do Veemon and Gatomon seem to be a little closer than usual out there?"

"Yeah, I noticed." Clara replied with a grin. "Isn't it crazy? I mean, it's not just Veemon and Gatomon either. Have you seen the way Biyomon and Agumon are hanging around each other?"

"Romance blooming among the digimon? Well wonders never cease."

"I know." Kuri said, sounding a little annoyed. "Davis won't stop talking about it today. He gets some kind of weird sense of pride out of it."

"Of course he does. His digimon won."

"Won?"

"Patamon has had a crush on Gatomon for just about forever. He's just been a little more…subtle than Veemnon. Apparently, Veemon won."

Clara shook her head. "This is crazy. They're like, I don't know, our kids or something. It's weird. Well, for them anyway."

Jun smiled. "You just wait. I think Marta is really starting to grow on Sparks. He's always had a thing for the spunky type."

Clara's eyes widened. "Oh no."

Kuri crossed her arms and looked perturbed. "So what's wrong with Peko? She's spunky."

Jun shrugged. "Sparks says she has a thing for Patamon."

"Are you kidding me? That little goody-two-shoes? He sounds like a squeak toy."

"Kuri," Clara admonished. "Don't be mean."

"I'm just stating a fact."

Jun chuckled as she adjusted and tightened the protective tape on her wrists. "What I'm wondering is, why do I know more about you guys' digimon than you?"

"Because maybe we don't like to think about having to go around chaperoning the little bastards." Kuri looked over to where the digimon were practicing with a critical eye. "I can't believe they're all hooking up at a time like this."

Jun's expression turned serious as she watched their partners practicing as well. "This is the time where people tend to seek out relationships and fall in love- situations like these. Don't see why digimon would be any different."

"Like me and Cody?" The question came from Noriko, who approached the three girls while wiping her forehead with a towel. Apparently Krista had mercifully granted her group a break. She came to a stop beside Jun and wore a troubled expression on her face. "You know, one thing I wonder, is if maybe, you know, we're _only _together because of all this violence."

Clara cocked her head slightly. "Not sure I'm following you there, girl."

"Jun just said it. What if we're only together because, you know, we think we may not have too long left?"

"Funny," Kuri looked over Noriko's shoulder at Cody, who was still diligently practicing his attacks and parries as the others rested. "He's never struck me as the type to make rash decisions."

"Because he's not," said Jun. "Noriko, he loves you very much. You know that."

"Yeah. I know. It's just, well, I've never been in this position before. It's kinda hard to know what to do."

"Oh, it comes to you," said Clara. "It's natural. You'll want to be near him so much at first, that you'll just find yourself doing and saying things that you thought only happened to people in books and movies. Soon enough, you two will be trying all sorts of new things that you didn't know you could do-"

Kuri interrupted Clara by making a loud gagging noise. "Yeah, that's enough of that." She walked over to Noriko and draped an arm around the girl's shoulders. "You'll thank me later. This conversation was about to drift way out of PG territory."

Clara put her hands on her hips and glowered. "It was not. I was just trying to offer some advice."

"Yeah, the kind of advice that's usually preceded by someone dialing a 1-900 number."

"Whatever." Clara dismissed Kuri with a wave and looked around. "What's taking the guys so long?"

On cue, there was a rustling motion from the trees and bushes at the edge of the clearing, followed by three figures emerging forth. They came trudging over to the group with somewhat perplexed expressions.

"So, I'm guessing you guys didn't find anything?' Said Kuri.

"No." Answered Tai. "But it's weird. There were a lot of broken branches and the grass in the area looks disturbed. Something was there."

"But that doesn't make sense. I know the defenses are low right now, but if it was Ineg creating flares from that other dimension before, what would be creating them now? He's in the real world, not making siphons like last time."

Kuri let out a loud sigh. "Simple. Nothing. It wasn't a flare."

"Kuri-"

"Seriously guys, don't you think we have enough on our plates? We have to make things more complicated by saying someone's trying to break into the realm again?"

Exasperated, Tai brought a hand to his forehead.. "Kuri, we can't just ignore dangers to us because they're inconvenient. And it makes perfect sense for someone to be trying to break into the realm. You think Hitachi would just quit?"

"Hitachi doesn't even know we're here. His little peons are scared of him. You heard them tell us that just as well as I did."

"Well, maybe his 'little peons' are the ones trying to break in," offered Terence. "Maybe they figure they can still save themselves by capturing us again."

"Yeah, sure, that sounds like a great plan," Kuri said, "Besides the fact that it's the dumbest plan ever."

"I never accused them of being the sharpest minds around."

Noriko stepped into the middle of the group in order to bring the argument to a halt. She turned to Tai. "Well, still, you didn't find anything, right?"

"No," he admitted. "But something was there…"

"Yes." Said Kuri, arms crossed. "You already said that."

_Why is this bothering you so much?_

Kuri glanced at Davis for a moment, then looked away. _I don't know. Just, for a second, for however brief a moment, I'd like to forget the mess that we're going back to in the real world. Is that too much to ask?_

Davis walked over to Kuri and gently wrapped his arms around her waist. She knew he understood how she felt about the Realm. It had been a paradise for her compared to her former home life. This was one of the few places that she truly felt at home, at peace. She just wanted to recover the feeling, however little of it she could, that it had given her before. But damned if her concerns about the real world weren't ruining it all.

_Everything is going to be okay, Kuri. Our families and friends will be okay. I know you're worried, but we're going back soon enough, and we're going to save them_.

Terence crossed his arms and watched the two. "There they go, having one of their typical secret conversations again. That gets annoying, you know."

"Oh hush," said Clara. "They're not talking about you."

"You don't know that. If I was them, I'd be talking about me."

"Yeah, well that makes sense," said an interrupting voice. "Since you _are_ you, and you're _always_ talking about yourself."

The voice belonged to Pings. He and the other sparring digimon were approaching the others, apparently taking a break from their exhaustive rehabilitation..

"Nice one." Said Sparks. He walked over to one of the coolers, filled a cup with water, then turned and handed it to Marta.

"Thanks." Said the Salamon, between heavy breaths, as she settled on her hindquarters in order to handle the cup.

Clara watched the interaction between the two with a frown, and Jun smirked.

"So you guys are getting some good work in? How do you feel?"

"Better," Agumon replied. He had trained with the morning group and was now helping the others using what he had learned. "It's not so sore anymore when they move, but we still have a long way to go."

Several of the other digimon that hadn't been captured groaned after he said this.

"Hey," shouted Biyomon, "you guys want to go back there and get your butts handed to you by Hitachi and his thugs? I think Agumon here just may know a little more than you about what we need to do to make sure we're ready to fight when we go back."

"Okay, okay," Said Peko, raising her paws in a sign of surrender, "We get it. Your new boyfriend knows what's best."

Biyomon's eyes widened and she blushed, which was remarkable for a digimon's whose plumage was already pink. "Hey, he's not my, um, well…"

"Just ignore him," said Agumon, walking past the two and back out towards the training field. "Okay everyone, hurry up, get your drinks and let's get back to training!"

"Wow," Said Gatomon, scratching her chin as she watched Agumon depart. "He really is taking charge, huh?"

Veemon, who was standing beside her, nodded. "Agumon's a good leader. Come on guys, he's right. There's no time to waste. Let's go!" To everyone's surprise he reached out and grabbed Gatomon's paw and the two jogged back to their training field hand in hand.

Tai chuckled as he watched them depart and turned to Davis. "Looks like you and Kari are going to have to give those two the old 'birds and the bees' talk."

For a fleeting moment, a mortified look crossed Davis's face, but it was soon replaced by a mischievous smirk. "Sure," he said, "but you and Sora can go first."

Tai's grin quickly disappeared and was replaced by a frown. "Okay guys. Break's over. Let's get back to work."

Kuri hurriedly gulped down the last of her water and glared at her boyfriend. _Nice one, Davis._

Davis looked at her and winked_. Totally worth it._

As the group headed away from the coolers and back out into the training area, Clara once again began grumbling her discomfort about the digimon striking up romantic relationships. "We're supposed to be trying to save the world." She said. "And they're acting like love struck teenagers."

Davis chuckled. "Hey, I resent that."

Terence walked up behind Clara and draped her arms around the girl's shoulders. "Ah, but romance is natural out here on the training fields." He said in her ear. "You of all people should know that."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Asked Noriko. She was following them out to their training area as her group was still taking a break.

"Actually, this was where we shared our first kiss." Clara turned to Terence, a fond memory of the event showing in her affectionate gaze. "It was wonderful."

"I remember." He nuzzled her neck and breathed deeply, taking in her scent. "That was the day my whole life changed."

Kuri interrupted the moment by again making an exaggerated gagging noise.

"Really?" Noriko looked particularly pensive. "And you've been together ever since…"

"Yes they have," said Jun. "And so will you and Cody. Now why don't you go over there and let him know that."

"How?"

"Sneak up behind him and give him a kiss," said Clara, as if it was the most obvious answer in the world.

"God knows he needs something to loosen up a bit," said Kuri.

For a moment, everyone turned to watch Cody as he continued through his progression of kendo stances and attacks while Sora and Matt sat to the side.

"Hmm," mused Terence, "so that's the kind of behavior that a prune juice addiction can lead to. Can't say it's much different than what I expected."

"Hey!" protested Noriko, hands on her hips. "Watch it."

Clara chuckled and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Just ignore him. Now you'd better get going. I think Ms. Lee's ready to start up again."

"Yeah, I'm not trying to get the same treatment as Matt and Sora. Thanks guys." Noriko nodded to the group and headed off.

"There are worse things than dedication." Tai said, stretching as he prepared for their next round of sparring. "We all could learn a lot from Cody."

"Please." Kuri rolled her eyes and did a quick, effortless back-flip to loosen up. "We already know plenty. Well, unless he has any secrets about taking out billionaire mass murderers, then I'm all ears."

"Tell me about it." Jun said, leaning back as she stretched her arms. "I can't wait until Willis unlocks those files. At least then we can make plans for a counter attack. I can train all day until I collapse, but I won't feel like I'm doing anything until we actually, you know, _do_ something."

"Well sis, you know you could go help Curtis and the others with overhauling that heap of junk van."

Kuri laughed as she took up an attack stance. "Davis, she said she wanted to do something, not perform miracles."

* * *

**Hitachi Tower, Training Center**

"Attack me!"

Jade let out the blood curdling scream just as she swung her enhanced sword yet again. The blade of energy that shot forth actually gashed the shoulder of her opponent, causing him to release a reptilian scream of agony, then continued on, smashing two other mutants into a nearby wall. Three more mutants leapt at her from behind in a coordinated attack. She ducked one of them, ran through the second with the blade of her conventional katana, and brushed away the third effortlessly with a swing of her digital sword. The first landed and turned to came back at her, but was greeted by the terrific force of yet another of the sword's attacks before he could even muster a charge. He slammed into a wall and dropped to the ground with a thud.

"You call this sparring?" Jade sneered, looking upon the state of her battered and beaten opponents. "This is hardly a battle. Where is the red one? At least he possesses some small amount of cunning."

"He is not here." Said a rumbling voice. Jade looked up at its source. The large orange mutant had stepped into the training gym, and his expression a bit less than warm.

Jade smirked at his arrival. "And you would like to battle me?"

He answered her question with only a glare.

She chuckled. "Oh, I'm sure you would, wouldn't you?"

"If it's a fair fight you want. Then it is my duty to oblige you."

Jade shook her head. "I know who you are, Sato Kobe, as does my master. Do not think I am foolish enough to allow you an opportunity for vengeance here. Now leave."

Sato flinched, a symptom of his growing resistance to her orders. "If your fear will not allow you to battle me, then I will go."

He slowly turned around to depart from the room and Jade watched him with a scowl. She knew exactly what he was trying to do, but she would be damned if he was going to talk to her that way and she allow him to get away with it. She was in control here.

"Stop."

He did, accompanying the movement with a low growl.

"You want to die here, beast?"

"With all due respect, Ms. Jade, I do not believe that will be the outcome of our battle."

"Turn. Face me. We do this, here and now." Jade blew away a few stray bangs that had fallen in front of her face. "Come at me…and do NOT disappoint."

The mutant unleashed an ear splitting roar, his jaws wide and revealing rows of gleaming, razor sharp, teeth. He crouched low, ready to leap forward and strike at any moment.

Jade brought both of her blades before her and stood ready. If the stupid beast managed to avoid the strike from her empowered sword, she would surely eviscerate him with her katana on the follow through. He stood no chance. She didn't care what The Assassin had ordered of her. Sato would die right here and right now.

"I said COME, fool."

Sato lunged forward with a ferocious roar and she likewise rushed forward to greet him. Just before the two would clash, their bodies came to sudden, jerking halts. For a moment the two simply hovered in midair, giving each other looks of confusion and contempt. Then, the same invisible force that was holding them forced them apart, tossing each to an opposite corner of the training room, where they both slid to stops in three point stances.

Neither took their glare away from the other as Hitachi fully entered into the room.

"This...disappoints me. To see one of my higher ranking officers wasting resources," he looked around the room at all the fallen unconscious mutates and those nursing injuries, "in such an obscene manner. Especially after the damage you and your master played a role in earlier."

Jade tore her glare away from Sato and brought her eyes upon Hitachi, who maintained an even, steady, stare upon her. Even Jade was not immune to the level of power and ferocity that the look conveyed.

"I apologize, My Lord." She said, head slightly bowed. "Perhaps I was a bit…overzealous, in my training."

"Perhaps is an understatement. I did not create this facility so that you could incapacitate my army. It would do you well to remember that they are not the Hida boy. They are not your enemies. I understand the boy perished in our attack and that frustrates you, but he still has a living grandfather and mother, does he not?"

"Yes... sir." It almost pained Jade physically to utter the submissive words.

"Then your anger should be directed in more…constructive directions."

An untrained woman and a decrepit old man? He considered those worthy adversaries?

"There is an air of defiance in everything you do." Hitachi said with an approving smile. "It is an admirable quality…yes, admirable indeed." He gave her a look, one that Jade had received unsolicited many times before from men far less repulsive. All those men had paid for the look with much more than hurt feelings, but in this situation Jade found herself entirely powerless. It was a position that she found excruciating, if not altogether unbearable. Hitachi continued. "Though you do show a measure of obedience around your master, don't you?"

The words came out as more of a statement than an actual question, as if Hitachi were taking in the woman standing before him for the first time.

"I suppose that devotion goes both ways," he continued, "considering how dedicated your master has been to our cause since I brought you aboard."

Jade cocked a brow curiously at that.

"Yes, that's right. In my experience, I've found that the best brand of loyalty isn't bought, but bartered, and you, my dear have proven to be quite the useful bargaining chip."

Jade just looked at the imposing figure before her. She felt slightly offended by his words, but saw no point in retaliating in any way.

"Thank-you, lord." Jade tried to make the words come out in a dignified fashion, but she knew it was futile. She had never been wired that way. She was naturally inclined to go for whatever she wanted and brush aside any actions that didn't directly lead to that goal. She bowed her head once again, allowing her bangs to fall over her face in hopes of shielding any looks of revulsion her expression might have conveyed.

"You are welcome, child." He said. "Now please, do refrain from causing any more damage to our own forces. If you are having trouble overcoming your own feelings of frustration, I suggest you take them out on the parties responsible for causing them."

With that, Hitachi turned to leave, but instead of walking out of the room, he disappeared with a loud clap and a flash of black smoke. As the haze of his departure wafted across the room and dissipated, Jade turned to Sato once again. Though he still stood there, poised to resume their battle, Jade knew better than to defy one of Hitachi's direct orders.

"Count yourself fortunate, beast, and do not cross my path again." She sheathed her weapons and brusquely left the room without waiting for his response.

Hitachi had been right about one thing, maybe the Hida boy was dead, but his family was still out there somewhere, likely escaped on those stolen hydrofoils she'd heard about last week. There was no place they would be able to make safe landfall. They were likely still on the water, foolishly waiting for a safe time to return. Sitting ducks. Jade allowed herself a small smile. She would need some men, and a boat.

* * *

**The Digital Realm**

Bertha had likely never received so much care and attention, or at the least, not in a _very_ long time. The van was parked in the clearing behind the mansion, not far from the lake. The gentle sound of the waters lapping against the lakeshore provided a steady ambiance to the various digidestined and digimon positioned in and around the van, all working diligently as they continued in what had become quite an interesting conversation.

"Angewomon," said TK as he reached under the hood and tightened another bolt. "Definitely Angewomon"

"That's your hottest digimon?" Jiro popped his head out of the passenger window. "Your girlfriend's partner digimon? Isn't that kinda weird?"

"Maybe, but can you name a digimon that's hotter? I'm just being honest."

"I agree." Chimed in Patamon from where he was, perched on TK's shoulder.

"I'm not sure what makes your opinion more biased," said Yolei, wiping her forehead with a towel as she looked up from her work. "The fact that you have always had a huge crush on Gatomon, or the fact that you digivolve into Angemon."

The rookie Digimon squeaked in protest. "Hey, I don't have a crush on her! Besides all she wants to do now is hang out with Veemon, anyway."

"Bitter much?" Came the dual voiced taunt from across the car.

Patamon glared at Yolei and her partner defiantly.

"Bitter a lot." Hawkmon said with a chuckle.

"I dunno." Said Curtis from under the car, where he was replacing a broken fuel pump. "I know she was evil, but I'm kinda partial to Lady Devimon, myself."

A chorus of whistles echoed around the car.

"Well, I can't really argue with that." Said Ken. "She _was_ pretty hot. Psychotic, but hot."

"Boys…" muttered Yolei, shaking her head. "Wasn't her head like, stitched together?"

Ken chuckled. "I don't think anyone was looking at her head, dear."

"Seriously though," Said Izzy from his position perched atop the roof of the car, where he was wearing a protective visor and holding a blow torch in hand. "No votes for Lilymon? I mean, she's pretty attractive too, right?"

"Oh come on!" Said Jiro. "Mimi's partner digimon? You guys are just trying to creep me out on purpose now."

"Eh, I don't know," Said TK. "I mean, she is part plant.'

"Part plant?" Exclaimed Izzy. "What? Are you kidding me?"

"Well, Izzy, she has those leaf things on her back and her head's like some kind of flower."

"I know, but you're saying that's a quality that adversely affects her hotness? I mean, you mentioned Angewomon. Did I say anything about her being part bird?"

"Hey, those are angel wings. She's part angel…or something. But not bird."

"Whatever, TK." Said Kin. "We all know feathers when we see 'em."

"Thank-you." Izzy nodded as he returned to welding a weapons rack to the van's roof.

Curtis maneuvered from beneath the van with a chuckle. He shook his head as he wiped his hands off and placed the bad fuel pump beside him in the grass. "You guys are all nuts."

"Ah, you love us." Said Yolei dismissively.

Curtis turned to a laptop sitting in the grass beside the van and began inputting information. He would need a full replacement for the broken pump, as it was beyond repair. The sound of beating wings alerted Curtis to the arrival of Patamon, who enthusiastically alit on the ground beside him. Taps came over as well.

"Is he going to do it again?" Asked Patamon.

"I think so." Said Taps. He pointed to the broken fuel pump on the ground. "I don't think he has another one of those just lying around anywhere."

"Cool."

"Yes guys, I'm going to do it again." Curtis would have rolled his eyes if the digimon's enthusiasm weren't somewhat infectious. He'd already gone through this process this like twenty times before, yet they still found it fascinating. "Okay, step back guys."

Several small infrared lasers were emitted from the side of the computer. They swept back and forth across the surface of the broken pump in a crisscrossing manner. Another small laser light shot out from the computer, splitting and branching out in several directions. Each point of light disappeared into the ground momentarily before returning with a bit of glowing matter at its end. They coalesced together and flashed brightly, before disappearing to reveal a brand new gold plated fuel pump in their wake.

"Cool." Said both Patamon and Taps together.

Curtis nodded. "I must admit, Willis really outdid himself with this one. Hard to believe he could create a program which can take the preexisting data of the realm and format it into whatever you need…within reason, of course."

"Of course." Muttered Yolei. "Otherwise we'd run this entire jalopy though the damn thing and be done with all of this."

"Oh come on Yolei," chided Ken. "You're not having fun with this?"

She rolled her eyes. "Oh yeah, I just love manual labor, especially combined with listening to you pervs talk about hot digimon."

Kin peeked his head out of the rear window he was refitting. "But you were the one that started all this when you said that you would consider going out with Leomo–Hey!" He ducked back into the car just before a wrench smashed into the window frame.

"Yolei," said a snickering TK. "Was that really called for?"

"Don't see how it wasn't. Rosa will back me up on this one, right Rosa?" Yolei frowned when an answer didn't come. "Rosa?" She looked down beneath the car, where she'd last seen the girl helping Curtis with the van's suspension. "Now where did she go?"

"No idea." Said Gotsumon, emerging from underneath the rear of the vehicle and looking around. "She didn't say anything to me."

"I'll find her." Curtis said, getting to his feet and dusting off his hands. "Jiro, there are instructions here for installing a fuel pump. Think you and Gotsumon can handle it?"

"Sure." Jiro shrugged. "How hard could it be?"

Curtis considered the younger boy for a moment before turning back to look up at the van. "Izzy, can you check on them when you're done up there?"

Izzy paused in his welding with a smirk and nodded. "Already planning to."

"Thanks." Curtis set off from the area, heading towards where he figured Rosa would be. He heard Jiro say something indignant that sounded suspiciously like "you guys suck" as he walked away.

It took only a few moments for Curtis arrive at the forest edge and proceed to the familiar clearing. There, as expected, he saw Rosa, sitting alone on their stump, the place where they had shared their first kiss, and the same place where they had called the meeting that seemed to have set all of the Knights' current events in motion.

"Hey buddy." He said, approaching her slowly. She glanced up at him and smiled, then accommodated him by scooting over.

"I knew you'd come sooner or later."

"Oh yeah?" Curtis settled down next to her. "So what's going on? Are you okay?"

Rosa shrugged. "I guess, considering."

"Then what are you doing here? We still have a few things to do before Bertha's completely refitted."

"I know that. I came here to give you a break, actually."

"A break? Really? Why?"

"Because you're working too hard, and nobody really appreciates it but me."

"Rosa, I'm okay-"

"No. No you're not. You're working harder that anyone else here."

"Oh, come on-"

"Curtis, I'm serious! You got up early this morning to check on Hatori and Willis's progress and help them out, then we went to the morning training session, where you had to help teach the others basic combat, then Willis got the bright idea that that old jalopy van could be, well, 'pimped out,' and who got volunteered to be in charge of building it? You. Curtis, you're working harder than anybody else here, and the day isn't even halfway over."

"Well, Rosa, I mean, that may be true and all, but if there was a time where none of that would matter to me, this is it. This stuff has to be done."

"I know that. I know you're gonna be the last one to complain about any of it, but still I…"

"You what?"

"I worry about you." Rosa mumbled. "Ok, there. I said it."

Curtis grinned. "It's okay to be a little worried, Rosa. It's not necessarily a bad thing."

"I know, but I always make fun of Clara so much about it, and yet here I am…" Rosa threw up her hands and looked genuinely bewildered about this development.

Curtis chuckled, then leaned over to give her a kiss on the cheek. "I'm fine sweetheart. You don't have to worry about me."

Rosa grabbed his hand. "Curtis, you're smart."

"Um, yeah, I've been told."

"But you're strong too, and a good fighter, and a Knight."

"Alright, now I'm blushing- well I would be if I could blush."

Rosa smiled. "All I'm saying is, we need you in the battle, not just in front of a computer. You can't just do one or the other. I'm afraid you're going to get too stretched out with all of your duties. It won't be long before Willis unlocks those files we got from Barke and we get called to the war meeting. When are you ever gonna get some rest?"

"I can handle it, Rosa. I promise."

"Curtis, I love you, but no, you can't. I don't think you've ever realized how important you are to our group, but you will soon. We depend on you for a lot."

Curtis gave in to the notion with a nod. "I suppose, but we depend on you for a lot too."

Rosa scoffed. "Yeah, right. For what, to make sure there's enough violence to go around?'

"No. Rosa, you're the spirit of this team. Come on, don't you know that?"

"Whatever." Rosa kicked at a stray leaf on the ground. Curtis smiled. She always fidgeted that way when attempting to deflect praise. "Davis is the spirit of this team, if anybody."

"No, he might be the soul. But you're the spirit. Rosa, more than anybody, you represent that part of all of us that was the reason we got chosen to be knights. You're the fighter that doesn't know when to quit, the one that wears her attitude on her sleeve and will be damned if anyone has anything to say about it. You are definitely our spirit."

Rosa smiled at the kind words and quickly turned away.

"Look who's blushing now." Curtis said.

"Curtis, I'm supposed to be helping _you_, you know."

"Yeah, and you are."

"Oh really?" Rosa gave him a skeptical look. "And just how's that?"

Without a word, Curtis leaned forward. Rosa instinctively came forward to meet him, and together they joined in a tender kiss.

"Like that." Curtis said when they came apart. "You just convinced me to take a little break."

"Oh really?" Rosa giggled. "Well then, I'm glad I can be so persuasive."

"Yeah. Me too. But you know me, I'm pretty stubborn. I might need a lot more 'persuasion' than that."

"Fine. Come here." Rosa threw her arms around his neck and pulled him to her tightly. "After this, you're not gonna want to do anything for a week."

"Yes maam."

They joined again and gave in to their passion and love for one another, sinking deeper into the kiss and allowing the notion that there was any other task they could be doing at the moment to completely fade away.

* * *

Ineg allowed his fatigue to take over as he lay on his back on the forest floor. He'd just barely been able to avoid the Knights that had come searching just after his arrival. Fortunately he'd fallen in such a way that his upper torso had been concealed by a rather thick mass of sticker brush and, in an ironic twist, due to his weakness his legs had fortuitously fazed out of reality. Ineg was grateful that they hadn't reappeared until the three interlopers had departed, satisfied with the cursory glance around that they tried to pass off as a search. He was in no condition to take on any of the Knights now.

For now he would rest, recover what semblance of his strength he had remaining, wait for the Knights to leave the realm to launch their inevitable counter attack, and then strike. Once he'd subdued Gennai and recombined his aspects, he might indulge himself in killing that arrogant Willis boy. Yes, that would be the perfect end to what had become quite a trying time in his life. And as for KiAdjae- no, The Assassin- that was truly his name now-, and Hitachi... they could have the world that they desired so much, if they were even successful in obtaining it. Ineg would be just fine in possessing this realm. He would be able to build quite an empire here and in time, once he'd amassed a large enough army, he'd launch an assault against those that had betrayed him. He would show the Dark God a true heir to his power...

Ineg grimaced as the mottled pattern of the sunlight filtering through the canopy above began to swim and became blurred. He closed his eyes and exhaled deeply. For now, he would need to concentrate on recovering his abilities. He allowed his consciousness to slip away and fell into a deep, rejuvenating slumber.

* * *

"Now, if a wound needs to be cauterized, you proceed like this…"

Mimi watched closely as Joe worked with the instrument. Her eyes gradually worked up from the expert manner in which he maneuvered his dexterous fingers to the stern look of concentration on his face. That was so typical of him, always concentrating so much more on healing and helping than fighting. It was a very attractive quality, in truth. There was a time she had seriously considered going out with him. He had, after all, been the only one to accompany her when she left the others during their fight against the Dark Masters. To tell the truth, she always had felt a rudimentary chemistry between them, and he had always had that smart-hot thing going for him, especially after he'd grown his hair out. But ultimately her choice had come down to more than looks.

Throughout her time spent in America, only one person had really kept in touch with her. Sure part of the reason was that Izzy was the only one of the Original Digidestined completely obsessed with the internet and constantly checking his email, but the many messages they sent back and forth gradually began to grow more personal and … Mimi smiled. And then there was the week that Izzy had visited New York. He had come for some big technology symposium, but surprisingly, had spent much more time concentrating on Mimi than all those computers and gadgets. When he had left, Mimi had made up her mind. One way or another, she was moving back to Japan.

"-MIMI!"

Mimi was jerked from her reverie by Joe's loud shout.

"Geez Joe, what?"

"You're completely not paying attention here."

"Yes I totally am."

"Okay then, what was the last thing I said?"

Mimi put a finger to her chin thoughtfully, then smiled before shouting, "MIMI!"

Joe was definitely not amused. "Mimi, lives will be in danger and soon, you may be the difference between whether one of our friends lives or dies. Do you really think this the best time for you to be playing around and not paying attention?"

"Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry."

"Thank-you, now as I was saying..."

As Joe trailed off into his directions once again, Mimi took the opportunity to look around their small table. They had been joined in the Academy infirmary by Kari and Kentaro. Mimi knew why Kari had joined them. She had never been much for fighting indirectly, much less taking part in the hand to hand combat that was sure to come. Like Mimi, she was essentially a pacifist at heart. Kentaro, on the other hand, was another story. He was huge, and frankly, quite scary. Why he would choose to be here rather than out on the battlefield intrigued her.

"So big guy," She said, "Why are you here? Why didn't you train with the others?"

"Mimi," Joe sighed, now more than a little irritated. "I happened to be talking..."

She waved him off. "Yeah, yeah I know. Hold on a sec, k? So Kentaro, what's the deal?"

"Come on Mimi," Kari put down the needle and thread she'd been practicing suturing with and gave her old friend a disappointed glare. "Just because he's a big guy he's supposed to want to fight?"

"Well, no. He's not supposed to, but I was certainly expecting him to."

"How is that any better? That's still a pretty prejudiced way of looking at things."

"But it's sincere."

"You know, you can't just blame your crest every time you say something insensitive-"

"I don't like fighting," bellowed Kentaro, bringing the girls argument to a halt. "It only causes good people to get hurt, and most times, nothing good comes out of it."

Joe nodded. "Amen to that. You know, they're going to call us to this meeting in a little while, and I bet you that more than anything, they're simply going to talk about how to fight Hitachi, how to defeat him by force."

"Um, you're saying that's a bad thing somehow?"

"I'm saying that this mentality of violence needs to be stopped. It's always been like this, even when we were younger and trying to save the digital world. There was never any option other than fighting, never any other path besides matching our enemies' brute force with our own. It can't always be this way." Joe raised his glasses in order to pinch the bridge of his nose and sighed. Mimi noticed, for the first time, just how tired he looked.

"Joe, are you okay?"

"No, frankly. I thought I was done with this. I want to save people, to revere life, rather than destroy it."

Kari frowned. "But Joe, Hitachi killed millions-"

"I understand _why_ we have to do this, Kari, but it doesn't mean I have to participate or like it. Barbarism is barbarism, no matter who's committing it."

Mimi felt a bit offended by that. "Barbarism?"

"Yes, Mimi. It means-"

"I know what it means, Joe, and I don't agree with it." She stood up from her chair. "So you don't like fighting. _I_ don't like fighting. And you know what, our friends accept that about us. They don't hold it against us. So long as we help in some way it's fine."

"Maybe that's what they think about you, but me? I'm useless to them. They don't understand, and neither do you. Not since you abandoned me."

"Okaaay," Kari interrupted, looking between the two nervously. "So what's say we take a break here, eh? Come on Kentaro, let's get a drink or something." She grabbed her burly counterpart by the arm and strained to pull him out of his chair.

Reluctantly, he got the point and stood up. "But why?"

"Because this conversation has been a long time coming." She hissed, leading him across and out of the room. "Now come on."

Mimi watched the less than tactful exit with a frown before turning her attention back to Joe. He gave her a nervous smile as she put her hands on her hips and glared at him.

"Joe, what are you talking about? How were you abandoned?"

Joe stood from his chair and walked over to the nearby window. From there he could see all the training and work that was still going on outdoors. "None of our friends even remotely thinks like me, not even Gommamon. Maybe you used to, but, well, you don't anymore, apparently. I feel like I'm in a losing battle of sensibilities here."

"Yes, I realize that fighting doesn't have to be the only way, but I don't hold it against our friends that it's the way they want to do it. We all have the same goal, Joe. We want peace and so do they. Our methods of getting there are different, that's all. _You_ abandoned _us_ Joe, when you secretly started thinking that your way was the only way, and that any of us that disagreed were barbarians."

"I didn't mean it like-"

"And Joe, I didn't forget about you, but loyalty is a two way street. We were both in America for a while there, and I hardly ever heard from you."

"Well, I was busy with Med school, and you and Izzy..."

"Me and Izzy what? Why would Izzy matter?"

Joe didn't respond, instead choosing to idly finger a bit of gauze sitting on the table.

Mimi rolled her eyes. _Guys_. "Joe, if you felt that way about me, then you shouldn't have shut me out with the rest of them."

"What? I didn't shut anyone out."

"In a way you did. You were our friend in appearance, but not in spirit, and I can feel stuff like that. We're different Joe, but we're all the same too. A big difference between you and Izzy is that he understands that."

"Ouch."

Mimi shrugged. "Sorry, you know how I am."

Joe plopped back down in his chair and sighed. "Yeah, I do. But to be honest with you, I'm not sure that's quite my problem, Mimi."

The inflection that he said the words with and the way his gaze awkwardly shifted downwards told Mimi all she needed to know about the true motivations behind his current mood. "Oh, Joe," She walked over and knelt beside his chair. "You're going to be okay. Just because you're not a fighter doesn't make us value you any less, and it doesn't make you any less useful. A healer is just as important in this battle as anyone else. You _will_ do your part."

"Saw right through me, huh?"

Mimi smiled gently and placed a hand on top of his. "I always have."

"Yeah..." Joe's gaze shifted and lingered on her for a moment, before quickly being averted back down. "You have."

"You're going to be fine." She reiterated, before surprising him with a quick kiss on the cheek. "Now come on, you still have some teaching to do here."

Mimi sat back in her chair and smiled as she watched Joe subconsciously draw a hand to the area where she's kissed him. Yeah, had things gone differently, they might have made quite a couple.

At that moment, the infirmary door opened and Kari peeked her head inside. "Sorry to interrupt guys, but we'll have to get back to our lesson later. We just got word from Hatori. Willis cracked the files. It's time for the meeting."

* * *

**Hitachi Tower, Mess Hall**

Sato Kobe hated this. He looked around the expansive room he stood in, full of the absolute dregs of mankind, men and mutants, all grunting as they sat at their tables and messily tore through their meals. It was midnight, lunch time around these parts. He supposed he should have grown used to it by now, but how could one really get used to living in a world in which they knew they didn't belong? Sato held his meal, a metal bowl filled with several raw steaks, and maneuvered his way across the room to what looked to be a relatively quiet table in the corner. It was occupied by a group of recently infirmed mercenaries, most of whom Sato knew, and whose company he far preferred to his animalistic brethren. He pulled a large chair, specially made for the mutants, over to the table, gave the men a nod, and started in on his meal.

"Guess what I heard." Said one of the men, a mercenary named Taru who'd been horribly burned during a battle a few weeks back. He grinned as he took in the rest of the table, the broth of his beef stew sickeningly dribbling down his scarred chin, then continued when no one bothered to respond. "We might get to see some action. They say there's rumors of some kinda underground resistance movement."

"Oh please." Said another man, who sported an arm sling in addition to a neck brace. "We all know there's a lot mor'n that out there, now don't we?"

Sato paused in his meal and looked up at the man. "What are you talking about?"

"You gotta be kiddin me. You don't know?"

"Shut it, Toby. We don't want everyone knowing. Somebody'll blab to the boss man soon enough."

"Not my big orange buddy here. He sticks to himself, don't cha big guy?"

"_What_ are you talking about?' Sato reiterated, annoyed.

"Nothin." Said another merc. "He's just talking about them kids that got away."

"Kids?"

"Them Knights or whatever…plus that boy, what's his name?"

"What boy?"

"You know, the one that killed Red."

Sato paused and put down his steak. "Red's dead?'

"Ah man, you haven't heard? He got sent down on the raid at the docks. Most of them guys came back messed up…if they came back at all."

"But he died? Who killed him?"

"Some kid that got turned into a mutant, you know, the one with the swords that The Assassin's broad hates so much. Took out like five of you muties in that brawl at the shipping tower."

"Cody? Cody Hida?"

"Whatever. I guess that's the little bastard's name. But yeah, cut Red's head clean off. Saryu over there saw the whole thing."

A man seated near the end of the table wearing an eye patch and shoulder sling, looked up. "Yeah, I saw it from a distance." He said. "Not long before some chick shot up my jeep and sent us crashing into the sea. Did this to my eye and my arm." He looked down, an expression of regret and anger crossing his face. "I really liked that damn jeep."

Sato snorted. So Cody was still alive as well. After the incident at the Rainbow Bridge, and then the bombing of the CADE bunker, he'd pretty much given up hope of getting out of his current situation. But now, now there was a chance. Sato would need to perfect his burgeoning obedience resistance techniques. Hitachi's special project was supposed to come into play tomorrow. If CADE's intel amounted to anything, that surely would be when the Knights attacked.

"We been screwing up quite a bit lately. Letting them kids get away like that. Hitachi's gonna kill us."

"Naw, we'll be alright. Just gotta make sure he does this transformation thing before it's too late is all. It's all over once that's done, right? What's he gonna care then?"

"Yeah. And it ain't like them kids did anything to him the last time they fought. He trashed them all like they weren't nothin'. They won't be a problem. If they know what's good for them, they're tucked away and hiding in some other dimension."

Saryu grinned. "Man, it's gonna be something, ain't it? By tomorrow, we're going to be running this entire joint. The whole friggin' world."

"Don't know about that. You're countin on Hitachi keeping his word for that one."

"He's been good about the money, so far."

"Yeah, he has. Because he needs us. But I don't know about after this is all said and done."

Toby looked around nervously. "Hey, I wouldn't be talking like that if I were you. Might get back to him."

"Yeah, and so might what happened to those kids. Aint nobody saying anything to Hitachi right now. Not if they value living."

Sato turned to Taru. "So what makes you think that he won't keep his word?"

"Hell, cause I wouldn't!" Saryu interrupted. "And Hitachi is just like the rest of us here. He knows what he wants and he does whatever it takes to get it."

"Here here," Said one of the men, raising his beer in a toast.

"No, he isn't." Said Taru quietly.

"What?"

"He isn't just like the rest of us. Trust me, I know. Remember a while back, the big brawl in Odaiba? When CADE put together that break in on the old Odaiba bunker?" The others at the table nodded. "Well, I was one of the guys that was sent in with that team to stop them. When we were setting up to make our move, we could hear the ol' lab doc talking about how Hitachi got to be who he is, how he created them computers to catalog the experiments he was doin on POW's in World War II, how he killed all those people-"

"Yeah," interrupted Sato. "We've all heard the rumors. And?"

"Man I just got to thinking, especially after what you just said. I mean, how much is he really like us, you know. I mean, sure, we would all slit our best friend's throat if the price was right." A hearty round of laughter went up amongst the other men. "But could we do _that_? Could we torture and kill millions of people just to learn, just because we could, because we thought it was fun? Could we set off nuclear bombs all over the world just cause we figure it'll scare folks? I'm telling ya, Hitachi aint like us. Soon as he gets what he wants, he might not just be done with us. He might just destroy everything. We might wind up his next 'experiments.' I got a feelin' some of y'all are gonna find yourselves choosin' between your money and your well bein' soon enough. I wonder… wonder what y'all are gonna do… Wonder what we're all gonna do."

Sato bowed his massive head as he contemplated the mercenary's words. What would he do? He'd been working up a small measure of mental resistance to the orders of his superiors, but it had yet to approach anything close to having his own freedom of will. Now he had only a day left to do something to stop the inevitability of these people overtaking the entire world. He did not know exactly what he would do at this point, but there was one thing he was sure of, he would do _something_.

_To be continued..._

* * *

Next up: **Destines part II (2): Plans for War: **The data's been cracked and now it's time for the Knights to plan for the ultimate battle against the greatest evil the world has ever known. How can they possibly take down a man they literally cannot touch? And how will they handle the reality of what they are about to face in their own hearts and minds? Find out in the next chapter of Digital Knights... (on Friday. I totally promise)


	26. Destinies Pt 3: Plans for War

As Promised, it is Friday and this is the next chapter. I know it's technically Saturday, but I very well couldn't post this from work, could I (late shift for me)? Anyway, enjoy…

* * *

**Destinies Pt II (2): Plans for War**

**The Digital Realm, War Room**

They were all gathered, every digidestined, trainer, digimon, and one guardian to be, all surrounding a mammoth sized round conference table, upon which sat Willis's laptop, projecting a large, holographic display that extended all the way from the table's surface to the room's vaulted ceiling.

"I'll forego the formalities," said Willis. "We all know why we're here."

"That we do." Tai said with a nod and a grim expression. "So, what's the plan?"

"Well, take a look at this."

The hologram on the table grew brighter as it morphed into the image of a giant rotating tower. It looked majestic, covered in a sheen, black and silver coating, and gradually tapered as it went upwards, similar to the Empire State Building, with stone gargoyles placed along each ledge where the building's circumference decreased. At the top of the building was an elongated twisting spire, black in color, that, though it extended upwards only a few feet on the display, seemed as if it would reach up into the very heavens in reality.

"Okay, ladies and gentlemen. This is the new Hitachi tower in Tokyo."

"Wow, it's impressive." Curtis said, despite himself.

"Yeah bro," Terence agreed. "Real shame we're gonna wreck the hell outta it."

"Um, yeah," Willis said, an apprehensive tint to his voice, "About that-"

Terence sighed. "I know, we can't just wreck it, right?"

"We can't even come close, at least not with this surrounding the tower." Willis tapped a key on his laptop and four transparent panels extended down from the top of the tower's spire all the way to the ground, coming together to form a perfect translucent pyramid around the large structure.

"Whoa." Said Joe, who stood leaning against a wall at the rear of the room. "What is that?"

"I believe Clara would be most familiar with this type of construct."

"It's a shield." The girl in question said, stepping forward. "And a really big one, at that."

"Bingo. Guys, Hitachi covered his bases with this one. Just in case we got any ideas."

"So this big ass black pyramid pretty much ruins everything?" Said Marta, leaping from Clara's arms onto the table to get a closer look.. "We can't do anything to get through it?"

"Well, not originally." said Willis. "But there may be other options."

"Like what?"

"If you take a look here, at the base of the tower, there is a tunnel about twenty feet underground connected to the southern foundation of the building."

The hologram stopped rotating and the area in question began to flash a bright red.

"From here it extends south. As you can see, there appears to be tracks for a light rail system laid within the tunnel. Wherever this thing leads to, it must be some distance away."

"And in the direction of Odaiba," added Hatori. "So that's how he did it."

Willis glanced up at this. "Did what?"

"When we broke into the facility under the old Odaiba tower, Hitachi and his men seemed to have come from nowhere when they got the drop on us. The hallway they entered from should have been a dead end. Now I know where they came from. There was a tunnel connecting the two towers."

"Can we get into this tower through that same tunnel?" asked Rosa.

"I doubt it," said Willis with a shake of his head. "According to the schematics, those doors at the mouth of the entry are made of tempered steel and are twelve feet thick. The only way to get through them is by knowing an opening sequence, and even then, you'd have to be on the _inside_ of the door to key the sequence in."

"Damn." Rosa concentrated on the rotating hologram, as if another option would present itself soon enough. Surprisingly, one did. She pointed. "What about this tunnel on the other side?"

Willis frowned. Rosa was pointing to an area of the tower that was marked in much lower detail than the rest. "That area I'm not so sure about. Everything about the lower underground level of the tower on the north side is a mystery. As you can see, the tunnel there leads from the tower right into Tokyo harbor. It makes no sense."

"Maybe it's an entry for underwater forces," offered Davis. "Subs and boats. Things like that?"

"It's possible." Willis stood up and paced away from the table. "But what sense would it make to create something like that? With all the other security measures he's taken, why leave such an obvious weakness open to everybody?"

"Maybe it has something to do with that project we kept hearing about. The joining or whatever."

Willis stopped pacing and scratched his temple. "I don't know. Personally I think that tunnel is bait to whoever may have come across these plans."

"Oh come on," Kuri said skeptically. "You're saying he _planned_ for someone to find these blueprints?"

"Well, that _is_ more in line with the meticulous way Hitachi has gone about things." said Jun. "Instead of inviting a full on attack of his tower he encourages his enemies to try to sneak in through an entryway where a trap can be set or they can easily be picked off."

"No." Tai shook his head. "That's not it. Hitachi doesn't miss details, true, but he doesn't waste time on things that _might_ happen. There's a purpose for that tunnel, and I agree with Hatori that it probably has to do with this joining he's attempting."

"Ok, say it does." said Willis as he took a seat on the counter at the wall opposite the conference table. "Then what is it there for? And who is Hitachi joining with?"

"His flunkies kept saying something about a dark god." said Kuri. "If that makes any sense."

"Gods…" said Davis quietly. "Of course. Willis, what do you know about ethereal dimensions?"

Willis turned to Davis with a curious look. "What, you mean like heaven and hell?"

"No. Well, I dunno, maybe- I mean, can you create a portal to one?"

"Well, if you're referring to the digital ethereal dimensions, the only ones I know to have been theorized to exist are Darkness and Light, and even then, the proof of their existence is tenuous at best."

"Why?"

"The realms of Darkness and Light are supposed to exist in extremes. I mean, you've gotten a taste of both, like the effect of dark spores, and the heat of digivolution. Imagine if you increased those sensations times a million."

"Hmm," mused Curtis. "You would have a blinding light and heat like no one could even conceive or…"

"A dark cold that no man could even fathom?" asked Izzy excitedly. "Like the kind of cold that could affect an entire city?"

"Well, yes, I suppose." Willis raised a curious brow at his fellow genius's exclamation. "I get the feeling you're on to something…"

"You bet I'm on to something. Eastern Japan is experiencing the coldest summer it's ever had on record. That cannot be a coincidence."

"He's right." Tai looked up suddenly, remembering that day so long ago when Izzy had complained about the unseasonal temperature and asked him to turn on his car's heater. Had the signs been right in front of them all along? "Willis, how big would that portal have to be to affect such a large area?"

"Like I said, here's no real definition of the realms, but if I had to guess, I'd say a portal just the size of a pinhole would be more than enough to drop the temperature by several degrees."

"My god…" Joe said. "That's an insane amount of power."

"An insane amount of power he's had for quite a while," said Davis. "It had gotten cold well before we even left for the academy."

"Interesting." Curtis looked down and rubbed his chin in thought. "I bet if you did a radial display of the recent cold spell that has hit Japan, you'd find the new Hitachi tower right in the center."

"My thoughts exactly," said Izzy. He pointed to his laptop screen and turned it for everyone to view. "Here, look."

There were several concentric blue ovals on the screen, overlapped across a satellite image of Japan. Just as Curtis had predicted, the circles grew smaller and smaller, until they centered right over downtown Tokyo.

"Still, I'm not so sure of all of this." Willis said. "I'll grant you that the evidence points to Hitachi being up to something very dark in nature, but opening a portal to the realm of darkness? That's a little farfetched."

"What would make you think that?" asked Davis. "I went to one of these dimensions."

"Yeah, metaphysically. And you basically had to die to free your mind enough to do so."

"So, physically, it's supposed to be impossible?"

Willis nodded. "Because, if the dimensions of darkness and light do exist, it would take a massive amount of power to reach them, the likes of which I cannot imagine any one man possessing."

"But this is Yuk-er, Myotis Hitachi we're talking about. He's not just 'any man.'"

"Yeah," agreed TK. "If anyone could pull this off, wouldn't it be him?"

"Sure," Curtis scoffed. "If he has his own fusion power plant stashed away somewhere." A sarcastic smile flashed across his face momentarily before his expression suddenly dropped and he turned to Willis. "You don't think-?"

Willis leapt down from his perch on the counter and sprinted back to his computer. "Now I do, yes."

In his typical fashion, Willis went to work on his laptop without a word to anyone. Curtis rushed to his side.

"I can't believe I didn't realize this before." Willis said, eyes darting back and forth across the screen. "This design suddenly makes a whole lot of sense. Curtis, you're a genius."

"Yeah, well I hope I'm wrong about this one," countered the Meditative Knight, "for all of our sakes."

Izzy walked up behind the two. "Actually, it may not be so bad."

"Why so?"

"That nuclear arsenal of his you were so worried about-"

Curtis snapped his fingers. His eyes lit up and a smile crossed his face. "May not actually exist!"

"Hey!" yelled Yolei, "Nerd brigade. You guys care to share?"

"Sure," Willis said, not taking his eyes away from the screen. "Hitachi has a nuclear power plant."

"What?" said Terence. "You guys just decided this? We start all this damn planning and then, all of a sudden, oops, he's got a freakin' nuclear power plant too? What the hell do we do about this?"

"Well, we'll have to alter our plans slightly…"

Terence glowered at his brother. "Yeah Curtis, no shi-"

"We'll be fine." Clara interrupted, placing a calming hand on Terence's shoulder. "So how do we alter the plan?"

"For one," said Davis. "I'm going into that portal."

"WHAT?" The shout seemed to come at once from every person in the room.

Davis sighed, as if their exclamations of concern were completely unwarranted. "When I spoke to Miracles, he said that I needed to return to an ethereal dimension if we want to win this war. This seems to be my ticket in."

"Oh, come on, Davis." Yolei scoffed. "He said ethereal dimension, not gateway to hell."

"Same difference. I'm going in. There's no way I'm going to miss my chance. Look, we all know we're not going to beat Hitachi head to head. If we let him go through this portal before we attack and I follow him through afterwards so I can contact Miracles, we may have a chance."

Hatori turned to Davis with a grave expression. "Davis, I understand how you feel, but what if you're wrong? We need you in this battle. We can't afford for you to-"

"No," Tai interrupted. "It's not up to us where Davis needs to go." He turned to Davis. "Do you really believe that that portal is where you should be?"

Davis nodded once with a sense of finality.

"Then I'm going to do everything in my power to get you in there. We all will, won't we?"

The question received reluctant nods from the rest of the Knights. Jun seemed particularly apprehensive.

"I hope you know that this means I'm going with you." said Kuri.

"Of course." Davis smirked at her. "You think I want to go in there by myself? Besides, I think we have to go together. We're the only ones whose shields will protect us in there."

"Damn it." muttered Peko. "So that means me and Veemon have to go in there too?"

"I'm not scared!" Veemon looked positively giddy about the prospect of entering the dark dimension.

"You should be." said Gatomon. "There're people here that really care about you…guys, I mean. You guys. We want all of you...all, to come back. Not, um, just Veemon." She covered her face with a paw to hide her embarrassment.

Tai moved closer to Davis and put a hand on his shoulder. "You're sure about this?"

"Of course. For the first time I think I have some of this 'key' stuff figured out, Tai. I have to meet Miracles again. It's our best chance at winning this thing."

"Alright. I believe you. You know it's not me that you have to convince, though."

Davis glanced over at Jun, who was regarding him with an expression of concern. "Yeah," he said. "I know."

"So," said Krista, "with that decided, on to the real question. How do we get inside?"

"Well," said Willis, "for one, I no longer believe that underwater tunnel is any kind of trap or escape route. It's part of the coolant system for the rods. It releases water into the harbor."

Tai peered closely at the tunnel on the holographic display. "So then, does that mean we can't get in that way anymore?"

Willis shook his head. "Not likely. That water is superheated once it exits the core."

"Exits the core?" Izzy asked. "You don't think he set up any extra steam turbines to harness the rest of that energy? He just releases the coolant into the harbor?"

"Don't see why not. Why would Hitachi be economical? He just needs enough energy to open the portal."

Hatori shook his head. "I should have seen this one coming." He said. "There had to be a reason he was stealing so much mined uranium along with weapons grade plutonium. I should have known-"

"Known what?" said Kuri, "That he was using it to fuel a secret power plant in order to build a human sized portal to a 'world of darkness' that none of us believed existed until five minutes ago? Yeah, I think we'll give you a mulligan on that one."

"Wait," Curtis said, examining the display closely. "We can still get in through that tunnel."

"What?" exclaimed Sparks. "Are you kidding me? I don't know about the rest of you guys, but I'm not really all that into getting boiled alive. It's not a good look."

"I'd have to agree with the electric furball on that one." Said Peko.

"I don't think that's going to be a problem," Curtis continued. "This plant has to work in intervals, right? We'll have a certain time period to enter in between the plant releasing coolant."

"How would we know how long we have, though?" Asked Tai.

"We can calculate it, based on the size of the plant." Willis offered.

"Okay," Mimi said from the rear of the room. "Say all of that works and you get in through the tunnel. Wouldn't the inside be radioactive or something?"

The room turned silent for a moment as everyone pondered the validity of the statement, plus registered their surprise at its source.

"She does have a point." Izzy said. He almost sounded proud. "Wouldn't it?"

Willis scratched his chin. "Well, there is that possibility…"

"Ewww," Said Pings. "That could turn you into a mutant or something."

"Giant walking tumor is more like it." muttered Terence. "So how would we get around _this_ one?"

Noriko leaned forward and reached across the table to point at the hologram. "What's this?' She asked. "This little side tunnel leading off from the main one?"

"Looks like some kind of service or maintenance entrance," observed Hatori, pointing as well. "If you could make it to that before the coolant's released, it looks like you could enter the building proper, instead of the plant where there may be radioactivity. Then you can make your way up to central control." His finger trailed upwards. "From there you could possibly take control away from most of Hitachi's operations."

"You make it sound like a walk in the park." Said Sora, looking at the holographic tower with a doubtful expression

"Yeah," said Matt. "As if that place won't be crawling with all kinds of security."

"Then we'll have to make sure it isn't."

"He even makes that sound easy." said Peko. "Just how are we supposed to do that?"

"Simple. We provide them with ample reason to be elsewhere."

Krista stepped forward with her arms crossed and a skeptical look. "Well, by all means, enlighten us."

"We'll need three distinct teams for this operation. One for distraction, one for incursion, and another for full battle."

"And how do we decide who goes where?"

"Well," began Tai, tapping a finger to his lips, "considering that the portal Davis is so keen on going into will be in the middle of this entire mess, he Kuri, Imperialdramon, and Peko are obviously with the main battle. Jun, Sparks, me, and Agumon will try to help clear a path for them to the portal."

"I'm with you, too." Said Terence.

"So am I." Pings added.

"Me three!" Said Marta excitedly. "Oh, and Clara too.'

Clara looked down at her partner with her hands on her hips. "Well thanks for just volunteering me there."

"No problem."

"I will accompany you, as well." said Keyan. "You will need as much help as possible getting through the brunt of Hitachi's forces."

Cody rose to his feet then. "I think I'll go with the incursion team."

Hatori looked at him, arms crossed as if thinking it over. Finally, he said, "Good idea. You'll be very useful."

"And I'm going with him." said Noriko, getting to her feet as well.

Cody turned to her with a surprised expression. "What? Noriko, you can't-"

"Really? You're going to do this?" Noriko crossed her arms and looked at her new boyfriend in an appraising manner. "You're really going to argue with me about this?"

"I…" Cody sighed. "No. Damn it."

Terence snickered. "Welcome to the club."

"Am I coming with you Cody?" Asked Armadillomon. He looked up at his partner hopefully.

Cody nodded. "The incursion point is underwater, and you just happen to be able to digivolve into a submarine. I think you may prove pretty useful here."

"Curtis," Willis said, "You have to go with them. We need someone tech savvy to serve as the operator inside Hitachi's HQ."

"Operator?" echoed Rosa indignantly. "He can do a lot more than sit at a computer and talk on a radio. That's a waste."

Willis raised his hands defensively. "Okay, granted, but who else is qualified for the job?"

"Izzy!" The shout came from the back of the room from an all too excited Mimi. She looked rather sheepish when everyone turned to look at her. "Sorry. I mean, he could do the job just fine. And since I'm coming with the um, incursion team, it would be good if he comes along too."

"You're coming with us?" asked Cody.

"Of course," Mimi nodded vigorously. "You all are going to need someone to come along for first aid, and I think Joe has trained me pretty well, so..." She shrugged. The rest was self explanatory.

Cody seemed rather apprehensive about the prospect of this. "I'm not so sure that me, Izzy, Mimi, Noriko, Tentomon, and Armadillomon would be the most effective fighting force against Hitachi's security forces."

"Then Gotsumon and I will come with you." said Rosa.

"Wait what?" said Curtis. "Didn't you just say-?"

"You and Taps can come too. I don't have anything against helping them get in. I just think you can do a lot more than stay in there, looking at a computer. Is that so bad?"

"I suppose not." Curtis smiled. "Well, how does that help your odds, Cody?"

"Better. But, well, now we may need at least one person with some experience at this sort of thing."

"Then I'll come as well." offered Krista. "We have Hatori to help command the outside forces. The incursion group will need an experienced leader, as well."

"Okay," Said Matt, stepping forward. "so then where does that leave the rest of us?"

"You're the distraction." Said Hatori.

"Well, that certainly makes me feel special." said Yolei. "And just why is a 'distraction' so necessary?"

"We need Hitachi to think he's being attacked by a small army. The rest of you account for," Hatori looked up as he did the mathematical figures in his head, "eighteen viable combatants, none of which include the Knights that he believes he captured last week. That means we can strike without raising his suspicion. You are the first line of combat. When we attack, our goal will be to take the full attention and brunt of Hitachi's counter forces, without arousing the interest of Hitachi himself."

"Um," Jiro raised a hand at the back of the room. "Pardon me, but that sounds like a really stupid plan. What are we supposed to do, just go out there and die?"

"No, we're supposed to clear the path by grabbing their attention."

"But you said it yourself," Said Ken, "there are only eighteen of us. Just how in the world are we supposed to convince them that we're some big army? And what about the other 192 Knights stationed around the world? Can't we just invite them to join our attack?"

Willis shook his head. "We can't communicate with them via the Digital Band until you leave Realm. The most I can do right now is open portals near all of their current locations, and doing that would lower our defenses here to the point that we'd be basically inviting Hitachi to destroy the only safe haven we have."

"Besides, looks can be deceiving." Said Hatori. "We can use automated systems to make it seem that there are more of us than there really are."

"But," said Sora, "you said he has control over all computer technology. How are we supposed to use 'automated systems?'

"Tin cans and string." Hatori said with a smirk. "There was a time before computers, you know."

Sora looked thoroughly unconvinced.

"Speaking of which," Said Kin. "What's to say the rest of the world doesn't put together an army to stop Hitachi? One that doesn't depend on modern technology?"

"Yeah," echoed TK. "Just old fashioned guns and grenades."

"You mean, besides the fact that they don't know where or when to attack?" Said Willis. "There's also the fact that Hitachi's control over their weapons systems doesn't just prevent modern militaries from attacking him, it also means he has all of their weaponry _under his control_. If they were to attack him, he'd mow them down with their own armory. The armies of the world attacking him right now would be like us storming the beaches of Normandy armed with sling shots and pea shooters."

The weight of the statement caused a notable silence to descend upon the room, broken only by Gatomon sarcastically saying, "Well that makes me feel a lot better."

"Yeah," said Kin. "And isn't that exactly what _we're_ doing? I know Bertha is souped up now and all, but the odds are pretty stacked against us here."

Hatori nodded. "Of course they are. The whole point of this is to cultivate our only advantage here, the element of surprise. We only need to make it until our incursion unit has successfully infiltrated the tower."

"So you're saying that, if those guys get held up for any reason," Matt pointed to where the members or the incursion group stood. "The rest of us are pretty much dead?"

"Did you forget about us, Matt?" said Veemon, puffing his chest out proudly. "We're the heavy hitters. It's not like we're just gonna leave you guys hanging there."

This did nothing to change Matt's unsure expression. "Forgive me if I'm a bit skeptical," he said, "but if you 'heavy hitters' have to be called in before the incursion group gets to the control room, then Hitachi will know something's up and we're all still pretty much screwed, aren't we?"

"You will be fine, Digidestined." The gentle voice drifted in from the doorway, which no one had noticed open in the midst of their conversation. They all stopped talking and collectively turned to see Gennai standing there. He looked haggard and much older than any of them had ever seen. His breath came in heaves and his steps were staggered and uneven. "You all will formulate a strategy that will work. I believe this."

As he began to laboriously walk towards a vacated seat at the table, his entire body flickered, fluctuating between appearing opaque and translucent. At this moment, it was obvious why he hadn't appeared before all of them until now. They had always known that he was dying due to his current condition, but now it was painfully apparent.

"Gennai..." Jun's voiced sounded very emotional, as if she were on the verge of tears. She rushed around the conference table, forcing chairs and people out of the way, and took his arm upon reaching his side. "Let-let me help you."

"Ah Jun, it is good to see you." He said, patting her hand gently as she helped him into his seat. 'Don't worry, I'm fine."

"Even now you still lie." The words were delivered in a serious and graven tone, and all eyes drifted to their source, Keyan. She was glaring daggers at the severely weakened guardian and gave no outward sign of pity or sympathy. "I am done here. You all can continue without me."

Willis quickly rose to his feet, but Keyan stayed him with a shake of her head. "You should remain. They need you. I will be fine. I just-" She glanced over at Gennai once more. "Need to breathe."

With that she stormed out of the room without a look back.

"She'll be okay." said Jun. "She just needs some time."

Gennai simply allowed his gaze to fall on the table before him and didn't respond.

"Okay..." Began Tai awkwardly, unsure of how to transition back to their planning. "So, um, Willis, when does this attack need to take place? When is Hitachi opening that portal?"

Willis sighed and ran a hand through his hair as he reluctantly took his eyes away from the room's doors. "Well, that's the other thing. As I was decrypting the files, a particular message kept appearing, hidden within the code. All it said was 'Project Babel,' with tomorrow's date alongside it."

"Project Babel?"

"No, it makes sense." said Clara. "In the Bible there's a story about something called the "Tower of Babel," when the ancient Babylonians tried to build a tower so tall, it could reach to God Himself." When she saw Terence giving her an impressed look, she shrugged. "I'm just glad to see all those nuns and their rulers taught me _something _useful in school. Anyway, that story describes exactly what Hitachi is trying to do, doesn't it?"

Willis nodded. "In a way, yes. And based on that assumption, plus the timing of the attack on the CADE bunker, we can also assume we know precisely when we need to strike."

"Tomorrow." Said Tai.

"Yes."

"Then we have plans to make, and not a moment to lose."

Terence gave a dismissive wave. "Ah, it's only the afternoon. We have plenty of time."

Krista shook her head. "No. That's ridiculous. We have plenty to plan, and we will all need a good night's rest."

"I was being sarcastic, but okay. So, where to from here?"

"From here," said Hatori, "we break into our three separate groups and work on our individual strategies, then we come together to coordinate them."

"Alright, sounds like a plan." Tai clapped his hands and rubbed them together. "Ladies and gentlemen, let's get to work."

* * *

**Real World: Hitachi Tower, Grand Hall**

Hitachi sat at his ornate throne and looked out over the hundreds of mercenaries and mutants that were seated at tables lining the edges of the grand hall, all wearing anxious expressions that more than conveyed their desire to participate in the carnage that was soon to come. The acrid odor of cigarette smoke mixed with sweat and liquor permeated the room and gave it an aura of lawlessness and disorder that, while somewhat repugnant to the dark demigod, put all of the men at ease.

This was their element, Hitachi knew, a world in which he had never been, and would never be, comfortable. But men needed morale, and for this, the final part of the evil mastermind's grand design, he was more than willing to provide such comforts to his willing army. It would prove to be their final comfort, after all. He gave a nod and immediately the music began, drinks were poured, and the men relaxed amidst a cacophony of laughter and war stories.

"Quite the shiftless spectacle."

Hitachi turned to his appointed second in command and smiled slightly. "You are not enjoying yourself, Assassin?"

"Not in the slightest. These men, they should be preparing for war, not celebrating like fools."

"Oh come now. What war? Tomorrow, the joining will be complete."

"With all due respect, you may be underestimating these people of this world. Once they have an idea of what you are planning to do- and considering the magnitude of it, they'll have an inkling- they will fight you. Futile as it may ultimately prove to be, they will fight."

"Humph, you forget that this was my world long before it was yours. I understand these people better than you ever could. They fear the unknown, Assassin, are deathly terrified of it, in fact. They will not do battle with an opponent they do not understand, whose power they cannot comprehend. The will watch their world fall and welcome their imminent deaths much in the way these men will, ignorantly unaware."

"You are very confident," said Jade, who stood to Hitachi's left. "Perhaps recklessly so." Hitachi was not beyond realizing that the words harkened back to their earlier conversation. The incredible nerve of that woman. More than ever, he was starting to believe that she would make a magnificent empress.

"No, my dear. Confidence can be a weakness. What I am is knowledgeable. I understand these people, blind sheep that would follow anyone to their slaughter. They are still discovering technologies that I invented in my infancy, finding worlds that I created, making medical discoveries that I first came upon over fifty years ago. When you look at me, at the immense power that I have already attained, the intellect that I possess, it becomes obvious what the ultimate end of my many labors has truly become. But them, look at them. Do they have any clue what power, what glory the fruits of their technological "developments" could achieve? Of course not. Not even when confronted with a man with enough influence to hold their entire world hostage do they understand what true power is.

"And yet it is they, fools that they are, that have stripped me of all of the glory my accomplishments should have brought. My own works may have attracted the attention of those damnable gods, but it's gullible worthless masses whose emotions and decisions actually convinced them to come here. They hold an incredible amount leverage and power over these beings and don't even realize it."

"And so, you will realize that power yourself."

"That's right. Why fight the gods who have taken so much from me when I can simply join them and have their power become my own?"

The Assassin nodded. "But that power comes with a condition. You made a deal, did you not?"

"Yes. As you know, he desires our world, but not to dwell within it. And my fulfilling those conditions is where our true contract will be completed."

Hitachi chuckled to himself as he looked around the hall. Yes, once the contract was completed, he would never have to concern himself with any of these ignorant blights ever again. Still, it didn't escape his notice that one of them was conspicuously missing.

"It seems our festivities here are a guest short." He said, addressing the panel of advisors that stood behind his throne. They consisted of five learned men and scientists he'd bought or otherwise blackmailed into his service. "Why?"

One of the men cleared his throat and stepped forward. "The lead geneticist was busy with his ongoing research, and could not attend, sir."

"Not him. That, I anticipated. And obviously Miko is busy, as well. But where is the dear Mr. Barke? Don't tell me he has had a change of heart and has defected already. I'd hoped to see the look on his face when I betrayed him, first."

One of the other advisors stepped forward stepped forward when the first seemed suddenly unable to speak. "He was, ah- incinerated, sir, along with the rest of CADE's forces after we tracked him to their hidden bunker last week."

"What?"

"Y-you are correct in your infinite wisdom, sir. The late Mr. Barke did prove to be quite treasonous, but as I said, he was disposed of."

"But NOT before he had made his way to CADE's bunker and possibly informed them of our plans?"

"Well, yes sir, but-"

"But nothing!" Hitachi turned around, his eyes flaring white with raw power. "You failed me! Why was I not told of this?"

"Well sir, you um, had more pressing matters-"

"I will decide what matters to me!" Hitachi scowled and closed his eyes. "Now all of you, die!"

The room began to quake, and each of the advisors standing behind Hitachi collapsed to the floor, never to stir again.

"Useless." The dark being took a large, steadying breath, exhaling slowly. "It does not matter. Our time is soon at hand. They are likely dead, and even if they did somehow escape, there is nothing they can do to stop me. They would not even know where I am. Their champion Knights are in my grasp. And they would have no idea what I am now capable of. A minor speed bump, at best."

The Assassin stepped closer to the throne and nodded. "You're right sir. It's only a inconsequential annoyance. Nothing to concern ourselves with."

Hitachi folded his hands and brought his fingertips to his chin. The Assassin was right. It was inconsequential in the end. Hitachi had managed to keep much of tomorrow's plan from Barke's knowledge, and even if the unseemly maggot had managed to pass on any information before he'd perished, they were well prepared for any attack the outside world could muster. But one thing still nagged at him. He turned his attention to his most loyal disciple.

"Assassin, did you know of any of this?"

"Of course not, sir. If I had, it would have most definitely been taken care of and you would have been informed."

Hitachi took a moment study the validity of the statement, but ultimately could decipher nothing from it. "And the business with Ineg is complete?"

"Yes sir."

"And is there anything else I should be concerned with?"

"Other than entering the portal once the power level has been reached, no sir. I will personally make sure of that."

"Make sure that you do." Hitachi stood from his throne and took note of the silence that had settled upon the room. Many of the men's eyes were now trained on the bodies of his dead advisors. "Return to your revelry men!" He commanded. "Tonight is a celebration!"

With several shouts of affirmation, the men did exactly that, wisely choosing to ignore what they deemed to be none of their business.

"Assassin, have this mess cleaned up. I will retire to my chamber for now. Make sure that the men are ready when the time comes."

"As you command, sir."

With that, Hitachi made his way out of the grand hall, still fuming at the incompetence of his subordinates. He consoled himself with the thought that he would only have to put up with their many failures for one more day.

_That's right,_ he smiled to himself, _in one more day it will be over. It will ALL be over._

* * *

**Later: The Digital Realm**

The large fire in the middle of the clearing beside the lake raged on brightly, its flickering embers drifting up into the Realm's starry sky. Scattered around the expansive clearing were all of the digidestined digimon, either seated on a number of large logs arranged around the fire in a wide circle, or beside the fire roasting hotdogs and marshmallows. A stereo had even been set up and was currently blasting a series of up tempo party songs from Matt and Terence's respective albums.

"Nice fire Agumon built there." Marta said to Sparks, who was sitting beside her. The two of them were alone on their particular log, and enjoyed each other's company as they observed everyone else.

Sparks shrugged. "I don't know. I'd be kinda embarrassed if I knew my breath could do something like that."

Marta laughed and pushed him on the shoulder. "You're bad."

"So I've been told. Why do you suppose Agumon called us all out here? Even Terriermon and Lopmon came, but it doesn't seem like we're really doing anything."

"Who knows. Maybe he figured we all needed to hang out before going to fight tomorrow. Whatever the reason, I'm not complaining."

A group of digimon approached them then; Pings, Hawkmon, Gomamon, and Patamon. The latter was enduring the unyielding teasing of the other three, who were all joking about the unfortunate travails of his recent love life.

"Guys," said Marta as the group took up perches on the large log beside them. "Leave him alone. We all know how much he liked Gatomon."

"Are you kidding me?" Patamon threw his paws in the air. "Why does everyone keep saying this?"

"Oh, I dunno," said Sparks, "because you always follow her around like a lovesick puppy-er guinea pig, or hamster or whatever?"

Patamon sighed angrily. "Of course I do! We're best friends! We've known each other forever and she's like a sister to me. I only follow her around because she insists on being in charge all the time."

"Then what's up with the crazy jealousy at Veemon?" Asked Hawkmon. "You know, it doesn't suit you."

"Yeah, well you see how you feel when you all of a suddenly lose your best friend. I mean I knew they were getting close back at the chamber, but at least they included me when we all hung out! Now look at them!" Patamon gestured across the fire to where Veemon and Gatomon were seated, laughing and talking with one another and pretty much ignoring everyone else.

"So?" said Sparks. "Veemon's one of my best friends. Lived with the guy for years. You don't see me complaining."

"That's because A, Veemon can be pretty annoying, and B, you have-" Patamon glanced at Marta, "other people to think about."

"Hey!" Marta blushed and smiled. "Never mind that. The real question is, do _you_ have 'other people' to think about?"

"What?" Patamon's eyes nervously flicked in a certain direction before he brought his gaze back to her. "What're you talking about?"

Sparks quickly looked it the same direction Patamon had, and turned back. "Oh, I totally saw that!"

"What? Saw what?"

"I saw who you were looking at. Don't try to play it off."

"I'm not-"

"So you Patmons stick together, eh?"Sparks turned to the others and held a hand out. "Wormmon, Pings, you guys have to pay up."

"Damn it." Muttered Pings. "Patamon, you couldn't be even a little bit subtle?"

"You guys were betting on this?" Patamon let out another angry sigh. "I hate all of you so much."

"Yeah, yeah," Gomamon waved him off. "So why don't you go talk to her?"

"It's none of your business, ok?"

"Scared?" Asked Sparks.

"Scared." Pings confirmed when Patamon didn't respond.

"Terrified." Added Hawkmon and Wormmon in unison.

Marta place a reassuring hand on Patamon's back. "You know, it might not be so bad. I know Peko pretty well. She doesn't bite."

"No, she eviscerates."

"Sparks!"

"What? I don't blame him. She's like a two foot tall Kuri. That's still scary as hell."

Gabumon walked over then, munching on a hot dog on a stick. "Hey guys, what are you all doing huddled over here? What's up?"

Sparks pointed at Patamon. "Not your buddy here's love life."

"What?"

Patamon explained. "They think I had a crush on Gatomon."

"Ewww, that would be like me liking Biyomon. She's practically your sister."

"Thank-you!"

"Well," said Wormmon, "the funny part is who he _does_ like."

"Who, Peko? Why is that funny?"

"Gah!" Patamon exclaimed. "You know too? Is this like, common knowledge? Why does everyone know this?"

Gabumon smiled. "I didn't really, until just now."

Sparks grinned. "Nicely played."

"Thank-you." Gabumon took a small bow.

Patamon sighed and wore an expression that couldn't have looked more miserable.

"Hmmm..." Said Gomamon, finger to his chin as he looked into the distance. "Gabumon, is there any reason that Palmon over there would be staring at you like she is?"

"What? Really? Is she?" Gabumon looked around frantically and reflexively began smoothing his fur.

"No." Gomamon said casually, "but you totally just fell for your own trick."

"And practically choked on his hotdog doing it." added Hawkmon

Gabumon's expression dropped as everyone laughed. "I hope you all know just how much you suck."

"Thanks Gomamon." Patamon said with a grateful smile.

"Don't thank me just yet, bud. You're going from the frying pan to the fire now."

"What?' Patamon turned just in time to see Peko walking over, flanked by Palmon and Taps.

"Hey guys." Taps said as he walked past Patamon and took a seat on the log beside the others.

Peko, however, stopped and looked at the group suspiciously. "Why are you guys all of a sudden so quiet?"

Upon getting no answer, she turned her attention to the usual suspects. "Marta, Sparks, what's going on here? And what does it apparently have to do with me?"

The amount of glances that shifted in Patamon's direction couldn't have betrayed him any more effectively.

Peko put her paws on her hips and glared. "Oh come on guys, you're teasing him about Gatomon and Veemon again?"

"Actually, no." Said Sparks. "He said he didn't like Gatomon, at least not that way. We were busting his chops about who he _does_ like."

"Oh, really?" Said Peko curiously. "And who- _oh_." She paused suddenly, seeming to have just put two and two together. "Well that- um, ok…"

"Yeah," Patamon scratched the back of his head nervously. "And I uh…"

"Wow," Marta said, smiling as she rolled her eyes. "How articulate are these guys?"

Sparks jumped down from the log and gave Patamon a rough pat on the back, forcing him to stumble forward and bump into Peko.

"Hey!" She protested, giving her old friend a glare. "What's up with-"

Sparks cut her off. "Hey, have you guys tried some of the smores Tentomon and Gotsumon over there have been making by the fire?"

As Peko gave Sparks a bewildered stare, Patamon quickly caught on. "Oh, uh- yeah!" he said. "I've uh heard that they are good." He turned to Peko. "Want to try them out?"

"Just the two of us? Um, sure." Peko gave a shy smile. "If you want to, I mean."

"Of course I-!" Patamon had to catch himself and calm down. "I mean, yeah."

"Okay," Peko giggled, "Let's go then."

As the two headed off together, Marta turned to Sparks. "Wow, you did something very cool there."

He retook his seat. "I'd take that as a compliment if you didn't sound so surprised."

"Yeah, well." Marta moved closer and sidled up against him. "You're a good guy Sparks."

"Thanks." He said, uncharacteristically finding himself at a loss for words. He attempted to enjoy the moment for what it was, but, of course, it was soon ruined.

"Awww, you're a good guy Sparks," cooed Pings in a taunting high-pitched voice, batting his eyes exaggeratedly. "Give me lots of kisses and love me forever you big hunk-a Elecmon you."

Amid the laughter of the others, Marta rose to her feet and glared at him. "You're so dead, bird." She growled.

Pings smartly leapt down from the log and immediately took off with a scream of fear. As Marta gave chase, the others laughed about the unenviable Penguinmon's plight, then started in again with their good-natured ribbing of one another. It went on this way for a while before Agumon finally stepped into the middle of the clearing in front of the fire and cleared his throat loudly to get everyone's attention.

"Guys," he began, once the music had been stopped and they'd sufficiently quieted down. "I didn't just call for this meeting so that we could hang out and have fun. I also have something very important that I want to share with you."

"Well get on with it!" shouted Gomamon, "because I want to get back to the hanging out and having fun!"

Agumon sighed with a smile and shook his head. "Eleven years I've known that guy and he's never changed one bit."

The others chuckled, then Agumon continued. "No, I called this meeting because I realized something important about all of this and what will be happening tomorrow. I was going to keep it to myself, but Biyomon convinced me that I should share this with you."

A provocative "oooooh" went up from the audience.

"Would you guys shut up!" Biyomon shouted, a slight smile betraying her embarrassment. "Let him talk."

"Thank you," said Agumon, before starting again. "What I want to say is that, with the digital world sealed off now, we are the only ones from our dimension that will be fighting for the world of the humans tomorrow. That is a huge responsibility guys, and they're really going to be depending on each and every one of us."

"And we're ready!" said Gatomon.

Several others responded with shouts of agreement.

"I know you are. But we're also different from our partners because even though eight of us are Knighted digimon, there's no difference between us and the rest of you other than training and that we can digivolve to our mega forms. That means there will be times tomorrow when all of you will be just as much in the battle as the rest of us. I want to thank you for that."

"Where else would we be?" said Armadillomon. "We're all best friends!"

"Yeah," said Marta. "They know we ride or die together!"

"I know. I know. But I just wanted to say that, no matter what happens tomorrow, I love you guys, and it's truly an honor to call all of you my friends."

At that, Veemon ran up and threw his arms around Agumon. "Aw, we love you too, buddy!"

Several others ran over to join them, quickly turning the hug into something that more closely resembled a dog pile.

Gabumon chuckled to himself as he watched the chaos unfold. "Wow can we ever really have a serious moment?"

"Of course not," replied Sparks. "If we could, we wouldn't be digimon."

"Yeah silly," said Palmon. "Drama is what we have the humans for." She grabbed Gabumon's hand. "Come on, let's get in on the group hug!"

Gabumon swallowed loudly at the sudden gesture. "Um yeah, sure-" he began, before being interrupted by the jerk of her dragging him away.

Sparks watched them go with a grin. He remembered back to when he'd seen all of them as marks to be exploited for money. To be honest, part of him still saw them all that way, but now they also meant so much more. Marta was right, they did all "ride or die" together, and the surprising truth was, if it came down to it, he'd give his life for any of them tomorrow.

Of course, he'd rather cut off his own foot than tell anyone that, but it was still nice to know just how far he'd come.

* * *

The Academy's rec room had significantly more occupants that it had ever seen at this time of night during any of its terms. Currently every one of its plush chairs, couches, and bean bags was occupied with the form of a dozing or almost dozing digidestined. Instead of returning to their rooms for a night's rest, many of the digidestined, save for a few, had simply rearranged the furniture in the room to create beds and mattresses so that they could spend the night there. Scattered around the floor were small pallets for the digimon, when they arrived.

The whole affair had started with many of them just sitting in the room, discussing their concerns about the coming day, then Mimi had departed and returned with a blanket and a couple of pillows for she and Izzy, and soon enough everyone else had followed suit. Terence supposed it was a reaction to some type of Freudian reflex involving them wanting to all be together on what could possibly be their last night with one another, but he didn't know. He usually left that kind of psychobabble thinking to Jun.

Now the last of them to fall asleep-Matt, Sora, Terence, Clara, and Cody- were continuing a quiet conversation, at this point speaking of what they would do once the war was over.

"I'm going to rebuild my house, obviously." Said Matt as he reclined across a couch and stifled a yawn. He looked absolutely worn down by the events of the day, as did Sora. Both were barely awake. "Though, somehow I doubt it was insured for digimon-mutant battle damage."

"And I really liked that patio, too." Sora sighed, her eyes closed as she lay beside Matt and rested her head on his chest. "We had the doors custom made by one of my designer friends in Paris and shipped out specially. That was you that destroyed those, wasn't it Agumon?"

Clara smiled. "Sora sweetie, Agumon's not here. The digimon are all still out at that bonfire thing they put together."

"Oh...yeah." Sora mumbled, snuggling deeper against her fiancé. "Whatever..."

"Well," said Terence, "I don't have a house to rebuild, but I do have to rebuild my public persona, I guess. I don't think the gentle lover bachelor routine is going to work anymore now that everyone knows I'm in a serious relationship and go to war with mutants and soldiers of fortune every other night."

"Maybe we could do a collaboration or something." suggested Matt.

Terence's eyes lit up. "Now that's an idea. There would be a lot of profit there..."

"Yeah, yeah." Clara stood up from the couch and stretched. "You guys can talk about that stuff later, after we beat Hitachi. For now we all need to get some rest."

"Here, here." Matt mumbled quietly. "It's been quite a day..." He turned and joined Sora in gently snoring in mere seconds.

Clara smiled at them as walked past and over to where Rosa and Curtis were sleeping side by side on a large and very comfortable looking fold out futon. She picked up a folded blanket and began unfurling it.

"You baby them, you know." Terence teased.

"So? They worked so hard today…harder than any of us. Curtis has to be on both sides of this, doing all the technical stuff, and having to be the muscle too. And Rosa stays with him through every step…"

Terence gave a small nod. "He needs her. My brother's mind changes like the wind, always jumping from one thing to the next or causing him to doubt himself. Rosa keeps him focused and grounded better than I ever could."

"She's so strong…" A loving smile crossed Clara's face as she looked down at her slumbering cousin, causing Terence's heart to melt. "The both of them. I can't imagine facing all this at their age."

Clara neatly lay the blanket over the two sleeping teenagers and leaned down to give Rosa a kiss on the forehead. To Terence's surprise, she moved over and gave Curtis a kiss, also. She looked up and noticed his expression and shrugged. "I feel like he's my little brother too."

"Yeah, I was just thinking that never in a million years would I get one of those from Rosa."

"Aww, would you _want_ one from her?"

"Hell no. Just making an observation."

Clara turned her attention back to the exhausted couple. "It's really not fair to them. I mean, you and I, we've had some time to live, to grow up. They're still just kids. They shouldn't be having to face all this."

"Yeah, I know. Sometimes I forget that with Curtis, since he acts like a 40 year old so much."

Clara giggled. "Go easy on him. It's not his fault he has to compensate for his goofy, immature, older brother."

"Yeah." Terence's smile ebbed a bit. "But that's true though. If he wasn't the way he is, I wouldn't have had anybody growing up to talk common sense into me, basically keep my ass in line. Honestly, I was always just one step away from going to somebody's prison. It really wasn't fair to him."

"I know what you mean, but it's okay. It was already his personality. You just brought more of it out of him. It's a good thing really."

"You think so?"

"Of course I do. I mean, take me, for example. I was really protective even before my parents introduced me to this little rambunctious runt that liked to run around and get into everything, then told me I had to baby-sit her. She just made me take it to another level."

Terence chuckled. "Was she really bad?"

"Oh yeah. You better believe it. I mean, she was always a little tomboy that thought she ran the world, but after she got Gotsumon and met Ken and Matt… you couldn't say anything to her. It was always 'well me and Ken and Matt saved Mexico, so blah blah blah…' like that was enough to get her out of trouble for breaking a lamp or painting the dog."

"Painting the dog?" Terence laughed. "I used to do that. Called it 'Fido tagging.'"

"Oh my god, are you serious? What's wrong with me and Curtis?" Clara walked over and retook her seat beside him. "Are we just drawn to you crazy people?"

"Maybe so. But seriously, you did great job with her. She loves you more than anything. You guys are sisters much more than cousins."

"I know. And I've been able to keep her out of a lot of trouble over the years, but more than anything I just wish I could protect her from tomorrow."

"She's going to be okay. We all will. We didn't spend all night coming up with these elaborate plans just to go out there and get killed. Hitachi is about to get rocked."

"You sound as confident as Davis."

"We all should."

"Hmm," Clara leaned against his shoulder. "Yeah, I guess so."

He draped an arm around her and nodded. "Of course. Hey, look at the two lovebirds over there."

She followed his gesture to where Cody and Noriko were seated, the latter fast asleep with her head lying on the former's lap. Cody was gazing down at his new girlfriend with a distant smile.

Clara giggled at the sight.

Cody must have sensed their gazes on him, because it was at this moment that he looked up. Upon noticing them watching him, his cheeks immediately flushed with color. "W-what is it?" He whispered.

Terence nodded towards Noriko. "It's nice, isn't it?"

Cody glanced down at the girl and a small smile crossed his face as he watched her stir and quietly moan before returning to fitful sleep. "Yes, it is."

"Awww..." Clara squeezed Terence's arm. "You can just see how much he loves her already. They're so cute."

"Sweetheart, you're embarrassing him now."

"Oh, he's fine. Now Cody, you take care of her okay? I know you will, but it's still my duty as a woman to threaten you with bodily harm if you don't."

"Don't worry. I will." He brushed a stray bang from Noriko's forehead. "I always knew that I was drawn to Noriko, even back when I first met her during the dark spores incident. I just wish I had figured it out and told her sooner. We shouldn't have waited so long."

"Don't worry." Said Terence. "You'll have plenty of time left yet. You'll see."

Cody smiled and gave him a nod. "Right."

A silence fell as they allowed Cody to return to his vigil

"You do a great job with that, you know." Clara said quietly through a yawn.

"What?"

"They way you are. Just naturally. Whether you're joking around or serious. You make people feel like everything's going to be okay, make them want to fight for the future."

"So, in other words, I'm _inspirational_? Hmm, wonder where you got that from."

She reprimanded him with a slap on the leg. "Shut-up, you know what I mean."

"Yeah," Terence gave her a kiss on the forehead. "I do. I was thinking that maybe I should make some use of that tomorrow."

"Yeah." said Clara, her voice drifting away already. "Maybe you should..."

* * *

It was eerie, to put it simply, the way that it seemed that everything was exactly as they'd left it. Since they had last been here, sitting in this very spot watching the distant treetops gently sway in the cool night breeze, so much in their lives had changed. They'd been faced with the harsh reality of what it was that they were being trained to do in their time at the Academy. They had watched friends die, helplessly witnessed the world be torn asunder at the hands of a madman, and ultimately found themselves in a position of desperation, depending on a last ditch plan riddled with countless potential holes, in a final effort to return some level of normalcy to their lives and the world at large.

"It _is_ different, isn't it?" Davis asked, reading her thoughts.

Kuri turned to him, part of her wondering why he'd bothered to say it out loud. "Yes. Compared to what's going on now, it's almost like our training here was just a great summer camp, combines and all."

Davis smiled, exhibiting that level of calm and confidence that had become his trademark as of late. "It kind of was, though, wasn't it? I mean, it was definitely the best year of my life."

He gave her a significant look and a small squeeze.

"Mine too, which I'm sure you know. But compared to the way it feels to be here now, back then now seems like it was some kind of utopia."

"Yeah," Davis chuckled. "But then that was back before we had to come face to face with reality. We were always training to do what we're doing now, but I don't think we really realized just how bad it could be. I don't think any of us really thought it could come to this."

Kuri let out a sigh that she had felt building up for quite some time. "After that meeting, it seems like putting everything right... Well, it's going to be very hard."

"Most things worth doing usually are," Davis's tone was comforting, "but we're going to do it. That much I know."

Kuri drifted closer to Davis and, with a finger to his chin, gently turned his head to face her. "Have I told you how much I love you in the last ten minutes?"

"Well, not in words, exactly."

She captured his lips with hers and he wrapped his arms around her waist as the kiss deepened and they gradually allowed their minds to meld into one another.

A sudden scuffling noise broke their kiss. As the two came apart in surprise, the top of the ledge ladder shook and a voice drifted up as a pair of dainty hands appeared on the top rung. Kari's head suddenly lifted over the edge and a wide smile crossed her face.

"They're up here." She said. "Just like Tai said."

"Okay," grunted a voice from below that sounded like TK.

"Damn you, Tai." Kuri whispered with a groan.

Davis took in the approaching girl with a puzzled expression. "Kari, what is this about?"

"Sorry to interrupt you guys," Kari apologized, between heavy breaths. "I-" She paused, turning to help TK up onto the ledge. "We need to ask you something."

Davis turned a more than suspicious eye on the couple as they settled themselves on the relatively small overhang.

"This couldn't have waited?"

Kari shook her head adamantly. "It's important."

"Okay then," Kuri said cautiously. "What exactly is it, then?"

Kari bit her lip and looked between the two Knights at first, which definitely didn't make Davis feel any better about whatever it was she had to say. "You're really going to do it aren't you? Both of you. You're going to go after Hitachi through that portal."

"Of course we are, Kari. We only went over this like a billion times in the War Room. If this is only way we can reach an ethereal dimension, like Miracles told Davis to, we're going for it. It's our only chance. Why?"

"Well, I-" Kari bit her lip. "I want to go with you."

"You what?" Davis glanced from her to TK, who returned the look with a resigned shrug. They'd obviously been over this. Davis turned back to her. "Kari, you can't."

"Why not?" There was a well-rehearsed defiance in Kari's reply. She'd been prepared for that response. "I have every bit as much ability to go to one of these dimensions as you two do."

"Maybe so, but we can't be sure-"

"But _you_ can be? That doesn't make any sense. I have the Crest of Light, just like you have the Shield of Miracles. Light is one of these ethereal gods, just like Miracles is. So what's the difference?"

Kuri could tell by the tone of Kari's voice that the distressed girl was already expecting a certain reply from Davis. She mentally instructed him to tread lightly with his next words.

He didn't listen. "Kari, look, Light completely bailed on us. There's no guarantee she's going to be there to protect you. It's not worth the risk."

Kuri was just about to scold him for his less than tactful choice in words when she noticed a slight change in her old friend's demeanor. She looked defeated. Kuri reached out towards her. "Kari-"

Kari flinched away from her touch. "No. It's true." she brought her knees up close to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. A blank look crossed her face as she stared out to the realm horizon. "She did leave. Like you said before. She thinks this fight is futile. She thinks I'm not good enough."

"Kari-" The sympathetic incantation of her name came from Davis, Kuri, and TK together. With an angry sigh, Kari summarily hushed all three.

"Look, I can handle the truth, ok? She gave up, right? Gave up on all of us, gave up on me..."

Kari fell silent and her eyes moistened with the threat of tears, but she held them back with a determined scowl. "I mean, even Davis here, who's all of a sudden the spokesman for optimism and us being able to do anything- even he doesn't think she'll protect me if I tried to go to this ethereal realm. Not that I blame him..."

Kuri, becoming exasperated with what she perceived to be her friend's indulgence in self pity, blurted, "And what's that supposed to mean?"

"You know. I mean, come on. Back when I was eight, twelve even, I really did have some of the qualities that the Light was looking for. I really did want what was best for everyone. I put the welfare of my friends first. But then, as time passed, and we no longer had threats attacking our worlds every week, I guess I started getting…selfish."

"But that's natural Kari," said Davis. "You can't go through your life trying to live up to some ideal that's impossible.'

Kari shook her head. "Did Tai stop being courageous? Did you all of a sudden start giving up on everything? No. Things changed, but it didn't change who you were. Me, on the other hand, I started to be selfish. I started putting my own interests first. We already covered how I treated you, how I basically abandoned my own brother…"

"Kari, come on. You made some mistakes, but that's a part of being human."

"No, Davis! No, it's not." Kari shook her head stubbornly after the outburst. "Not for me. Do you see what it's done to the world? She trusted me. I was the Child of Light for a reason, and I threw it all away for my own interests. She didn't lose her faith in humanity. She lost her faith in me. Now the entire world has to pay for it."

"Kari, this isn't your fault."

"Davis, don't try to-"

"It's NOT your fault, Kari. And trust me, I felt the exact same way as you after she decided not to help us. She might be your Crest, but she was talking to me when she made that decision."

"So then you know how it feels!"

Davis sighed. "Maybe a little. It was a lot of the reason I turned into such a violent jerk the past few days. I tried to hide it, but my sister called me out on it. She always does." He shook his head and smiled slightly. "Still, it was the wrong way for me to think."

"Yeah, easy for you to say. You got to meet Miracles. You know what he thinks of you."

"Don't you see, Kari? This is what they do, Darkness and Light. They have their own agenda, and it doesn't matter who they hurt or destroy in the process. I mean, doesn't it strike you as a little bit ridiculous that they only give their power to people who either hold themselves to such a high level of selflessness and perfection that they basically give up on life itself, or who are willing to go so low as to take millions of lives without any real cause?"

Kuri looked at Davis curiously. Something about his emotions had changed, She could feel his usual optimism as now tinged with a bit of anger.

"Their battle is not ours." He continued, his voice a bit lower as he stared out over the plain. "I've been thinking about this a lot lately. We've been their pawns for far too long and it's past time that we took our destinies back into our own hands."

"But what about Miracles?" Asked TK. "Isn't he just the same as them? Isn't he just another God with a stake in this battle?"

"Yes, but the difference is that his stake is _our_ stake. All he wants is for us to have control in our lives, to give us our own power so we aren't always catering to Darkness and Light."

"Fine, but even so, what is he? How do you know we can trust him?"

Davis glanced at TK. "I can't answer those questions. Not the way that you want me to anyway. I just know that I do trust him."

Kuri leaned toward Davis and rested her head on his shoulder. "And that's more than enough for me."

Kari sighed, her expression only slightly less disturbed than it had been minutes before. She stared at Davis for a long moment with a look of consternation before finally saying, "Me too, I guess."

"It's good enough for all of us," said TK. "Because it'll have to be." The statement carried a foreboding gravity that he probably didn't intend, but nevertheless, the small rooftop fell quiet as everyone considered his words.

"I understand how you feel, Kari," Davis said quietly. "Trust me, I do, but if we're going to do this thing tomorrow, you're going to have to concentrate and give your all to your role in the mission. You can't be concerned with what's happened with you and the Light. We'll all need to do it as brothers in arms…er, sisters too. You know what I mean."

"Yeah, I do." Kari muttered. "With the way relationships are going around here, if we get out of this alive, the four of us are all gonna wind up related someday anyway."

Kuri looked between the four of them as she mentally went through their relations in her head. "The eight of us, you mean. God, when it's all said and done, _I'm_ going to wind up as a something in law to _Sora_, and so will Tai and Jun."

"That's one gigantic, messed up family right there." Said TK with a smile.

"Well, I think I'll go ahead and take this opportunity to nominate Matt and Sora to host all of the Holiday get-togethers."

"Seconded." Davis and TK said together.

Kari actually cracked a smile. "And then there's our digimon." She said, indicating her and Davis.

Kuri frowned. "Oh no, don't even go there. It's not just Gatomon and Veemon either." She turned to TK. "You know Peko likes Patamon?"

He nodded and laughed. "Yeah, and it's mutual."

She groaned. "They couldn't at least wait one more week to hit their digi puberty?"

He shrugged. "Maybe they had to wait for us to get our stuff sorted out first."

"Maybe." Kuri chuckled and settled back into a comfortable position against Davis. For a fleeting moment she recalled the first conversation they'd ever had while sitting on the small ledge. The irony of who they were now sitting there with did not escape her.

_I know. It's crazy, right?_

Kuri grinned at the transmitted thought from her perceptive boyfriend and glanced over at their friends. Kari had settled beside TK much in the same way as she was beside Davis. The time when the four of them had been nothing more than friends seemed so long ago now. For a while, they allowed the wind and rustling tress in the distance to fill in the silence, but before long TK posed the question that was in the back of everyone's minds.

"Do you think we can pull this thing off, tomorrow?"

Davis turned to him. "Do you?"

"I think we have to…so yeah, I guess. When we have to, we always do. But then, I do have the Crest of Hope. I might not know any better."

"No, you're right," said Kuri. "We're all here for a reason, and I think tomorrow we will all find out what that reason for each of us is."

"That's how it was last time," said Kari. "We all had a role to play, and it was only together, with each and every one of us, that we were able to find out what that role was in order to win."

"That's right," said Davis with a nod. "And this time's not going to be any different. Trust me when I say that the last person I'd want to be tomorrow is Myotis Hitachi."

* * *

The violent images flashed through Jun's mind once again. Terrifying, horrible, images of death and destruction that lacked the cohesion of plot or discernible substance. They seemed only to convey a general theme of chaotic devastation. Her friend's voices screamed out in pain, the world cried out in agony, and a foreboding sense of doom began to envelop her psyche.

Abruptly, Jun's eyes shot open. She was greeted by the faint red LCD display of an alarm clock on a nearby nightstand. Its meager glow was enough to cast a glinting reflection off her shield, which had been placed nearby. The sight of the intimately familiar object caused Jun to let out a slight sigh of relief. They were still there, at the academy, and by the look of the unfamiliar bed sheets on top of her and the misplaced furniture around the room, in Tai's bedroom. The thought brought her attention to the source of the warm fleshy surface that her head currently lay upon.

The steady rhythm of Tai's breathing and the rise and fall of his chest would normally have sent Jun back to her world of slumber, but a musing expression crossed her face as she tried to allow her mounting anxiety to be assuaged by his presence. The cadence of his heartbeat was a bit too rapid, his breathing more shallow and quicker than it should have been.

"Tai," she said in a voice weakened by sleep, "you're supposed to be getting some rest."

"So are you." he said, squeezing her tightly.

Jun rose from his chest and propped her head up on one elbow. She gave him a gaze that was affectionate, yet stern. "We can't do this, can we?"

Tai's gaze shifted down towards her and he shook his head. "I know I can't. There's no way I would ever be able to sleep, knowing what's in store for us tomorrow."

"You're cute, o' fearless leader."

Tai shrugged. "Fearlessness is overrated. It tends to get you killed."

"Sounds like something Terence would say."

"Yeah. He has his moments."

There was a moment of silence as the two simply found comfort in each other's presence, but, like so many such moments recently, it quickly passed and Jun sat up as a disturbing thought occurred to her.

"Hm-?" Tai mumbled absently at the sudden move, his mind likely already re-occupied with the events of the coming day.

"That's just what we have to be tomorrow, isn't it?"

"What?"

"Fearless. We can't be concerned for ourselves. We have to know, to be fully willing, to give our lives in this battle."

Tai slowly nodded. "We have to be. Anything less will probably end in failure."

Jun frowned. She hadn't quite articulated her thought fully. What she'd wanted to say was that some of them _would_ die. There was no denying it. But the experience they'd had at the Rainbow Bridge wouldn't allow her to say something like that out loud. She'd become too intimate with her own mortality now to revisit the dark place where her mind had buried the horrifying event.

But then, who was she to have reservations about giving her life for a cause? Truth be told, her life was the least she could give to the world.

Jun bowed her head and allowed her eyes to gently shut. A shiver passed over her as she considered the magnitude of her next words. "Sometimes…sometimes I feel we owe it to the world…like we're paying for our past sins."

Tai sat up at this and narrowed his gaze at her with concern. "What do you mean? What sins?"

"As a nation." Jun wandered over to the window and stared out of it, allowing moonlight to scatter evenly across her scantily clad frame. "We like to act like Hitachi is just some aberration, some evil, power hungry man that came out of nowhere wanting glory and supremacy and control."

"If he's not, then what is he?"

"He's the last remnant of one of the most evil groups in human history."

"Who?"

"Unit 731, Tai." Jun looked at him expectantly and he nodded slowly as understanding dawned upon him. "We both know perfectly well who they were and what they did. Maybe the rest of the world only thinks about the Nazi's and their war crimes, but me, I can't forgotten. I'll never forget. I've seen the records in the CADE files, seen the inhuman atrocities they committed against millions of Chinese, Russian, and American POWs. They tested biological weapons, medical theories, hell, even experimental surgeries on millions of innocent men, women and children. And they kept the records of their horrible experiments on the computers that Hitachi created. Our country has tried for so long to hide the evidence of the heinous crimes it committed against humanity, to make everyone forget… and in the eyes of the world at large, we've succeeded for the most part. But you can only run from and try to hide a legacy for so long, Tai. By not addressing our past, head on, the way we should have, we let its last remnant fester and grow…and eventually become the greatest evil our world has ever faced."

"Jun, I love you."

"What? Did you hear any of what I just said?"

"Of course I did. Every single word. And I love you for every one of them."

Jun chuckled to herself as Tai rose from the bed and walked over to wrap his arms around her waist, the taut musculature of his bare chest and torso creating waves of pleasure wherever it came into contact with her back. After letting out a low sigh, she turned slightly and kissed his temple as he nuzzled her neck. "I should've known it would be impossible to get anything through your rather… amorous feelings tonight."

"Áw, come on, you know you got through loud and clear. That's one thing I've always admired about you, the way you take on the problems of others as your own."

"You do it too, you know."

"Hm, do I?"

"Yes, sometimes I forget that Davis is _my_ brother, the way you are towards him."

"What do you mean?"

"You're so dedicated to him, to what he has to do. Like today, in the meeting. Whatever Davis feels it is he as to accomplish, I know you'll be there first in line to make sure he does it."

"I don't know. Sometimes I think it's just my own pride that compels me to do that. It's a part of being a leader worthy of his trust. I have to make sure he gets where he needs to be. Would you say that's maybe selfish?"

"You're cute."

"No, seriously Jun, Do you-"

"Shh." Jun broke from his hold and gently pulled his arms as she walked across the room. She lowered herself back to the bed, a seductive smile playing across her face. "Come here."

For a moment, there was a perplexed expression on Tai's face, and Jun knew full well what the motivation for it was; Tai, his mind ever focused on completing the task that had been set before them, did not want to admit that this may be their last night together, and by treating it as nothing special, he wouldn't be confronted with the possibility of failure, or worse, the thought of losing her. Jun however, was having none of that. She knew that it was quite possible that this _could _truly be their last night together. She was determined to make it one to remember.

"But-"

Jun put a finger to his lips and hushed him gently. "It's not an admission of fear, Tai, just an acknowledgement of reality."

Tai seemed to want to protest further, but instead let out an involuntary groan as she began to plant kisses along his chest. "I doubt this is what Gennai meant by "a night's rest."

"I don't know." Jun said, her voice muffled as she continued her loving ministrations. "I kinda think it is."

"Mmm, okay," Tai allowed himself a small smile as he gave in. "Then thank you Gennai."

* * *

Keyan looked away from her door. She couldn't go out, not with him out there, _like that_. For so long she had thought that she hated him. She'd cultivated an image in her mind of an uncaring liar that, no matter how untrue, somehow justified the anger she felt at everything. Willis had told her the story of Gennai and The Assassin, how he had been friends with the man that had murdered her parents, how her mentor had been the one responsible for unleashing that monster upon the real world. To be honest, it should have infuriated her. It should have rendered her unable to even look at the de-powered guardian.

But when she had seen him... When she had witnessed his deteriorating condition and spirit…it was more than enough for her to realize a hard truth. Gennai had punished himself more for his actions than she ever could. He had split himself into his different personalities, knowing it could kill him, just to create this academy. He had worked himself into the condition he was in, trying desperately to find any other route for them to win this war than the one they were currently facing. He loved them all, she realized, but he simply wasn't perfect. He'd made mistakes, like any person. He hid truths. He didn't trust. But he'd always thought he was doing the right thing. And now he was dying for it.

Keyan could feel a lone tear descend down her cheek. Her mind wanted to dwell on the fact that, were it not for Gennai, her parents would be alive, but her heart kept returning to the fact that were it not for him, she would be dead. For all intents and purposes, from the moment she had become old enough to become his apprentice, he had raised her and loved her as his own.

And despite everything that had happened, and all that she had discovered, she still loved him.

Keyan buried her face in her hands. She didn't know how to handle this. She was supposed to be in control of her emotions, not the other way around. She was supposed be able to come to terms with this. She'd been dealing with the deaths of her parents since before she could remember, so why did this situation affect her so?

_Because you did not know them._

Keyan tried to shake the disturbing notion away. She hated when she started to think like that. So what she didn't know her parents? It didn't make her love them any less.

_But it makes you love Gennai that much more._

Keyan ran her hands through her hair and gripped her scalp tightly. Why did she have to deal with this now? Granted, there was the possibility that tomorrow would be the last day of her life. There might not be another day for her to put it off to. Was that it, though? Did she just not want to leave anything on the table? Or was there something else? Something heavy placed upon her heart, something that she could not die while leaving unsaid? And if so, what was it?

_That you forgive him, and you love him._

Keyan grimaced and pulled her hair. "STOP!"

Her chest was heaving and as she looked down, she saw that the wooden floor beneath her was stained with her falling tears.

"Please…stop." She continued to sob quietly, wrangling with her emotions, vainly hoping to bring them under her control.

There was a knock at her door, gentile yet rapid. Willis. He'd probably heard her shout.

"Come." She made no attempt to wipe the tears from her face as she beckoned him to come in. She had no need to hide anything from Willis.

The door slowly creaked open and a face peeked inside, the last face Keyan expected or wanted to see.

"My child," croaked Gennai hoarsely. He quietly slipped through the doorway and gently shut the door behind him. "I heard you shout. What's wrong?"

Keyan looked up at the weakened old guardian as he entered the room. A part of her felt bewildered. Was the universe testing her tonight?

She gave him a glare. "You already know."

"Keyan, I… I can leave." Gennai turned with a labored shuffling of his feet and reached for the door.

"No! I…" Keyan reached out in a clutching motion, as if he were mere feet away from her and not across the room. "Don't."

"If it pains you that I am here, Keyan, I can go."

She ignored his words and instead voiced the questions that had been torturing her thoughts all night. "Gennai, why? Why did you do it? Why did you send him into the real world? Why did you lie to me about my parents?"

"Keyan, I wish I could answer those questions with the words you would like to hear, but the truth is, I cannot. The answer is very simple, in fact. I am a fool. Everything that I did, I thought was the right thing to do. And now we know how wrong I was. I meant you no harm whatsoever, Keyan." As he spoke the words, Gennai's arm suddenly began to waver in and out of existence, just as it had done earlier during the war meeting. He looked down at the flickering appendage and frowned. "Perhaps this is my penance."

Keyan felt a lurch in her chest as she heard him utter the words. "No, Gennai. You can't…" She couldn't complete the sentence. Whether it was because she didn't want to admit herself that Gennai really could die, or that she didn't want to admit to him that she cared, she didn't know.

"I can, Keyan. And if I do, everything will still be okay. The Knights are well trained, and you, you are blossoming into a wonderful guardian. All I can hope is that you are fortunate enough to avoid making the same blunders as I did. I'm sure you will." A moment of silence passed and he gave Keyan a sad smile. "Well, I'll leave you in peace, then."

A slight scowl crossed Keyan's face as she watched Gennai begin to back out of the room. Their conversation had been entirely unfulfilling thus far. She no longer wanted their relationship to be so strained, but if Gennai was just going to behave so densely…

"So you will simply leave now? You do not believe my forgiveness is worth having?"

"No Keyan," the melancholy smile remained on his face. "I don't believe I'm worth having your forgiveness."

His humility frustrated Keyan. That wasn't the response she wanted. Why couldn't he just say it? Why couldn't he open the door to resolving all of this? She loved him. She needed him. And she couldn't imagine a world without him.

"Damn it all." Abandoning her guard, Keyan ran over to Gennai and threw her arms around his waist. "Please, just say it. Say you are sorry."

"Oh, Keyan." The words were gentle and more comforting that she would have expected possible. "I am more sorry than you would ever know. If I could go back I would gladly give my life to-"

"I know, Gennai, and I…I forgive you. I must."

She buried her face in his robes and allowed the tears to fall freely once again.

With a placating sigh, Gennai placed one hand on her shoulder and stroked her hair with the other.

Keyan was grateful for the gesture. All the turmoil, the anger and strife she had felt building within herself over the past few weeks slowly began to ebb away. She now knew that she could not continue her grudge against Gennai. Perhaps she had always known this. Because as much as she would've liked to believe he had betrayed her flesh and blood, the truth was he _was_ her flesh and blood. He had made mistakes, mistakes that he would likely end up paying the ultimate price for, but it was not her job to punish him for them. He was family, the only family she had, in fact, and if she was to die tomorrow, it would be with no regrets.

* * *

Kageru Hatori perused the bottles lined along Digitamamon's cooking shelf space with a determined progression. He knew exactly what he was searching for, and if it was to be found anywhere in this children's academy, he knew it would be here. Shortly, he came across what he was looking for and a small smile crossed his face.

"Cooking brandy." He muttered to himself. "Not the best, but it'll do."

He put the bottle down on the counter beside him and grabbed a metal measuring cup from a nearby rack.

"Can't sleep either, huh?"

Hatori's attention turned to the kitchen doors, where he saw Krista entering the room.

"I see you found the secret stash there." She said, walking over and selecting a nearby small glass of her own. She held it out as Hatori obligingly filled it with the burgundy liquid. He then filled his own cup as she began to take a drink. Krista closed her eyes as she swallowed and let out a pleasured moan.

"Used to spend quite a bit of time here," she said, "usually after particularly disappointing training sessions. There weren't many, but man, when there were, I thought we would never have the Knights ready in time. The only thing that could calm my nerves was this," she raised her cup, "or Xian, of course."

Krista looked down solemnly at the mention of the name, prompting Hatori to wonder why she tortured herself so often by letting it slip into conversation.

"Do you think they're ready now?" He asked, offering a quick change of subject.

Krista nodded. "As they'll ever be. Readiness is in the moment. None of this was ever on a schedule, you know. There wasn't a set time for the final battle for the world to take place. When we first started this, Gennai always told us 'It's going to happen at some point, and all we can do is make sure we've prepared them as much as we can until that point arrives.'"

"I suppose the inevitability of all this was that obvious, unless you were a fool willingly playing a part in it like I was."

"Don't tell me you're feeling sorry for yourself, Hatori. You don't have time for that and neither do these kids."

"But that's just the thing. They are children, essentially. You so often hear people talk about leaving a better world behind for the future generations, about not leaving our burdens to our children. Look at this. We, – I- the organization I was a part of. We not only left the mess to the youth of today. We created it. All these lives that have been taken-"

"Are on Hitachi's hands. Do not take the blame for that man's evil. He is the only one here responsible for all of this loss of life. He's the one that we are going to stop tomorrow."

"And he wouldn't be who he is today if the people that now make up CADE hadn't aided him every step of the way. Davis was right a while back. There is no difference between us and him."

"How can you say that? After all the time and money you've spent fighting against him?"

"All the time and money we spent fighting for our own agenda, you mean?"

"Doesn't everyone? The world exists in-"

"Shades of gray, I know." Hatori said the words in a tone that conveyed that he'd heard the phrase a few times too many over the past few days.

"It's true." Krista continued. "You know what? Earlier today I began to become frustrated when some of the Original Digidestined weren't taking their training entirely seriously. Even though I reprimanded them, I had to remind myself of who I was working with, who I'd always been working with. They are all, Knights included, young, somewhat naive, and innocent. And that's what makes them the ideal soldiers in this war. Hitachi is the closest thing any of us will ever see to pure evil. He is the black, if you will, that all of our shades of gray are measured against. _We_ could never hope to be as effective against him as they are. We're tainted, all irreparably corrupted in some way, shape, or form."

Hatori raised his cup, but paused thoughtfully before taking a sip. "But they aren't. They can stand up to him because they can't be swayed by money or power. He can't dissuade them like everyone else. He has to fight them."

"Maybe Gennai knew what he was doing, eh?"

"To an extent. Their innocence also means that Gennai willingly put their innocent lives in danger."

"They knew what they were getting into and had every opportunity to leave, if they wanted. Like Xian, each and every one of them would feel honored to give their lives in defense of their beliefs."

"Yeah, maybe they would, but what about their families and friends? How would they feel? Would they understand their sacrifice? Would they be so willing to forgive us for putting them in this position?"

"I think they would, eventually. If only to honor the sacrifices of their loved ones. In fact, I believe they would be inspired to take up the fight for them, to make sure their deaths were not in vain. They would want to make sure that those that took their lives paid with their own."

"Like you and Xian." Hatori presented the observation without ceremony, as if discussing the day's weather. For her part, Krista turned silent and absently swirled her drink as she stared down into her glass.

"That _is_ what you're doing, isn't it?" Hatori reiterated.

"Of course." There was a hard edge to the words. "You know that."

"Yes, I do..." Hatori admitted. "I also know that you sound like a woman that will still be seeking her vengeance tomorrow. You know as well as I that that can be a dangerous quality on a battlefield."

"And you sound like the opposite, which is just as dangerous, if not more."

"Really?" Hatori said, his tone laden with skepticism. He lowered his glass. "And what would that be?"

Krista threw her head back and downed the rest of her drink before answering. "A man seeking redemption."

She placed the empty glass back down on the counter top and began to walk out of the room, but not before stopping next to Hatori and putting a hand on his shoulder. "Get some rest." She said. "You're a soldier, and tomorrow, there is just the mission. Nothing more, nothing less."

Hatori acknowledged her words with the barest of nods and stared down into what remained of his drink as she departed from the room. She was right. He was a soldier, always had been. And that had always been his excuse. Everything he had done had always been attributed to "following orders," absolving him of the responsibility he should have been taking all along. Now he found the weight of all of his past actions was starting to crash down upon him in an avalanche of guilt and regret.

He couldn't be a soldier any longer. Tomorrow, he would have to be his own man. He would have one day to make amends for the years of disservice he had done the world. Hatori turned up his cup and allowed the last of the liquor within to spill into the sink. It was no use trying to sleep now. If his nerves didn't keep him up all night, his conscience surely would.

* * *

**The Next Morning**

"And so, here we are."

Tai nodded, taking in Jun's simple words along with all the meaning behind them. "Yes, here we are."

The couple looked out over the group before them, a remarkable gathering of every digidestined, Knight, and instructor they currently had at their disposal, all patiently awaiting the appearance of Willis' timed portal to Tokyo. Their stock of weapons and vehicles were stationed behind the group, and impressive as they seemed, gleaming in the Realm's morning sunlight, Tai knew the meager supply was nothing compared the likes of what they would soon be going up against. Still, Tai could find a reason to smile. If they were to succeed today, this ragtag bunch would be the group that saved the world. It would ultimately make for quite the tale.

Gennai and Willis flanked Tai and Jun. They would be staying behind to monitor the battle from the realm and fend off any counter offensives that Hitachi might launch. Tai noted that from the expression on the younger man's face, he seemed a sight less than enthused about staying behind. Tai couldn't blame him. Practically everyone he cared about would be putting their lives on the line today. Willis would have to have been less than human not to want to join them, especially knowing that Keyan was going to be right in the thick of it all.

"Maybe you should say something."

Tai turned and glanced at Jun, who gave him an encouraging nod. "We're all nervous as hell, well save for Davis, and you're the leader, here. A few motivational words might be appropriate."

Tai took in the words thoughtfully. He had never exactly been one for grandiose speeches, not because he felt uncomfortable or anything, but rather, he had a hard time conveying his thoughts and motivations to others in these types of situations. As detached as it may have seemed, he couldn't identify with their fear. He had the shield of Courage for a reason, mostly because a significant part of him was either too stubborn or stupid to realize when his actions placed his life in grave danger. All he'd ever cared about was the mission, personal consequences be damned. But even so, he _was_ a leader, and as such he knew which of them would be far better off in this position...

Tai stepped forward and cleared his throat. "To be honest," He said. "I'd like to lift everyone's spirits by giving a rousing speech, you know, the kind of thing that gets everyone hyped up and running off into battle screaming at the top of their lungs... but I don't think it's really my forte, or my place for that matter." He turned and saw a face expectantly awaiting his request. "Terence, I believe you may have a few words for us before we head out?"

With a grin, Terence stepped away from his position between Pings and Clara and to the forefront of the group. "Thought you'd never ask."

"Figured." Tai smirked as he stepped back. "Do your thing."

Terence turned to the group, making sure to appropriately adjust his sunglasses as he did. "Alright guys," he began."So this is it. In less than an hour, Knights from here will join others from around the world. And you will be launching the largest battle in this history of mankind. Mankind - that word should have new meaning for all of us today. We can't be consumed by our petty differences anymore. We will be united in our common interests-"

"Terence," Rosa interrupted, her arms crossed with a scowl. "That's the friggin' speech from 'Independence Day.'"

Terence turned to her with a mischievous smirk. "Figured I'd lighten the mood a little." He walked over, put a hand on Rosa's shoulder, and gently turned her around to face the crowd.

"Now what are you doing?" She grumbled.

"Making a point." Terence pointed to Rosa and addressed the others. "You see this girl? See the extremely pissed off and impatient look on her face?"

Everyone nodded and a few smiles were scattered throughout the audience.

"She's ready to fight right now, and this is because she realizes something. Something we all need to realize if we want to succeed today. She realizes that we all, as one, have to live in the here and the now, because it's the best place to be. Today, all of us are Knights. All of us will be fighting equally for our world, and all of us must be grateful that we _can_ fight for our world. We can't afford to sit here thinking about what went wrong or what sins we committed in the past to get us to this point. That was yesterday. Yesterday is over. It's in the past. As I always said as a boxer, you can be losing on all cards in the 12th round, but one KO changes everything. We can get that KO today people, but we _have_ to think about this round and not the eleven others that came before it. We must think about the fact that we are here and we're damn sure going to take advantage of it."

Terence place his hands behind his back and began to pace as he continued. "So, you see, today isn't a responsibility or a burden for us. It's an opportunity. Today is a chance that only a few people in history have ever had. Today is…" His hands balled into fists and he took a measured breath. "Today is our chance to kick this bastard's ass! Today is our chance to show him that we won't take this, that we won't lay down and let him annihilate us! Today is our chance to speak for those who can't, to avenge those who have been taken, to fight for a world that he has led to believe can't fight!"

He came to a stop. "You know what? This isn't about what he did, what crimes he committed, or even who he hurt. We already know all of that. THAT was yesterday. Today isn't about him. Today is about us. Today is OUR time, OUR story! And all this power crazy, lunatic son of a bitch did was set it up for us!"

A few enthusiastic shouts arose, particularly from Kin and Jiro near the rear of the group. Terence walked over and stood in front of Cody.

"So Cody, when I look you in the eye and tell you that I understand what happened before, how you lost your father, how Hitachi played a role in your becoming what you are now, what do you say?"

Cody stared back at Terence for a moment, his gaze fierce. "That was yesterday."

"And what is today?"

"Our time."

"That's right." Terence's gaze turned to the shorter, white-haired girl standing next to Cody. "And Keyan, when you remember the way your parents were taken from you, how does that make you feel today?"

"Very...angry."

"That's right, righteous anger. And what are you going to do with that? Are you going to dwell on it?"

"No."

"Then what will you do?"

"Use it."

"Why?"

"Because this is our time. It is our turn."

"Damn right." Terence turned back to the group. "Everyone, we have seen this man murder millions of people throughout his lifetime. He's ruined even more lives. He toyed with the whole world, treated it as some plaything that was his to control. He and his forces took Keyan and Cody's parents, Mr. Chan's life, Scott's life, Gennai's youth, and all of our innocence. So when I tell you that we have the chance to go up against him one more time today, do you feel like you're ready for it?"

"YES!" Came the unanimous reply. The ferocity of the collective shout forced Terence to take a step back.

"And why is that?"

"Because it's our time!"

"Whose time?" Terence cupped a hand to his ear, feigning that he could not hear them.

"OUR time!"

"Whose time?!"

"OUR TIME!"

"And who are we?"

"Knights!"

"Who are we?!"

"KNIGHTS!"

"Damn straight! And on this day, we will let the WORLD know it!"

An unintelligible shout rose up from the others. There were a lot of angry glares and fist pumping and the digimon seemed to be a complete mess of excited flailing limbs. The portal to Tokyo flared up behind them with a powerful burst of light, but no one turned to face it. They all kept their attention fully trained on the gifted orator addressing them.

"Today! TODAY!" Terence had to strain to have his voice heard above the crowd. "Today is when we make our last stand, when we show this evil arrogant prick that yes, a bunch of pissed off kids _can_ take him down! Today is the day we become the envy of every damn red blooded man woman and child on this planet, because they will wish, DESPERATELY that they could have been with us, on this day, the day we're going to avenge the entire world! This is OUR day! This is OUR time! Knights, LET'S GET IT DONE!"

A mighty roar rose from the assembly and shortly afterwards everyone began rushing for their assigned vehicles and armaments with a gusto that they had not possessed before. There was a determined cadence to the way ammunition belts were tied around waists and guns were loaded and cocked.

Amid the bustling activity Tai walked over to Terence and threw an arm around the Inspirational Knight's shoulders. "I knew you were the perfect guy for the job."

Terence smiled and gestured to his shield, which was giving off a slight red glow. "Guess I didn't get this for nothing."

"Guess not."

"Alright everyone, you know the plan!" Shouted Krista. It was apparent even she was feeling the effects of Terence's speech from the way she began walking up and down their ranks, organizing everyone into their battle groups. "Once you are grouped into your teams proceed through the portal!"

"It's about time." Someone said.

Tai turned to the sound of the voice and smiled. "Eager to go? Sounds like your boyfriend's rubbing off on you."

"Really Tai? Come on, it's me. Impatience is not an acquired trait." Kuri checked her digivice and strapped it to her belt. She then looked around anxiously. "Damn it, where'd she get off to? Peko, let's go!"

"You okay Kuri?" Jun said. "You seem a little...on edge."

"Well Jun, I dunno. I mean, there is the fact that if things go right, I am about to follow your brother into a dimensional void to god knows where, and that's the _best case _scenario for today." She shrugged. "Otherwise, I'm just peachy."

"Good old 'ray of sunshine' Kuri." Remarked Terence. "Some things never change, right?"

"Bite me, Terence." Kuri said with a slight smile.

Jun put a comforting hand on Kuri's shoulder. "You're going to be fine. I spoke with Davis before we came out and even I believe now. You two going into that portal is going to win this battle for us."

"I know." Kuri said, absently petting Peko's head as the digimon landed on her shoulder. "I'm just ready to get going."

"Hey knucklehead!" Shouted Rosa. She walked over to the group at that moment and stopped in front of Terence, hands on her hips with an appraising glare. "Nice speech."

He raised a brow. "Thanks, I guess."

"Just wanted to tell you good luck before we leave. Oh, and don't do anything stupid."

"Oh, please," Said Terence with a haughty wave. "You know I will."

Rosa chuckled. "Yeah, well, don't get yourself _killed _doing it, then."

"Eh," He shrugged. "Can't make any promises-oof-" The abrupt pause was caused by Clara rushing over and planting a firm elbow into her boyfriend's side

"The hell he can't." she said. "We'll be fine. You guys be careful, okay?"

"We will." Rosa said, accompanying the words with the usual roll of her eyes.

"I'm serious, prima." Clara gave her a stern look. She was having none of the usual business. "Promise?"

"Yeah."

"Alright then," Clara opened her arms wide, "come here."

Rosa groaned. "Clara..."

"Nope, don't wanna hear it. Come here."

Clara pulled her reluctant cousin into a tight hug and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "You be safe, okay?"

Instead of responding with an expected protest, Rosa merely nodded. "Fine, okay."

"Humph," said Terence, still rubbing his side as he approached Curtis. "None of that for us, right?"

Curtis shook his head and laughed. "Of course not."

"C'mere." Terence pulled Curtis into quick hug and then gave him a rough pat on the head. "You're gonna do fine. Just stick to the plan."

He then turned his down attention to Curtis's partner. "You take care of him, okay Taps? You know he's not going to look out for himself while he's got that little hellraiser around."

Rosa scowled at the mention.

"I know," responded the Tapirmon. "Tell me about it."

"Hey!" Rosa protested, hands on her hips. "What the hell, Taps?"

"Sorry." Taps gave a matter-of-fact shrug.

"Rosa, Curtis!" The shout came from across the field, where Krista was impatiently waiting near the glowing portal. The violent winds around the inter-dimensional gateway whipped her hair into a frenzy and her glare was a far less than patient one. "We don't have forever to get into position! Let's go!"

"She looks pissed." Tai noted. "You two had better get going. You have everything you need?"

"We'd better," said Rosa. "Curtis checked that bag of his like thirty times this morning. We're good." She turned and beckoned to her partner. "Come on Gotsumon. Ms. Lee doesn't look too thrilled, I don't want this battle starting for us before we even go through the portal."

"Me neither." said Curtis. "Come on Taps." He spared the group one last wave as they headed off after Rosa. "See you guys on the flip side!"

As he said the words, Kuri let out a small gasp.

Tai turned to her. "Something wrong?"

"I- nothing. Just…well, I just realized how far we've come."

"Yeah, I know what you mean." said Davis. He reached out and grasped her hand. "We've definitely come a long way."

"But, man," said Terence, "do we still have a hell of a long way to go."

"Not really." said Clara. "In just a few hours, this will all be over."

Tai looked up solemnly. "Can't argue with you there." He watched as his sister helped Joe, Mimi, and Kentaro load their medical kits with supplies. He'd already cautioned Kari about what she would likely face, but still, he couldn't help that a small bit of foreboding dampened his spirit. Davis was certainly right. One way or another. It would all be over soon.

"Tai?" The voice was Jun's. She gently grasped his hand. As usual, she'd deduced that something was wrong. But this time, there was nothing she could do to help. Tai knew that only the course of the next few hours' events would be able to change his mood.

He shook his head and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "I'm fine. Alright everyone, load up. We all know our roles. It's time to go."

_To be continued…_

* * *

Next up: **Destinies Pt III: Tennozan** The epic battle for the fate of the world begins. Who will be lost and who will survive? What will be the shocking reality of Hitachi's final plan? And how will Davis fare in trying to reach Miracles? Find out in the next chapter(s) of Digital Knights! (I'll be honest, it's gonna be at least a couple of weeks for the next chapter. It's really kinda hard tying all this stuff together. But I promise it's going to be damn good.)

(AN post final edit (2012) Play the Mortal Kombat Movie Theme after reading Terence's speech. Seriously. I was ready to break some sh-t.)


	27. Tennozan Pt 1

Alright, so those of you that have taken a gander at my author page know that I've decided that instead of updating this fic sporadically with loooong periods of time in between (due to a severe lack of what they call "spare time" and an arrangement of "priorities"). I decided that I would take my time, get everything done and written out, then post it chapter by chapter in quick succession once ready. Well, I finally got a little free time and did just that (yeah I know, it only took me almost 7 years ;-p). I will now be posting the already written (save for the epilogue) 70,000+ word ending to this epic tale chapter by chapter, week by week, starting today. Meaning you will now all be getting regular updates on this fic over the next 5-6 weeks, every Friday or Saturday. Hope you enjoy (and thanks for sticking it out)!

* * *

**Tennozan** **Pt I**

**Tokyo, Hitachi Tower.** **Grand Hall**

Soldiers lined the hall like a royal guard, protecting the path as Hitachi walked toward what he called his "ultimate destiny." The Assassin trailed him, half a pace behind, his expression a bit more dour than the Dark demigod probably expected that it should be. It likely perplexed him that the former guardian could keep up such a uneasy visage with assured victory so near. It was as if he had knowledge of something that Hitachi didn't. Of course, The Assassin knew, that was because he actually did.

"Assassin," his voice carried an edge, despite his seemingly amiable mood. "You seem a little less than... enthused, tonight. Would you mind sharing why that is?"

"Nothing important. I simply grow restless when approaching an objective. Always have."

"Well rest easy, my friend. This is one objective that is already entirely within our grasp. Those around the world that aren't dead, or mourning the dead, are too paralyzed by fear to oppose me. And even if they did, you and I both know they would have absolutely no chance against us."

The Assassin nodded, but took the words with an appropriate grain of salt. He knew what was possibly out there, waiting to launch an attack against them, and time still remained until Hitachi's portal would fully open. Though Hitachi was very powerful and the tower was extremely well protected, until that portal opened and Hitachi actually entered into the dark dimension, they were all still dealing in the realm of probability. The sooner that probability turned into certainty, the sooner The Assassin could relax.

"And might I ask where your equally pessimistic understudy is tonight?"

At that, The Assassin glanced around the hall, and up and down the rows of armed mercenaries, searching for Jade. "I'm not sure. Earlier, she said she had an 'errand' to perform, but I thought she would certainly be back by now. For her to be gone tonight of all nights..."

Hitachi chuckled. "Forgive her. I believe her errand may be a task that i myself inspired."

"You did? What kind of task?"

"A simple matter of vengeance. Nothing consequential."

The duo reached the elevator at the end of the hall and entered.

"Assassin," Hitachi smiled as the metal doors slowly closed shut and they turned around. "You have to learn to relax. Tonight, there is absolutely nothing that can get in our way."

The overhead display began to beep as the turbo elevator sped upwards towards the top floor atrium and The Assassin hoped that despite Hitachi's relative ignorance in the matter, he was still ultimately correct. "Right." He muttered. "I'll keep that in mind."

* * *

**The Streets Below**

Hatori hunched over in the relative safety of a darkened alley two blocks away from Hitachi tower. It was an area with several tactical advantages that allowed them to set up a temporary command center, with plenty of shadows to hide their activity and a mostly unobstructed view of their target. Behind Hatori sat the newly armored Bertha and two CADE SUVs. The CADE vehicles were mostly useless with Hitachi's forces now restricting their technological capabilities, but Hatori knew the large refitted van could prove to be quite a powerful weapon.

Between the vehicles were Joe, Kentaro, and Kari, all getting their medical equipment in order and refitting a CADE car as a mobile medical unit. Alongside them were Yolei and Ken, who were making last minute preparations on Bertha before they would take her into action. Their digimon partners were underfoot, helping them in their preparations or guarding the power core that Willis had been able to create in order for Gatomon to evolve to her ultimate level. Keyan stood to the side, quietly observing as she awaited the battle.

Tai stood next to Hatori, going over battle plans with a small pen light and a schematic of the tower spread out over one of the CADE vehicle's hoods.

"Okay," said Hatori, pointing to locations on the map, "so you and Jun are stationed in this complex here, and the other Knights are in similar buildings surrounding the tower."

Tai nodded.

"And you'll stay hidden there as we draw the attention of Hitachi's exterior security, spring the trap, then draw out his interior forces."

"Right," Said Tai. "By which time he should have opened the portal and entered. That's when we'll come out, wait for the incursion team to take down the tower's shield and send Davis and Kuri through the portal after him."

"Yes." Hatori stepped back and took a breath. "You know, it really bothers me when a plan so ambitious sounds so simple."

Tai crossed his arms. "Yeah, me too. But it is what it is."

"Okay, I'll do one last check with our field teams before you take your position." Hatori picked up Tai's digivice from the hood and held it in front of him. "Alpha team, how's it looking there?"

"Half of the charges have been planted," came Matt's tinny reply. "Beta has most of the guns and tripods set. You know, this would all be a lot easier if we didn't have to run miles of wiring."

"Just be glad that you can," said Hatori. "Had Hitachi's forces been patrolling the outside of the tower, this whole set up would have been a lot more difficult."

"Doesn't help us," interrupted another voice. It was Krista, who'd conferenced herself in. "It's bad enough we're about attempt a risky amphibious incursion into the tower, but you're telling me that most of the enemy forces are going to be in there waiting for us?"

"We're taking care of it. You know that. Just hold your position."

"Yeah, yeah, we're holding. Not much else we can do."

Hatori cut the communication with a shake of his head and handed Tai back his digivice. "They have to be patient. This plan depends on precision and timing. Once it's set into motion everything has to proceed precisely as planned. We can't afford to take shortcuts."

"You're preaching to the choir, Hatori."

"Yeah, I know. Guess I just need to tell someone that will actually listen."

Tai gave a small smile and lifted the digivice. "I think I'll check with the other teams."

"Go ahead." Hatori peered out into the dark city streets. "They should be in position."

Tai nodded. "Elite one, check in."

Kuri's voice responded. "It's a go here. We're ready and waiting in the east side tower. What's taking so long?"

"Alpha's still laying the charges. We'll be ready to move once they complete."

"Okay. Veemon's getting antsy. You know he's a little ADD. So hurry it up."

"Just hold tight."

Tai switched channels on the digivice. "Elite two, status?"

"Fine," responded Terence. "Just wondering when the hell we're going to do something."

"Soon," Tai assured. "We're almost done with the groundwork."

"It's about time. I can't wait to get this over with. Can you feel how friggin cold it is out here-?"

"Yeah, we got you, Tai," Clara cut in. "You just watch yourself down there."

"Likewise." Tai switched the channels again. "Elite three, holding out okay?"

"Yes Tai." replied Jun. "We're just waiting for you to get here."

"I know. What about the recon?"

Tai waited for Jun's response. She was stationed at the top floor of the tallest adjacent building to Hitachi's tower and was the only one of them that had any view of its roof top.

"I think I see him and his advisors up there. But there's no portal yet."

"Damn it. Okay. I'll meet you there soon." Tai cut the communication and frowned.

"We can't set off those charges until Hitachi at least opens that portal," Hatori grumbled.

"Yeah, I know. Like you said, patience is going to be the key here. I'd better get going." Tai walked over to where his sister was standing and gently touched her shoulder. "Kari, let Hatori use your digivice for communication, and try to stay close to him at all times, got me?"

Kari nodded before giving her brother an impulsive hug. "Promise me you'll be careful up there, Tai."

"I will. You do the same here."

They broke the embrace and shared one last meaningful look before Tai turned and disappeared into the shadows of the night.

* * *

**The Waterfront**

"The temperature's dropping." Curtis knelt on the edge of a wooden dock, hovering over the choppy waters of Tokyo Harbor, and grimaced as he looked at the electronic thermometer in his hand. "The last release was a while ago. If we don't get moving soon, there's no telling how long we have before the next one."

Krista frowned. "You said you had the time calculated based on the size of the plant."

"Yeah, a rough estimate. That's why I wanted us to leave as soon as possible. We can't afford to cut it close if we don't really know what cutting it close is."

With a sigh, Krista looked over to the massive structure towering above the shoreline, its reflection wavering as it shimmered over the expanse of the harbor. "That's the problem with plans that depend on timing." She muttered. "Time never seems to cooperate."

Curtis turned to look at Mimi, who was pacing up and down the wooden planks of the darkened dock with an anxious expression. She paused and checked the contents of her medical supplies bag, then pulled at her collar to ensure that her wetsuit was a snug fit for what had to be the millionth time.

"You okay?" He asked.

"Um, yeah, sure." She responded sheepishly. "I guess I look like a nervous mess, huh?"

"No worse than the rest of us." responded Rosa, who was sitting on the edge of the dock, feet dangling as she stared down into the dark waters. "Just sitting here and waiting is getting pretty nerve wracking."

"We need to stay alert, regardless," Krista cautioned. "When it's time to go, it's time to go. We can't afford to be caught off guard."

"I think we all understand that," said Izzy. He went to Mimi's side and placed a hand on her shoulder to halt her nervous pacing. "But understanding and doing are two different things."

"Tell me about it," Curtis muttered. "Waiting here like this just gives you time to think about the enormity of what we're about to do tonight. Everything depends on us getting this right."

"Curtis, please." Noriko let out a loud sigh as she kneeled down and re-checked the levels on her and Cody's oxygen tanks. "That's really not helping."

"Sorry."

"I do wonder exactly how long this is going to take," said Cody. "This isn't too encouraging a start for an operation that's supposed to be based entirely around timing."

"For now, we are okay." said Krista. "The true timing of this operation doesn't begin until we signal the others that we've successfully infiltrated the tower. Right now, it is necessary that we remain patient."

"Easy for you to say." mumbled Gotsumon, mirroring his partner as he anxiously sat on the dock's edge.

"Actually, no, it's not." Krista continued to stare across the waters to where Hitachi's massive tower jutted into the swirling night sky like a imposing harbinger of all that would happen if they failed. "But I understand what could happen to this world if we start improvising and step out of the boundaries of our plans in any way. Keep that in mind, and trust me, it will make the wait much more bearable."

* * *

**Alpha**

Matt slunk along the alleyway, flanked by his brother and Sora, all three carrying large spools from which lengths of black wire liberally spilled onto the ground behind them. He held up a hand to bring all three of them to a sudden stop. They were at the mouth of the darkened alley, directly across the wide downtown street from the main entrance to Hitachi's tower. As Willis had predicted, halfway across the street was a humongous tinted energy panel that comprised one side of the pyramid shielding the building. It extended past the tower's corners on either side and tapered as it went upwards into an eternal night.

"What is it?" Whispered TK.

"I thought I heard something." Matt's eyes scanned up and down the street. "But I guess not."

"You need a valium bro? We don't need you getting jumpy now."

"Shut-up."

"Wow," said Sora as she looked beyond the alley opening. "Willis was right. There aren't any patrols out here at all. I really wouldn't have believed it if I wasn't seeing it."

"Hitachi doesn't want to take the risk of attracting the attention that posting guards outside would bring him. I can't blame him. If I was as close as he is to taking over the world, I wouldn't take any chances either." Matt's digivice beeped and he reached down to pick it up.

"Are you all in position yet?" said an impatient voice. "Everyone else is just about done."

"Calm down, Yolei. We're in position and about to lay the east side charges right now. We'll be back in a few minutes."

"Well, hurry it up. They're thinking that Hitachi is going to open that portal any time now."

"Fine." Matt cut the communication, not without a faint sigh of frustration, and turned to the others. "Alright guys, go lay your charges. Make sure to stay hidden and away from that shield wall. Hatori warned us that there may be proximity alarms around it." He took a piece of paper from his pocket and looked over the diagram inscribed upon it. "Sora, you have the south corner. TK, north. I'm central. Meet back here in two minutes."

"Got it."

The three departed in their separate directions with their spools of wire silently trailing behind them.

* * *

**Beta**

Inside one of the smaller buildings adjacent to Hitachi's tower, Kin and Jiro were hard at work, setting up the last of several gun turrets placed strategically in the windows and pointing down into the street beside the tower. Kin bit his lip and wiped several beads of sweat away as he carefully placed the automatic weapon on top of a small tripod. He secured it by buckling down several bolted straps, then reached an open palm back towards Jiro.

"Wire."

A small length of the requested material was dutifully placed in his hand and Kin delicately went to work applying the small cord onto the gun before him.

"I hate this part" Jiro muttered.

"So do I." Kin agreed.

It was the most difficult step of the operation, where Kin had to skillfully wrap the small cord around the trigger of the weapon. The trick was that the loop had to be taut enough that the slightest pull on the wire would squeeze the stock and cause the weapon to fire, yet he could not afford to pull so tight that the gun accidentally fired and brought them all kinds of attention that they did not want. They'd successfully repeated the process dozens of times so far, yet each completion didn't make the next time any less harrowing.

"Got it." Kin said.

Jiro let loose a sigh of relief and glanced out of the window at Hitachi's tower and the black facade that shielded it from the outside world. He couldn't help but to think of how ineffective the dozens of guns they'd erected seemed when compared to the imposing structure across the street.

"Come on." Kin beckoned. "We're already running behind. We have to get back to the command center."

"Right." Jiro carefully attached a cord with a hook at its end to the loop that Kin had tied and spooled the wire out of the door and into the outside hallway, where it joined with about a dozen others. "Okay. Let's go."

* * *

**Apex**

Hitachi stood in the middle of his tower's expansive rooftop, arms crossed behind his back, and took a deep breath. In front of him was set of stairs leading up to a raised metal platform, on top of which sat a large upright ring of metal with wires feeding into it at various points. Behind him stood the assassin and Commander Hardesty, a leader of one of the American mercenary firms he'd contracted. He would have preferred it was Jade standing there, but he understood her motivations to be elsewhere. The commander would do for now, so long as he stayed out of the way.

"Sir," said Hardesty, giving an unnecessary salute. "The men in security have seen nothing out of the ordinary. Do you yourself detect any disturbances?"

Hitachi wanted to sigh at the man's annoying meticulous nature, but decided to indulge him. He concentrated for a moment, searching for life signs around the tower that didn't belong to his own men, but paused when he found himself unable to detect anything beyond his tower's perimeter. "I am not sure. The shield interferes with my senses." He shook his head slightly to clear the crossed signals. "It does not matter though. Send the command to Miko. I'm ready to go."

The Assassin raised his walkie-talkie. "It's a go. Open the portal."

Moments later, a loud bang, very much like a clap of thunder, rang out over the roof top. The ring atop the platform exploded with a shower of sparks and force and a great swirling black portal filled its center. Bolts of lightning, excesses of the incredible amount of power coursing through the device, shot into the air in all directions. A powerful wind began to sweep across the roof, sucking bits of gravel, dirt, paper, and anything else that wasn't tied down, into the portal.

Hitachi looked up at the rapidly spinning black vortex and smiled. "Finally."

* * *

Hatori saw the bolts of electricity streak from the top of the tower into the night sky and knew something had to be up. He picked up Kari's digivice. "Tai..."

"Yeah, I see something," answered the Courageous Knight, already in position with Jun. "Hitachi's still standing there with someone and The Assassin, but there's some movement. I think they're about to do something-"

To Hatori's right, Ken suddenly clutched at his abdomen and doubled over in pain.

"Ken!" Yolei rushed to his side. "Are you alright? What's wrong?"

"The portal must have opened," said Hatori. "Finally."

"Right," said Tai's voice through Kari's digivice. "Something just appeared in front of Hitachi. It's definitely not like any portal I've seen before, but that has to be it."

Ken leaned against the van as he struggled to regain his breath.

Hatori looked back. "Is he going to be okay?"

"Yeah, just give me a moment." Ken closed his eyes and his breathing gradually steadied.

"I'm impressed Ichijouji," said Hatori. "Didn't figure you dark spore guys would handle this too well."

"We came prepared this time."

Hatori was about to inquire about what that meant when he was interrupted by a sudden loud crack, followed by a rapid succession of pops. The tell-tale sounds of gunfire.

"Damn it!" He snatched the digivice and opened all of its channels. "Alpha team! What are you doing? Don't move yet!"

"We're not!" Came Matt's reply. "It's not us! We're still waiting for the signal!"

"Then what the hell-?'

"You're not going to believe this." Kuri's voice cut in. "A bunch of guys just showed up out of nowhere and started shooting at the tower. It's some kind resistance force. Looks like mostly civilians and they're not very organized. I have no idea what the hell they think they're doing."

Keyan grimaced and stepped away from the wall she was leaning against. "They are going to ruin everything. We have to get rid of them. I can go and-"

Hatori raised a hand to stop her. "No, this could work for us."

"What, how?"

"If they're organized enough, they can draw Hitachi's forces out of hiding and into our trap. That means we won't have to send any of you out there. The less you all are involved, the less Hitachi's suspicions are raised."

"But they're not trained." Joe countered, strapping his medical bag to his back and walking over. "And when we spring the trap they're going to get killed. You know that."

Hatori didn't answer, but instead kept his attention firmly trained on whatever he was looking at through his goggles.

"Hatori!"

"They knew the risks, Joe. I understand and respect your role in all this, but you can't save everyone. I don't like it any more than you, but if we don't go out there, Hitachi's suspicions don't get raised, he goes through the portal, and the world stands a chance in hell of still being here tomorrow."

Joe was about to supply a retort when a voice from Kari's digivice interrupted him. "Don't worry Joe, we'll get them."

Hatori looked down at the device is surprise. "Katsura, no!"

"Relax, Davis and I will just put on these nifty ninja masks in our utility packs, run out there, get them to clear out, and be back in time. We'll even leave Veemon and Peko here at our post. They'll have no idea who we are."

Hatori bit his lip. He could think of a lot of choice words he had for the headstrong Compassionate Knight, but wisely decided to keep them to himself. Instead, he said, "You have three minutes."

* * *

"Three minutes." Kuri grumbled as she and Davis hurried down the alleyway separating the building they'd been holed up in from the battle going on outside Hitachi's tower. "He's just so generous."

"He was partly right, though," said Davis. "We get caught doing this and our whole plan goes up in smoke."

"You'd rather just let them all die?"

"Of course not. You know I'm with you on this."

Kuri smiled to herself as they reached the end of the alley and stopped. The street before them was filled with a firefight between Hitachi's black clad mercenaries and a group of Japanese citizens, all of whom looked decisively less organized. Kuri caught a glimpse of one of the nearby resistance fighters, firing away with a rifle at the tower shield, and let out an abrupt gasp. "Kyoji?"

"What?" Asked Davis. "Kyoji? Your brother?"

The man with the rifle stopped firing to reload, turned around, and looked directly at Kuri as he searched for a place to take cover. His eyes went wide when he saw her and his jaw dropped, as if in shock. "Kuri?! Oh my god, Kuri, is that really you?"

Kuri's response was decidedly less overwhelmed. She ran out into the street, grasped his arm, and dragged him away from the battle into the relative safety of the alley. "Kyoji, what the hell are you doing here? Where are mom and dad? Don't tell me they're here too."

"Um, yeah sis, I'm glad to see you too!" Kyoji's face broke out in a huge grin and was trembling slightly as he looked down at the sister.

"Sorry." Kuri pulled him into a quick hug. "It's just I-" She paused, obviously flustered, and turned around. "Um Davis, this is my brother, Kyoji."

"Yeah." Said Davis. "I figured that."

"You're alive too? I thought-"

"We all are." He reached out and shook Kyoji's hand. "Wish we had more time for intros, but-"

"Yeah, no I get it. There'll be time for that after we win this thing, right?"

"Now that's the attitude I like to hear." Davis gave him a half smile before turning and edging up to the mouth of the alley. He glanced back at Kuri.

"Go ahead, Davis. I'll be right behind you." As he took off, she turned back to her brother. "Ugh, your timing couldn't have been worse. You guys have completely screwed up our plans, you know that?"

"Well, I'm sorry." Kyoji wiped a few strands of matted hair from his face and Kuri noted that he still sported those blonde streaks she'd always found ridiculous. "We didn't even know you were alive. Speaking of which-"

She stalled him with a raised hand. "Long story. And just exactly what are you doing here? You have some kind of death wish?"

"What, I was supposed to just stay in Australia and let the people that killed my, well, that I _thought _killed my sister, get away with it? Of course I came to fight with the resistance!"

Kuri grunted in frustration. "Just great. Look, stay here. I have to talk to whoever's in charge of this ragtag outfit of yours before you all get yourselves killed."

"That would be Commander Drake. Knowing him, he's probably right in the thick of it there."

"Drake..." Kuri's eyes narrowed. "Why does that name sound familiar?"

"Well, he used to be a CADE agent-"

She snapped a finger. "The one that gave us that PDA! I know him!. Kyoji, stay here. I mean it. We have a trap set and it's not safe out there. I'll be back for you."

"Um, okay. Whatever you say, sis." He gave Kuri a blank constant grin, which told her that he hardly cared about the situation facing them and was still just glad that she was alive.

Kuri cursed herself and pulled her hood over her face. Though she was happy to see her brother, this was not what she needed right now. She'd much rather know that he was in the relative safety of Australia than in the middle of this mess. "Seriously Kyoji," she warned again. "Don't go out there."

"I got it. Just hurry back, okay?"

"Fine." Kuri left him and headed into the midst of the fray, surreptitiously launching Boom Bubbles at various mercenaries as she made her way across the battlefield and avoided gunfire whizzing overhead. After a moment, she finally spotted a familiar face in the throng and approached him. "Commander Drake? Gavin Drake?"

The man, preoccupied with grappling with a mercenary, threw his opponent aside and turned to face her. He drew a pistol from his waist and aimed directly at her head. "Who are you? How do you know me?"

"Whoa, relax." Kuri quickly pulled up her hood just enough for him to see her face.

"You-!" His eyes went wide and he allowed the hand holding the gun to drop to his side.

"Look out!" Kuri replaced her hood and launched an attack at a mercenary that was approaching the commander from behind.

Gavin didn't even turn as Kuri's Boom Bubble collided with his assailant and knocked the man out. Instead, he kept his surprised gaze trained on her. "You're alive? And the others-?"

"Yes, they're alive too. And we're here to help. But first you have to tell your men to fall back from the vicinity around the tower, we have a trap set and it's going to go off soon."

"A trap?"

"Yes, a big one. You did great drawing his forces out, now fall back and let us do our job. We have about a minute."

"Um, yeah, sure. No problem." He turned and cupped a hand to his mouth. "Men! Fall back! Retreat!"

"What?!" exclaimed one of the men, a civilian wearing a stereotypical ragged cut-off t-shirt and a headband. "But Commander Drake, we're holding our own here! Why would we-"

Gavin rushed over to the man and roughly grabbed him by the collar. "Don't question my orders! Fall back, NOW! Move it or lose it!"

The rest of the resistance finally began to comply, grabbing their wounded where they could while covering their retreat with sporadic bursts of gunfire. Satisfied that they would clear the area in time, Kuri quickly returned to the alley where she had left her brother. She was relieved to find Davis there, as well.

"They're clearing the street." She said. "How much time is left?"

Davis glanced at his digivice. "About thirty seconds."

"Okay," she looked back over her shoulder. "And Hitachi's guys are staying close to the building, just like we thought."

"We should probably move further away than this."

"Right. We'll return to our post. Come on Kyoji."

"Okay," Kyoji quickly strapped his rifle over his shoulder. "But um, what are we running from?"

"You'll see. Just follow us, and hurry."

The three began a mad dash down the length of the alley, but before they could even reach the other end of the thin corridor, several booming pops rang out over the night, followed by a concussive wave of force that brought Kuri and Davis to their knees and sent Kyoji flying off of his feet. The buildings surrounding them rumbled for a moment, dropping chunks of brick and mortar into the alley.

"Wha- what was that?" Kyoji exclaimed, arms extended as the two Knights pulled him back to his feet.

"The trap," said Davis. "Let's hope we caught something with it."

"God," Kyoji rubbed his head with a grimace. "I would hope so."

The three of them took a moment to look back at the end of the alley, now blanketed by a layer of falling dust and completely silent of any activity by Hitachi's army.

"Come on," said Kuri, "we'd better get back to our post before Veemon and Peko come out here looking for us."

* * *

The sound of several large explosions reverberating through the night air and caused the waiting team on the harbor dock to immediately spring into action.

"That's the signal!" Krista ran to the edge of the platform and began waving frantically. "This is it, everyone! Go! Go! Go!"

Obediently, everyone closed their waterproof bags, properly placed their breathing apparatus and without hesitation, leapt into the frigid waters of the harbor. It took only seconds for them all to resurface near the support beams of the dock, bobbing up and down with the rhythm of the choppy waters. For a moment, the shock of suddenly being immersed in the cold water took their collective breath away. They simply looked at one another, eyes wide and gasping. Krista was the first to find her voice. "Alright everyone, get your lines ready. Cody, evolve your partner."

Cody nodded and pulled out his digivice.

"Digi-armor..." He said through chattering teeth, pausing when a wave of sea water covered his mouth. "Energize."

The floating Armadillomon was enveloped in a bright light and replaced by the form of a compact submarine as the glow faded away. There was a compartment in the submarine for one passenger, but it was much too small for any of them to fit into. Instead, they'd formulated a different plan to take advantage of Submarimon's aquatic capabilities.

"Okay everyone, attach your lines now!"

As one, the group surrounded Submarimon, each of them holding a length of nylon rope with a small grappling hook at its end. The digimon opened the dome surrounding his small cockpit

"You're _sure_ you know how to get there?" Asked Taps as he threw his line in with everyone else.

"Do you?" asked Submarimon.

"No, but I'm not the submarine here."

"Well, then, I guess you better just shut up and follow me then."

Taps scowled. "Hey, I was just asking a-"

"Shut your traps, you two." Admonished Krista. "Curtis, how are we looking on time?"

The Knight in question took a look at his digivice and frowned. "Man, we're going to be cutting it very close now. I wish we could wait until the next cycle."

"Well, we can't, so we don't have a moment to waste." Krista turned to the rest of the group. "Everyone has their breathing equipment in place?"

She was answered by several nods of affirmation.

"Alright then." She reached up and patted the hull of the mechanical digimon floating beside her. "Submarimon, dive!"

With a low whirring of servos and turbines, he did so, disappearing below the surface with hardly a ripple. After a moment those left floating at the surface disappeared one by one, as their individual lines of rope became taut and they were pulled down into the murky depths of the unknown.

* * *

"Whoa." Kari removed her fingers from her ears and peered out of the alleyway into the street beyond. In the distance, plumes of smoke rose everywhere from the various craters that the high capacity charges had created. "That was... something."

Hatori moved forward beside her and lowered his night vision goggles. "And it looks like we cleared them all out. They'll have no choice but to send reinforcements from inside the tower. If the incursion team has no problems getting in, their path to the control room should be cleared."

"Not that I doubt the grand plan here." Said Yolei, "but what exactly are we supposed to do to stop the reinforcements? If the Knights have to stay hidden from Hitachi and we don't have any more bombs left, who is supposed to handle them?"

Ken moved up beside her. "Well, at this point, the plan was that Hitachi would enter the portal anyway. He shouldn't have time to waste with us. He shouldn't even see us as threats."

"Well, is he still up there?"

The crackling voice of Tai cut in. "He is still there. Damn it."

"Why is he still there?"

"Maybe we raised his suspicions," said Hatori. "We may have gotten his attention a little too well."

"So then what do we do?"

"We have to allow the resistance to resume their attack. Even if Hitachi is still up there, right now we owe it to the incursion team to draw the attention of the tower's interior forces."

At that moment, Kin and Jiro approached the group from behind, carrying between them a large wooden board with a multitude of wires connected to it. The gently sat the board down on a large platform beside Bertha and began turning a series of knobs atop it, around each of which one of the wires was attached. They wires coiled around each of the knobs until their length was pulled taut. When they were done, Jiro gave the group a thumbs-up.

"Everything went as planned?" Asked Hatori.

Kin nodded. "Each of these wires is attached to a gun in one of the building's windows, aimed at the specific areas you told us. Just turn one of the knobs to squeeze the trigger and fire. We labeled which guns correspond to which knobs."

"Each one has 100 rounds?"

"Right."

"Alright. Great job. Drivers, take your positions in the vehicles."

Kin glanced at Bertha, but didn't enter just yet. "Are we about to move?"

"Not quite," answered Yolei. "Hitachi hasn't left yet."

"Seems to be tonight's slogan." Kin looked out of the alley at the quieted street beyond and allowed his eyes to follow the trails of smoke left behind by the bombs up the shielded facade of the tower. "Wonder if he'll ever leave."

* * *

"What the blazes was that?" The Assassin peered over the edge of the tower balcony and strained to see down to the tiny street. The iron balcony rail he gripped still vibrated with the aftershocks of the massive blasts from far below.

"High yield explosives, sir," responded Hardesty behind him, walkie-talkie to his ear. "It seems they were planted around the perimeter of the building. Took out the majority of the force we'd deployed down there."

"Who in the world would be stupid enough to..." Hitachi paused as the sounds of faint yelling and gunfire drifted up from below. Several small blasts accompanied them and the railing began to vibrate once again. "They're attacking the barrier?"

"Sir, the building's shielding was created to deflect a major attack and give us an opportunity to retaliate. It was not made to stand up to a sustained assault."

The Assassin's gaze narrowed as he glanced at the recently opened portal, then back over the balcony. "The timing of this is quite suspicious."

"But nothing more than an annoyance," interrupted Hitachi. "And it should be treated as such. Send the building's security forces to take care of them."

"But sir," Said the merc commander, "that would leave the interior relatively unprotected-"

"And? That means exactly what to me? I should fear these men? We already have their most powerful champions in our grasp, and even they would pose no threat, were they here. We've taken their best shot. We should not delay this joining any longer than necessary for such inconsequential foolishness."

Commander Hardesty and The Assassin shared a poignant look. Hardesty frowned, and seemed to be in deep consternation about telling Hitachi the truth. _The fool_! The Assassin spoke up before he had the opportunity to ruin everything. "We'll deploy the predators. That should be more than enough to repel this small rebellion."

Hitachi actually smiled at the statement. "And it should be somewhat entertaining as well. Go ahead and give the order."

The Assassin allowed himself a small unseen grimace as he brought his radio to his mouth. In spite of everything, how long they'd been working towards this goal, Hitachi was actually going to waste time watching this spectacle instead of just entering the portal? This entire affair was becoming quite irritating. Hitachi was growing too confident, thus valuable time was being wasted, and meanwhile The Assassin was stuck with a hardly adequate mercenary instead of Jade to follow and enforce his orders... and just where the hell _was_ Jade anyway?

"As you wish. Control, enact contingency C."

"This should make for quite the show," grunted Hitachi with a slight anticipatory smile.

The Assassin simply nodded and did his best to hide his glower of disappointment.

* * *

Curtis was careful as his head broke the water's surface. Though thankful that the treacherous amphibious portion of his team's journey had ended, he knew that they were by no means out of the woods yet. He looked around at the large chamber that housed the underwater entry. Perfect. It was just as he had expected, from the impressive height of the room's arched ceiling, to the metallic sheen of its heat deflecting aluminum walls. Though he hated to admit it, Curtis could not deny that the room's construction was a spectacular feat of modern engineering.

Moments later, Rosa surfaced beside him and took a look around, as well. "Wow. It's like we're in one big-ass pipe."

Curtis smirked as the others began to breach around them.

"Okay, where to from here?" Asked Krista.

Curtis pointed to a small landing at the edge of the water, lined by a metal railing. "The maintenance deck over there. There should be a hatch that leads to the main service tunnel that we saw on the diagram."

"Then let's move." After cutting the lines connecting them to Submarimon, the group turned and began making their way over to the concrete platform.

Curtis climbed up first, then turned back and helped the others up, as well. Submarimon pulled up beside the platform and allowed them to grab the various bags stored in his cockpit before devolving back to Armadillomon and climbing up onto the platform himself.

Cody bent down and gave his partner a pat on the head. "You did great. Thanks buddy."

"Okay," said Taps, shaking the water free of his short fur. "Now what?"

"Yeah," said Tentomon, speeding his own drying process by firing arcs of electricity around himself. "We don't have much longer before this tunnel fills with boiling hot water, right?"

Krista turned toward the narrow hallway that led away from the platform and toward what looked like a maintenance hatch. She pointed. "That likely leads to the larger tunnel that goes into the main of the building. I want you digimon to take up positions in that small hallway and guard the entrance. Those of you with the best hearing do your best scout the other side."

Palmon nodded. "Okay, and just what are the rest of you going to do?"

Krista threw her bag on the ground and kneeled to unzip it. "We'll get changed. Everyone, open your bags and suit up."

"Um," Curtis looked around uncertainly, his gaze momentarily stopping on Mimi, Noriko, and Rosa. He was very aware of the fact that under the thin layer of their skin-tight wetsuits, all of them were very naked.

Krista grunted and rolled her eyes. "Honestly, you would think that we have much more important things to worry about. Okay, boys on that end of the platform, girls on this end."

"Alright." Curtis sheepishly bent down to pick up his bag and began to retreat to the other end of the small dock. He thought momentarily of how pitiful his brother would find the situation and how he would definitely have a smart-ass comment to make about it.

It took only moments for he and Rosa to get into their Knights uniforms and the others to outfit themselves with bulletproof kevlar vests and various utilities (two carefully packed laptops for Izzy, an emergency medical bag for Mimi, Cody's sword and kendo stick, etc.). As everyone turned to face each other once again, Krista moved between the two groups and kneeled down to open a heavy bag full of weaponry. Beside it sat another bag full of ammunition.

"Alright everyone," she said. "We went over this already. We each get one SMG, two pistols, and take all the blades you want."

The group circled around her and looked down upon the menagerie of weapons apprehensively, all seemingly pondering the same thing. If they had their digimon, why would they need these? Traditionally this hadn't been their way of doing things, not unless absolutely necessary.

Predictably, Rosa and Noriko were the first to bend down and begin picking out their firearms. "I don't know what the hell the rest of them are waiting for," Rosa said to Krista, "but we don't have time to waste and I came here to win."

The statement galvanized the rest into action and they all began picking out their weapons and ammunition clips as well. Even Mimi allowed Izzy to convince her to take a pistol, "just in case."

"I'm glad to see you all came around," said Krista dryly. "I was beginning to think that I'd gotten sent down here with a bunch of conscientious objectors."

Curtis held back a chuckle as he saw Mimi give the woman a scowl.

"Cody, aren't you going to at least take something?" Asked Rosa. She indicated his empty hands with a nod.

"No," Noriko answered for him. "It's not his way. Besides, he has his sword, his kendo stick, and his transformation. He's already well armed."

"Well, just in case, I brought him this." Krista rummaged through the depleted weapons bag and pulled out what looked like a small black wooden block. She pressed down on a part of it and with a loud click it unfolded, revealing that it was, in fact, a miniature crossbow. "It belonged to someone you very much remind me of and who shared your same strong sense of duty and honor. I hope it holds enough antiquity that you'll consider using it."

Cody gave her a slight smile and a bow as he accepted the small weapon. "I am honored. Thank you." He folded the crossbow and placed in a satchel on his waistband beside the sheaths that held his other two traditional weapons.

"We don't have much time left," said Curtis, taking a quick look at his digivice. "You think this has been enough time for the others to draw most of the building's security outside?"

"Should be," said Krista. "Let's get moving."

Everyone began to make their way toward the small anterior hallway, lining up one behind the other, as the only way for them to fit through would be single file. They were halted by Gotsumon leaping out of the hallway and looking at the group with a wide eyed expression.

"What is it?" Asked Rosa.

"We can't go that way."

"What? It's the _only_ way we can go. What are you talking about?"

"Me and Taps listened at the hatch door. Whatever room is on the other side is crawling with guards."

"There's a tunnel on the other side." Curtis glanced at Krista. "And from the schematics we have, there's no reason for such an insignificant area to be 'crawling with guards.'"

Gotsumon shrugged. "Well, we can hear them, and there's definitely a lot of them."

"Then we underestimated Hitachi," said Cody. "Even if he doesn't know about us having the building blueprints or the Knights being free, he still didn't take any chances and stationed a lot of his men in the area of his tower's one weakness."

"But that was the point of the plan, wasn't it?" Asked Mimi. "He's supposed to send these guards to defend against the attack outside, right?"

"Maybe we miscalculated. Maybe he had back-up reinforcements a short distance away so he wouldn't have to send anyone from inside the tower."

"Damn it," grumbled Krista. "We're running out of time. We can't ambush them if there's as many as Gotsumon says, not when we have to go through that small hatch one by one. They'll pick us all off easily. Curtis, get Hatori on the horn. We need to find out what the hell is going on on their end."

* * *

The command center was buzzing with activity as everyone was beginning to grow restless, waiting while the resistance force kept up their attack against the tower's shield.

"We're taking care of it." Hatori said into Kari's digivice. "We've just run into a complication, Hitachi still hasn't gone through the portal. Yes, I realize your situation. Just give us a moment."

"Who was that?" Kari asked as she took the communicator back and clipped it on.

"Curtis and the incursion team. It's too late for them to blow out. We're pushing up against the timing of the next coolant release and they're still stuck in the underground pipeline. More security is down there than we originally planned for. We have to be effective about this."

The loud patter of gunfire echoed in the distance.

Yolei poked her head out of one of Bertha's windows. "Well, it sounds like the resistance is back at it. Don't you think we should join them?"

Hatori shook his head. "There's no reason for it yet. If Hitachi isn't sending anyone else out of the tower now, he won't just because we show up."

"I think we have to go," said Ken. "We have enough power to force his hand, make him _have_ to send someone out."

Hatori look unconvinced. "Perhaps, but we need to give it a little time. I think he's up to something, and I want to find out what it is first."

"Well, okay. You are in charge here." Yolei mumbled. "Were it up to me though, we would go in right now."

* * *

"But you can't go!"

"Kuri, please. I have to go down there." Kyoji struggled against the vice-like grip his sister held on his arm. "You have to let me go."

Kuri raised a brow at that. "I think you and I both know that isn't true."

"God, you're strong now. I can't even budge you." Kyoji sighed and looked up at Davis, who, along with Veemon and Peko, was watching the battle outside their 5th story window with keen interest. "Can't you talk to her for me? Get her to change her mind?"

Davis glanced at him. "You've known her longer than I have." He gave a partial smile and a shrug. "So you should be aware that that's impossible." With that, he returned his attention to the happenings outside.

Kyoji tugged his arm again, to no avail. "Kuri, you can't do this to me. I have friends out there putting their lives on the line."

"Complain all you want, but I just got you back and it's too dangerous out there. I'm not letting you go again."

"Besides," added Veemon, "No one's dying out there. Hitachi isn't even fighting back."

* * *

"What? He's not? Are you kidding me?"

"Come take a look."

Tai rushed over to the window to join Jun in observing the resistance's attack on Hitachi's tower. She stepped back and handed him her binoculars. "See, they're attacking the barrier around the tower and he's not even trying to stop them."

"But why?"

"You think maybe he knows about the incursion team? Did they get caught?"

Tai shook his head. "We would have heard from them, if that were the case. No, something else is going on here. Something I just know I'm not going to like."

"So, what should we do then?" Asked Sparks. "Just sit here and do nothing?"

"Hitachi still hasn't entered the portal, which means we can't afford to make an appearance if we have any hope of Davis reaching Miracles and us then stopping him. We have to wait."

* * *

"I knew you would say that." Terence grumbled, arms crossed petulantly in protest. He looked up at Hitachi's tower out of the window before him and sighed.

"Oh stop it," said Clara. "You know full well why we can't go out there. You want to get Hitachi's attention? Have him kill all of us while barely lifting a finger? Because he can, you know."

"Yeah, I was at the fight on the bridge, in case you forgot."

"Then why are you in such a rush to go out there? You know what could happen. "

"Think about it Clara, he's just letting these people attack his tower and isn't even fighting back. That doesn't strike you as just a little bit off?"

"Of course it does," interrupted Marta from the floor. "But maybe that's just because he's looking down on them. They're like, you know, peons to him. He probably doesn't even care."

"Wish I could agree with you on that one," said Terence with a frown. "But I don't think that's what it is. I think he's waiting."

"Waiting for what?" Asked Pings.

"I don't know, but it ain't good."

The others gravitated towards the window he stood in front of and stared over the distance to the black pyramid that jutted into the sky, roving searchlights glancing off of its sloped exterior.

Pings looked up at his partner and frowned. "Real ray of sunshine you are, you know that?"

* * *

"Well I'm sorry I can't be more optimistic," said Matt, peering around the corner at the reassembled throng of rebels that were attacking the tower once again. "But I fail to see how this can possibly be a good thing."

"They're not being riddled with bullets," said TK, adjusting his flak jacket as he mentally readied himself for the fight that was sure to come. "I think most of them would argue that that's a good thing."

"Yeah, for now, but don't blame me when he starts dropping missiles or bombs on their heads."

Patamon, perched on TK's shoulder, let out a small yelp.

"Matt, that's not what we all need to hear right now," Sora admonished. "You're not really helping the morale there."

"I'm just being honest, Sora. We haven't gotten the signal that Hitachi has left yet, so that means he's still up there, and doing what? Just standing up there, not going through the portal, watching these guys try to shoot up his tower and not sending anybody after them? That's stupid. No, he's up there waiting for something."

"Something like what?" Asked Biyomon.

"I wish I knew. But we know it can't be good."

"Then maybe we should help them?"

"No. We have a plan we need to stick to. Look, I know it sounds mean, but those guys out there made their choice. When Hitachi makes his move _we_ have to still be here. We have to _make _the guys inside the tower come out to fight us, or else the incursion team is royally screwed."

"I know," said Sora. "But what makes you so sure that Hitachi is waiting to-"

She was cut off by Gabumon shushing her, finger to his lips as he cupped an ear with a paw. "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"That noise." Gabumon drifted forward to the very edge of the alley. "Something's coming. Really, can't you guys hear it?"

* * *

"How could I _not_ hear that?" Rosa shouted, straining for her voice to carry over the droning blare of the suddenly activated alarm system. "It's just about the loudest damn thing I've _ever_ heard!"

"Sorry!" Said Noriko, covering her ears. "It was a rhetorical question!"

Krista's head appeared at the mouth of the small tunnel as she returned from where she had been, listening to the activities of the guards on the other side of the hatch. "Someone please tell me what that is!"

"It's the warning alarms!" Explained Izzy.

"I gathered that much!" Krista squinted at the pulsating glare of the numerous red siren lights mounted on the room's walls. "Warning alarms for what?"

"There's a coolant release coming up shortly!"

"Christ!" Krista slapped a palm to her forehead. "How much time do we have?"

"I dunno!" Curtis shrugged. "Five minutes maybe?"

"Maybe?"

"I told you before these were inexact measurements! We could have ten minutes, or we could have thirty seconds! I can't be certain!"

"In that case," Mimi anxiously jutted a thumb in the direction of the tidal pool. "What if we jump back in the water? Could we get out in time?"

Curtis shook his head, hands covering his ears to ward off the alarm's offensive blare. "Our chances would be very remote since this whole area of the harbor will be superheated! There's no way we would clear the impact radius in time!"

"Argh!" Noriko stomped a foot." This boiled alive scenario has been coming up way too often the past two days!"

"This is not working!" Krista shook her head as she pulled out her digivice. "I understand they're having some problems up there, but we're not getting our asses steamed alive because of this!"

* * *

"No one's asking you to, Ms. Lee." Tai said into his digivice. "I understand your situation, but there's nothing we can do. Can you guys hold on just a little longer?"

"Tai, what makes you think that's even remotely an option? Do you even hear that alarm in the background?"

"Yes I do, but as long as Hitachi is still up there-" Tai glanced at Jun, who shook her head as she continued looking up at the tower through her binoculars. "And he is- we can't risk being seen."

"Someone needs to get the attention of these guards! You do understand that we're all going to die if this doesn't happen?!"

"Okay, okay. I understand. How long do you think you have?"

"According to Curtis, anywhere between ten minutes and... and a minute ago! Point is, we don't know!"

"Okay. Just hold tight. We'll see what we can do."

"Just hurry!"

The communication cut and Jun gave Tai a look of worry.

"Tai, what can we do? As long as he doesn't go into that portal-" She paused, her gaze shifting from the top of Hitachi's tower to the streets below. "What in the world are those?"

Tai rushed back to her side and followed her gaze downwards. She handed him the binoculars.

"I'm not sure. Planes, it looks like. And a lot of them. They're pretty small though."

Tai focused in on the small objects. "Yeah, they are. I think I can even hear their engines."

* * *

"Yeah, I think I can hear it now too, Gabumon," said Matt, acknowledging the high pitched droning that was now reaching all of their ears in the midst of the persisting sounds of gunfire and explosions.

"Of course you can," said Patamon. "You can even see them now." He pointed into the sky.

"Are those... planes?" Sora squinted as the shapes descended from the sky, their silver frames glinting in stark contrast against the background of the black swirling sky.

"They're not big enough, are they?" said Biyomon. "They're like, mini-planes or something..."

TK began to absent mindedly wander out of the alley to get a better look when Matt grabbed him by the collar and forcefully jerked him back.

"Hey!" The younger Ishida protested.

"What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking we should see what the hell those things are!"

"Yeah, by walking right out into their sight lines?"

TK rolled his eyes. "Yeah, because that's my plan, walk right out in front of them and just stand they while they shoot me or dive bomb me or whatever."

"Walking out there at all is dumb."

"Geez, and here I thought you stopped that overprotective big brother routine ten years ago."

Sora stepped between the two. "Guys, this isn't the time for this."

There was a sudden hissing noise, followed by forceful blast that rocked all of them off of their feet. A column of blazing hot air exploded through the ally, forcing them all to turn facedown and cover their heads. As the searing sensation passed over the group, eliciting grimaces of pain, the sounds of the screams of the resistance fighters ripped through the air, adding a terrifying counterpoint to the mysterious explosion. The heat dissipated just as the loud noise of the planes reached its zenith and the crafts dove down between the buildings, then faded as they ascended from view.

Sora was the first to get to her feet, brushing stray hairs away from her face as she looked up into the sky.

"What was that?"

Matt arose beside her and coughed as the acrid smoke assaulted his lungs. "I-I don't know. Is everyone okay?"

"Ugh, I think so." TK accepted his brother's offered hand to help him up. "You alright Patamon?"

"I've been better."

TK placed a hand on Matt's shoulder. "Thanks. If I had gone out there, I would have-"

"Forget about it," dismissed the older brother. "We need to find out what that was."

There was another hissing noise, followed by another powerful blast, this one not as close...then another...and another. The buildings around them shook with each impact, and after a moment the screams of the resistance force could be heard as the men struggled to help their fallen comrades.

Sora gasped. "It's a full on attack!"

* * *

Davis shielded his eyes from the progression of blinding explosions on the street below and ducked as several of the missile launching planes flew within inches of the window, the force of their engines shaking the dusty glass pane and causing the entire room to rumble.

"Well, that wasn't good," he muttered, sidling up to the window in order to observe the smoke trails of the crafts as they pulled out of their dives.

Kuri frowned and brushed a bit of fallen plaster from her uniform. "What in the world was that?"

"Dunno," said Veemon. "Some kind of dive-bombing remote controlled planes."

"Remote controlled?" Peko gave Veemon a skeptical look. "What makes you think that?"

"They didn't have pilots." Davis's gaze shifted from the retreating crafts to the raging fires and craters they left behind in the streets below. The men and women that weren't lying still on the ground were scrambling to reform their ranks. "The resistance is still fighting, but there were probably some pretty heavy casualties down there. Damn it. I hate being stuck here."

"Well I'm not stuck here," said Kyoji, turning around. "I'm going down to help them."

Kuri rushed over to him and grabbed his arm again. "Kyoji, no!"

"You heard him. They're dying down there, Kuri! I have to help them even if you won't."

"Unless you've somehow gained the ability to deflect missiles while you were down there running around the Outback, you're not going anywhere."

"Well, you _can_ deflect missiles. Are you going out there?"

"Kyoji, I told you, we can't risk it. The plan-"

"Yeah yeah, 'the plan.'" Kyoji said disdainfully, making air quotes with his fingers. 'The plan' seems to only be getting people killed, you know. And, as far as I can tell, 'the plan' is the only reason you're not down there saving them."

"Ah, damn it." Kuri grumbled. "You know, I'd almost forgotten how annoying you could be."

"Well, here's another reminder." Kyoji jerked his arm from her grip. "I'm not going to just sit up here and watch my friends die. I'm going out there."

"Kyoji!" Kuri reached out for her brother again, but was stopped by a thought transmitted from Davis.

_Kuri, you can't stop him._

She looked back at him angrily. _What?_

_You can't stop him just as much as I couldn't stop Jun from going to the Academy and becoming a Knight. Besides, he'll be fine. These attacks won't last much longer._

"Well, seems like you're giving me the silent treatment now." Kyoji frowned. "I guess some things never change. Sis, I'm sorry, but I promised them I would stand at their side, no matter what. We have to at least _try_ to shoot those planes down if you guys can't."

"Fine," Kuri huffed. "Go. Just don't be an idiot and get yourself killed."

"Hmph. I'll try not to disappoint you." With that, Kyoji cocked his rifle and sprinted out the door.

Kuri directed a glare at Davis, who was looking out of the window once again.

_He'll be fine. _He transmitted without turning around. _Trust me._

* * *

Far above the chaos, at the apex of the tower, Hitachi chuckled as he looked over the balcony rail down into the aftermath of the carnage from the Predator plane attacks. "I know this may seem somewhat petty," he said. "But sometimes there nothing better than watching a weaker enemy's last ray of hope be extinguished."

"I know the feeling," responded The Assassin, careful to inject a modicum of patience into his voice. He wanted to remind Hitachi that he should be going through the portal, but stopped himself from saying the words. He couldn't appear too anxious without raising Hitachi's suspicions. As far as he knew, things couldn't have been going any better.

"Ah, but the time for such things has passed." Hitachi turned away from the scene and began walking back towards the portal. "I need to take hold of my destiny with no further interruptions."

The Assassin did his best to quell his sigh of relief. "As you wish, sir. Don't worry, we'll take care of things here."

"I'm sure you will." Hitachi moved towards the dark vortex and took a halting step into the void beyond. He gave one last look in his subordinates' direction, the wind pulling his inky dreadlocks across his face. "And make sure that you do." With that, he disappeared.

The merc commander moved as close to the portal as he would dare and peered at it for a moment before turning his attention to The Assassin. "Are you sure we did the right thing, not telling him about the escaped Knights?"

The Assassin glared at him. "You're annoying me." He produced a handgun from his robes and wasted no time in putting a bullet though the Captain's head. He watched the man slump to the ground before turning his attention back over the rail and to the predator drones, returning to make another pass. "We're so close now. All we need is a little time."

* * *

"Davis, why did you let me do that?" Kuri ran her hands through her hair in worry. "That's my brother running out there to get himself killed. Why in the world did I listen to you? Would you let Jun do that?"

"Ha, as if she would listen to me." Davis' accompanying smirk disappeared when he saw the glare his girlfriend was giving him. "And _you_ listened to me because you know as well as I do that he's going to be fine. Any moment now we're going to get the report that Hitachi has gone through that portal and we'll be able to go out there and fight."

"It's fine when you say that stuff and it's _my_ life on the line, Davis, but that's my brother out there!"

"I know, Kuri," he said gently. "Trust me, he'll be okay."

"I hope you're right Davis," said Veemon, pointing. "Because here comes those planes again!"

"No!" Kuri rushed to the widow and pressed against the glass. She could see the drones turning in formation to make another bombing pass. The familiar buzzing of the small engines began to become louder, just as before. At that moment, Tai's voice crackled through her digivice.

"He's gone! Hitachi went through! Knights, take those planes out, now!"

"See?" Said Davis, "Now come on, let's-" He was interrupted by a bright flash, the sound of a crash, and when he looked at where Kuri had once been, he saw only a gaping hole in the wall. "Right. Of course."

He followed her example and leapt through the hole, evolving Veemon halfway through their descent and pulling out of the dive at the last possible moment. As they ascended, they smashed through a couple of the diving Predator planes, sending their parts flying in all directions. Davis leveled off and took a look around, noting all of the other planes in the area exploding in similar fashion. The other Knights and digimon were now all in the open

"So," yelled Clara, "what now?"

"Hit that barrier with all you've got!" shouted Tai. "Let's get their attention!"

Davis stared up the expanse of the black pyramid surrounding Hitachi's tower, already beginning to undulate under the onslaught of attacks. Finally, they were forcing their enemy's hand. "Alright Assassin," he said quietly, "your move."

* * *

The Assassin gripped the rail and looked down upon the wreckage of the shattered planes with a frown. This attack wasn't unexpected of course, but the timing did bother him to an extent. Their enemies apparently had the ability to see Hitachi and could tell that he'd entered the portal. The Assassin had advised the Dark heir to make the tower's shield impenetrable to sight, but Hitachi had never listened. That was expected, of course, since he and no idea what his second in command's true motivation for suggesting it was, but it was still infuriating to no end. Something so simple-

His thoughts were interrupted by his radio beeping with the sound of an incoming communication. The Assassin let out the sigh he'd been holding before answering it. "Yes?"

"I know you're seeing this, right?"

"Yes. Of course I am, Miko."

"Um, so... your orders? That barrier's not going to hold forever."

"Yes, I know. My orders..." The Assassin paused and looked down. He couldn't help but to think that his next commands would somehow be playing right into his enemy's hands. But then, what choice did he have? He had to buy time until Hitachi returned. "Deploy the tower's interior security and the mutants. Open the portal for the Dark Masters, Daemon and Apocalymon as well. If it's a war they want, then it's one they'll get."

"And what about the dark portal? Should I send a detail up there to help protect it, just in case?"

The Assassin's eyes began to glow white with angered energy. "No, leave that to me."

* * *

Tai hovered in midair, Wargreymon beside him, and watched the continuing progression of the others' attacks against the tower's shield.

"How long can we keep this up?" his partner rumbled, "And why aren't they fighting back?'

"Oh, it's coming," said Tai. "It's definitely coming."

The doors at the base of the tower suddenly burst open and hundreds, if not thousands of Hitachi's soldiers began pouring out into the street amid a cacophony of snarls, shouts, and gunfire. They collided with what was left of the resistance and almost immediately began pushing the relatively small group back.

"See?" Tai raised his digivice as his partner dove down to join the fray. "Hatori-"

"We're already on our way," came the reply.

"Good." Tai turned around just in time to see dozens of champion level digimon and digidestined rounding the corners and emerging from alleys surrounding the tower. Those that could were already firing projectile attacks, while the others fired weapons and sought cover behind the two Cade vehicles and the bulked up, heavily armored monstrosity that was Bertha. He glanced at Kari, at the rear of the encroaching group with Joe and Kentaro, already tending to some of the wounded from the earlier plane attacks.

The ground forces were now holding their own against Hitachi's soldiers of fortune and mutants. The element of surprise had served them all well, as it seemed that Hitachi's forces were caught off guard by the sudden onslaught of powerful allies, and were already beginning to back off of their defensive positions around the tower. Tai knew that securing that area would be crucial to their cause. If they could keep up the attacks against the shield without interruption, they would be practically guaranteed of it coming down, one way or another, and Davis would be able to get through the portal.

Just as Tai was starting to feel that the battle before them might easily be won, there was an ominous rumbling noise overhead. He and a few others looked up at the source of the disturbance. A section of the overcast sky was beginning to shift and swirl, as if being stirred from above by a celestial hand. The clouds gradually began to part, forming a windswept cylindrical column that seemed to lead up into an endless dark abyss. A few anxious moments passed and then Tai saw six very familiar shapes emerging from within. Daemon and The Dark Masters. As the group of six mega level digimon gradually came closer and grew into focus, Tai noticed that they didn't look quite the same as before. They were differently colored, and Puppetmon and Piedmon now wore armor. MetalSeadramon's existing armor had been greatly augmented. Even Daemon and Apocalymon, who brought up the rear, looked more powerful.

"Looks like they've been upgraded," said someone, prompting Tai to turn to the source of the voice. It was Clara, hovering in the air beside him atop Marta, who was in her Nefertimon form.

"Yeah, it does." Tai watched solemnly as Machinedramon and Puppetmon came to rough landings on the tops of nearby towers while the others hovered overhead.

"So what do we do?"

"We fight. We have to give the incursion team enough time to take the shield down. Apocalymon's the most important up there. You gather a group of flyers and go take him on. Remember, you have to keep him busy and from using his-"

"Total Annihilation attack, I know." Clara let out a deep breath. "Alright. This is what we came back for, after all. Marta, let's go."

As Tai watched them descend away to gather forces, his digivice crackled with an incoming communication from Kari's digivice.

He picked up. "Yeah?"

"Tai, can you handle them?" Asked Hatori.

"Of course." Tai's bravado faded as he stared at the group of legendary dark digimon, who had settled along the ledges of a line of high rises a few blocks away. They weren't hard to spot with the lights of the city glaring off of their new armor, and they seemed to be scanning the battle, looking over everyone below as if searching for prey. A sudden thought occurred to Tai. "Oh, and tell Ms. Lee the coast should be clear."

* * *

"About damn time!" The combat instructor shouted over the drone of the ongoing alarms. She then turned to the others.. "Hatori says they sent the reserves from the building to the battle outside! Open the hatch! I'm going through first, in case there are any guards still there, so wait for my signal! Curtis, Rosa, your uniforms can give more protection than the rest of us! You two bring up the rear!"

Curtis and Rosa glanced at one another as Krista made her way down the tunnel, unlocked the hatch, and forced the heavy door open. She disappeared through, and after a few tense moments of waiting, reappeared and beckoned the others to follow. "They're gone! Hurry, let's go!"

Mimi and Noriko headed down the hall and through the small portal first, followed by Palmon, Tentomon and Armadillomon. Cody and Izzy were getting set to follow them when a sudden loud hissing sound caused them to pause. Curtis knew that sound. Hydraulics. The massive doors at the end of the chamber were preparing to open

"Go! Now!" He shouted, pushing the two forward. "We're out of time!"

"The hatch is closing down here!" Shouted Mimi, desperately trying to hold the door open with little effect. "Hurry! We can't stop it!"

"Maybe if we digivolve-"

"There's no time, Izzy!" Shouted Rosa. "Now haul ass!" She looked down at Taps and Gotsumon. "You two as well!"

"But-"

"We're right behind you! Go!"

They reluctantly followed her orders, trailing on the heels of Izzy and Cody. By the time the group reached the hatch, there was just enough room left for Gotsumon and Taps to sneak through. Curtis slammed up against the thick steel door right as it completely closed shut. "Damn it, we're trapped!"

"We have to evolve." Rosa began to pull out her digivice when Curtis noticed that the coolant release doors behind her were actually beginning to lift. In the brief amount of time he had to react, Curtis knew that there was nothing they could do. The steam and scalding water would rush into the room and they would die almost instantly. There certainly wasn't enough time to evolve and break the hatch open, and if they did, they'd only be endangering their friends outside. He rushed forward and wrapped his arms around her, eyes closed tightly, and said the only thing that occurred to him. "Rosa, I love you!".

She seemed to understand the finality of the situation and grasped him tightly, burying her face into his shoulder. The steam and boiling water blasting into the room sounded like a screaming freight train, ready to consume them in mere moments. Then, as suddenly as it had begun, the persistent roaring of the steam rushing around them disappeared. The heat and humidity were gone, and the only sensation Curtis felt was that of Rosa holding tightly to him. He felt the rhythm of her breathing slow along with his. Briefly, he entertained the thought that they were dead and had entered into some kind of purgatory together, but the sound of someone shouting his name quickly dismissed that notion.

"Taps?" Curtis opened his eyes to the sight of his partner running towards him. No longer were they in the boiling confines of the release chamber, but in the arched metal hallway on the other side of the hatch. The others were there as well, all looking at he and Rosa with shocked stares.

"Um," Rosa looked up as well, taking in everyone's presence with a surprised expression that mirrored their own. "What the hell just happened?"

"We...don't know," said Mimi. "One second we were all trying to open the hatch, and the next second you two were right there behind us."

"Yeah," echoed Noriko. "You just...appeared."

"Oh... okay." Rosa remained dazed as Gotsumon ran over and wrapped his arms around her, knocking her back slightly. "But how?"

"I don't know." said Curtis.

Krista seemed less surprised and more amused by what had happened. She regarded the couple with her hands on her hips and a knowing smile. "Look at your shields."

Curtis glanced down at his shield and noticed that it was glowing a brilliant blue, while Rosa's was giving off an impressive green glow.

"As best I can tell," said Izzy. "You two just teleported."

"We _teleported_?" Curtis said. "That- that must be our shield combo ability." A smile gradually crossed his face. "That's... awesome."

"Ha!" Rosa grinned. "Hell yeah it is. When this is all over, you know I'm totally going to rub this in Terence's face."

"Alright you two." Krista walked over and offered them both a helping hand up. "We're ecstatic you're alive, but we still have a lot of work to do. Let's get moving everyone."

"Yes maam, right behind you," Cody said. He gave a smile and a nod to the two Knights. "Glad to have you back."

"Ditto." said Mimi, still shaking her head in amazement before hurrying to catch the others.

Noriko gave them a similar look and grinned before heading off.

As the group began walking down the tunnel, Curtis grabbed Rosa by the arm. She paused and looked at him curiously. "What?"

"Just now, when we... Rosa, I-"

"Curtis, you're alive, and so am I. And yes," she pulled in closer to him and planted a brief, tender, kiss on his lips. "I love you too. Now come on, we don't have time to waste being all mushy right now."

He chuckled. "Yeah, you're right. Let's go."

* * *

**Somewhere in the Pacific**

Out in the midst of the Pacific Ocean, a lonely hydrofoil sat, adrift on the calm waters in the dead of night. From afar, it seemed peaceful. Not a person could be seen, and there was no evidence of any activity aboard the vessel, save for a random twinkling of its onboard lights here and there. No, by sight alone, one would never be able to discern that there were even any passengers aboard the ship, much less that they were currently being held captive by a group of vicious armed mercenaries.

Aboard the vessel, a grizzled and horribly scarred man wielding a machine gun in one hand, machete in the other, and a cigarette precariously dangling from his mouth, marched up and down the rows of haphazardly arranged passengers, all seated on the floor, some of them bound and gagged. He paused and looked down at an older man trembling beside him, whose face was bloodied and bruised, and gave the captive a brutal kick in the stomach. The man doubled over with a cry of pain that made the thug smile. He spat on the man and turned to address the other passengers.

"I hope none of the rest of you guys don't get no ideas like Mr. Hero here." The statement was punctuated with a hearty laugh. "Like I was sayin before I was so rudely interrupted, the rules are simple, none of you move, and you won't get dead. Not that you won't get shot. I mean, I am crazy. I might just put a bullet in your leg for no reason."

"Taru," interrupted a woman in the middle of the room, also brandishing a weapon. "Silence yourself before I put a bullet in your head." She looked to be the leader of the armed band, and seemed to be far less amused by the events of the hijacking, so far.

"Sure thing, Ms. Jade." The man continued to grin as he looked over the captives

She scanned over the huddled crowd and let out a frustrated sigh. "Now, I ask you again, where are the Hidas? An old man and a woman, both related to Cody Hida, the digidestined. As I have said already, tell me where they are, or die."

No response came from the huddled mass yet again.

"Fine, if no one will talk, then I will just have to keep my word." Jade scanned the crowd until her gaze settled on a young boy, clutching tightly to his mother. She pointed to him. "Taru, bring him to me. He can be the first to die."

As her counterpart gladly kicked the child's panicked parents aside and followed her orders, Jade strapped her gun over her shoulder and pulled an impressive katana from a sheath at her side. "This should prove amusing, at the least."

A weary looking woman in a scarf immediately to Jade's right jumped to her feet then, angry tears spilling down her reddened face. "Leave the boy alone! My God, haven't we already given enough to you people? You've ruined our lives, taken our friends and loved ones, and chased us from our homes! Aren't you satisfied with that? Now you want to kill a boy's mother and grandfather, and you'll murder an innocent child to do it? This is where we draw the line. We won't give in to you murderers anymore!"

Jade rolled her eyes as the others followed up the woman's speech with grunts and shouts of affirmation. With blur-like speed, she drove the hilt of her sword into the woman's midsection, causing her to double over, then followed that up with a chop to the back of her head, which sent the indignant hostage to the ground without another sound, unconscious. The crowd turned similarly silent after witnessing the scene, expressions of shock and defeat marking their collective countenance.

Jade then turned her attention back to the task at hand. "Taru, the boy."

"Please stop!" An old man in the crowd rose to his feet. "I am Chikara Hida, Cody's grandfather. Don't harm the boy and I'll turn myself over to you."

Jade grinned devilishly. "It's nice to finally see that you have some backbone, old man." She nodded to two armed goons that were standing to the side, who quickly went to apprehend the confessed grandfather. "But this is not a bargain. I asked for the both of you, and until that's what I get," Jade reached out a hand as Taru arrived with the young frightened boy and roughly grabbed the child by his arm. "Little..." She read a small dog tag hanging around the boy's neck. "Little Kado here's life is in serious jeopardy."

Her only answer from the crowd came in the form of fearful silence.

"Fine then." Jade neatly flipped her blade and aimed it at the back of the boy's neck

"Don't!" A middle aged woman stood up from the midst of the crowd. "I am Cody's mother, Kotomi Hida-"

The older man turned to her. "Kotomi-"

"What, Chikara? I was supposed to just sit there and watch an innocent child's life be taken? They aren't satisfied with just you. They want the both of us."

"Smart woman." Jade smiled and lowered her weapon. "Taru, bring her to me."

The burly merc hurried to follow her order, roughly grabbing Kotomi by the arm and dragging her through the crowd. He deposited her in front of Jade with an all too gleeful expression. "Here ya go, Ms. Jade." He said with a chuckle. "Have fun."

"You'll have to forgive Taru here. It's been a while since he was last in the field. Now, on to business. Kneel."

Kotomi responded by giving the woman a hard stare. "What do you want with me?"

Jade sighed. "Taru."

The man viciously kicked Kotomi across the back of her legs, forcing the woman to fall to her knees.

"Better." Jade leaned down in front to the woman and raised her sword between them. "Now, what would you think if I told you that yesterday, this very blade ran through the heart of your precious little boy?"

Kotomi's stare remained hard. "I would think that you're a liar, and a poor one at that."

"Kotomi!" warned Chikara.

She ignored him and continued. "Since you got on the boat your actions have practically screamed frustration. I think that my 'precious little boy' has beaten you once, and you have a child-like complex with getting your revenge against him in whatever way possible."

Jade grinned."An interesting, if foolishly misguided theory. You haven't considered that perhaps I am simply an avid collector. I already took one Hida from this world eleven years ago. Maybe I am simply anxious to take the other three and complete the set."

Kotomi's eyes widened at that statement.

"I see Cody spared you the details of my history with your deceased husband. How kind of him, to afford me the opportunity to let you know that his father actually died at my hands."

"No." Kotomi gasped and brought a hand to her mouth. "That's not possible."

"Of course it is." Jade adjusted the katana, placing it broadside against her captive's neck. "You know, I wish that I had time to go into the details, but this is taking entirely too long, and I'm curious to know if your death throes will be anywhere near as dignified as his were."

A man walked over to Jade just then, halting her from doing the deed. "That may not be necessary, maam."

Jade took the sword away from Kotomi's throat, and instead pointed it at the mercenary. "You had better have a damn good reason for interrupting me, or you're about to join them."

"Maam," The man swallowed hard. "There's been an attack at the tower."

"And? How is this news? There have been rumors of a resistance for a while now." She shrugged. "I'm sure they are handling it just fine."

"No. It's not just the resistance. It's CADE, the other digidestined, and the Knights. They're back."

Excited murmurs raced up and down the ranks of the hostages at his words.

Jade seemed markedly less impressed. "And? How is that news to me?"

The man scratched his head. "You um, know that they escaped?"

"How could I not know?"

"But you think the Hida boy is dead."

"Please. When I saw how Hitachi learned of Barke's betrayal, I knew that you incompetents all were actually capable of keeping secrets beyond the Knights' escape. A while of monitoring your radio chatter to see what other secrets you held told me everything about what had happened at the docks, including who was there. Frankly you idiots are fortunate that Hitachi hasn't found such endeavors worth his time, or you'd all surely be dead."

"I don't get it." said Taru. "If you know he's alive, then why are we here? Why waste your time offin' them when he's back there? Not that I'm complainin' or anything."

"Fool, I'm not here to kill this decrepit old man and useless woman, though she's certainly tempting me. With the boy's new…abilities, it would serve me well to take some precautionary measures. I'm taking them prisoner."

"Prisoner?"

"Yes. So bind them and go get the boat ready to go." Jade turned back to Kotomi as Taru began tying her arms behind her back and gave her a menacing smile. "You see," she said, leaning in close, next to Kotomi's ear and languishing on every word. "I will trap my enemy one way or another, even if I have to lure him with _live bait_. Now you can watch your boy die at my hands when he willingly trades his life for yours."

She took a moment to enjoy Kotomi's look of horror before turning back to her men. "Alright, let's move out." As they began to move the two prisoners out of the room, Jade stopped at the door and gave one last look back at the other passengers. "Enjoy your remaining moments in this pitiful squalor. They'll certainly be your last."

Once they were gone, Kado's parents quickly rushed to him and pulled him into their arms. Tears freely ran down his mother's cheeks, while his father watched the hijackers' departure intently, his face expressing the conflict between having his son safely returned and watching two friends being taken to their certain deaths.

Kado reached out and took hold of his father's hand. "They'll be okay dad. Cody will beat that crazy lady, and the Knights are gonna win too."

"Is that so?" Said his mother, forcing a smile through her tear stained face.

Kado nodded. "Yep. They're my friends. They're strong, and they're NOT gonna lose."

_To be continued…_

* * *

Next up: **Tennozan** **Pt II**: The real battle begins with the entire world at stake! Can Davis reach Miracles in time? Will the incursion group make it to the OPS center? And can the Knights defeat the new and improved Dark Masters? Find out over the next few chapters of Digital Knights!

You might have noticed that the chapter titles changed. Yeah, with Tennozan looking like a 5 or 6 parter (depending on the way I split it) this really became necessary. As always, leave reviews! Edits can still be made! lol ;-)


	28. Tennozan Pt 2

As promised, it's the 2nd chapter of the Tennozan arc! Man, watching all new Inuyasha, Full Metal Alchemist, looking forward to an upcoming production called "Avatar," and updating Digital Knights regularly? At some point I must have come across a flux capacitor, because I could swear it's 2004 all over again. Haha. Anyway, enjoy and review…

* * *

**Tennozan** **Part II**

**The Digital Realm**

Willis squinted and cursed to himself as he futilely tried to follow the ongoings of the real world on his laptop screen. The complications involved in cross-dimensional communications severely hampered the signal, reducing the video on the monitor to what looked like nothing but really colorful snow.

"Maybe you could adjust the antenna," suggested a high pitched voice. "Boost the signal a bit."

Willis's head dropped slightly. "Terriermon, for the last time, there is no antenna."

"Ugh," said Lopmon, who was using Willis's leg as leverage in order to see the screen, "It's like you're looking at the Matrix or something. How do you make out the code?"

"It's not code, Lopmon. It's a severely scrambled video signal from the real world." Willis put a hand to his forehead in exasperation. "Aren't you guys supposed to be outside keeping guard?"

"Yeah, we were," said Terriermon, "But when there was nothing going on we left guard duty to Ninjamon. Besides, you set up all that security between our dimensions. Nothing can get us here."

"Humph," grunted Willis. "I'm starting to wish I _hadn't_ set up all that security. It's keeping me from being able to decipher any of the battle."

A faint cough brought the trio's attention to the room's doorway, where a weak Gennai was laboriously shuffling into the room. He collapsed into a chair near the door and took a deep breath.

"Gennai, you really shouldn't be up and about. You're supposed to be resting. Yesterday and this morning took too much out of you"

Gennai waived off his understudy's concern. "Willis, honestly, you think I can rest while knowing that my students are all risking their lives at this very moment?"

Willis frowned as he took in the state of his mentor. Though Counselor Gen had willingly recombined with Gennai in order to extend the old guardian's remaining time, it had so far proven to only be a stopgap measure. For a while, Gennai's deterioration had slowed, but he hadn't shown any improvement either. And now his condition had returned to worsening by the hour. At this point Willis could only hope that the Knights would be able to defeat Ineg along with Hitachi, allowing him to force Gennai's dark counterpart to remerge with him before it was too late.

"No, I suppose not. But you have to be careful, Gennai. We don't know how much time you have-" Willis was interrupted by the room abruptly shaking violently. He fell forward from his chair onto his keyboard. "What was that?"

"Earthquake?"

"Terriermon, you know that's not possible here."

"You got a better idea?"

"Well...no. Not really." The room shook again and this time Willis braced himself against his desk.

Lopmon ran to the lab's window. "It's him!" She shouted. "He's back!"

"Who?" Willis pulled up the Academy's outside surveillance on his monitor and looked closely at the screen. He gasped at the sight that greeted him. "Ineg? What th-"

The room shook again as the figure on the screen launched a black sphere of energy at the mansion. "Come on, cowards!" his voice shouted through the computer's speakers. "Face me in battle or die in slaughter!"

"How did he get here through all of your defenses?" Asked Terriermon.

"Simple," Willis said with a scowl. "He didn't. He must have come through earlier, when the defenses were lowered so we could open all those portals. He's probably been hiding here and waiting ever since."

"And now he comes to kill us when he knows the others are gone." Gennai shook his head. "I don't understand how he can possibly be a part of me."

"He isn't," said Willis matter-of-factly. "He only wishes he was. But either way, we have to go out there and face him."

"Willis, no. You can't possibly. He's too powerful."

"Gennai, we don't have a choice. He has Professor Nai within him, remember? It was one thing to keep him out of the Realm, but with Nai's expertise, he'll definitely figure out a way past the academy's protection shell. He helped create it. If we don't fight him, he basically has an open invitation to come in and take you. I'm not about to let that happen."

"But he's too powerful."

"Gennai, it's quite possible that he's in the same condition as you, in which case Terriermon, Lopmon, and Ninjamon may be more than a match for him." Willis picked up a backpack that lay on the floor and placed his laptop into it before slinging it over his shoulder. "Besides, this is a great opportunity."

Gennai raised a brow. "I'm sorry?"

"To save you. We're going beat him and we're going to bring you back."

Gennai's jaw dropped and his eyes widened. "You're going with them? Willis, have you lost your mind? You could be killed! I'm not worth it-"

"Of course you are," the young genius responded with a wink. "Don't worry, I have a few tricks up my sleeve. Lopmon, Terriermon! Let's go!"

He held the door as his two partners ran out of the room, then followed behind them, running towards a fight that he knew that no one with an iota of common sense would wager they had any chance of winning.

* * *

**Tokyo**

"So, which one of these uglies you takin'?" Asked Terence, arms crossed as he stared upwards.

He, Tai, and their partners all stood on the roof of a gothic apartment building, not far from Hitachi's tower. Clara had taken a small contingent of flyers, comprised of Birdramon, Keyan, Davis, Kuri, Peko, and ExVeemon, up to battle with Apocalymon. Tai watched them, already launching attacks and dodging out of the range of the Massive digimon's new and improved _sixteen_ tentacle pods, and frowned.

"I was going to go after Daemon, but I don't know how long Kuri and Davis can stay in the fight up there. As soon as the incursion team takes Hitachi's shield down, they'll have to leave and head for the portal."

"You should go ahead and take Daemon, man." Terence suggested. "Knowing him, he's still got his mind set on bashing some OD's heads in. They're dealing with enough down there, as it is."

"You have a point." Tai conceded. "But even counting in Jun already going after Machinedramon, that still leaves the puppet, the clown, and the snake."

"We'll take the snake."

Tai glanced at Terence. "Why do you always want to fight him?"

"Yeah," agreed Pings. "Why? You do know he can fly, right?"

"And?"

"And we can't."

"Oh really?" Terence rolled his eyes. "Well that changes everything. It's not like we beat him twice already or anything."

"But he's been upgraded! Look at his armor now!" The Vikemon pointed anxiously up to where MetalSeadramon was, making slow circles over the other Dark Masters, the gleaming digizoid and spikes he'd been augmented with showing in stark contrast against the dark clouds above.

"Yep. Just makes it more fun."

Tai resisted the urge to smile. "Seriously Terence, our ranks are spread thin right now. If you're going to fight him, you have to beat him and you have to do it as fast as possible. If WarGreymon and I take Daemon, that still leaves Puppetmon and Piedmon for the other digimon to handle."

"Besides Angewomon, they're all at the champion level," Said WarGreymon. "They won't last long."

Tai nodded. "So we'll have to make sure that we take care of business ASAP and get back to help them."

"Alright," Terence gave a shrug as if the task would be quite simple "Well, that's the plan then." He looked up and quickly shifted into a defensive stance. "And here they come."

Tai looked and saw that it was just as Terence said. Puppetmon and Machinedramon leapt down from their perches, meanwhile Daemon, Piedmon, and MetalSeadramon went into extended dives. Tai spotted Jun and Sparks leaping across distant rooftops, already heading over to take on Machinedramon, and he hoped the rest of the digimon were prepared to deal with the other Dark Masters that were coming their way. MetalSeadramon, however, was not going in the same direction as his companions. Instead, he diverted away from his path towards the main battle below and was heading directly for their position, his flaring eyes focused specifically on Pings and Terence.

"Looks like he missed you too," said WarGreymon.

"Great," muttered Pings, unclipping his mace from his belt as the enraged serpent came diving towards them with a roar of fury. "Just freakin' great."

"Man, Pings," Terence said as he pulled out his own glowing red energy mace. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you weren't looking forward to this."

MetalSeadramon released a River of Power attack just then, causing the four on the roof to scatter in different directions just before the stream of energy turned half of the asphalt surface into bits of burning gravel. The serpent screamed over the area in a low dive, then climbed back up into the air and twisted around to make another pass.

"You're sure you can handle him?" Tai yelled from midair down to the lower building that Terence and Pings had leapt to.

"Yeah!" Terence waived him off. "We're fine! He ain't nothing but a-" An angry roar echoed over the air that gave the confident Knight pause and caused him to look up. "Oh, damn. You know, Tai, I'm not sure if I've ever seen anything look that pissed off in my life. Pings, come on!"

Tai watched the two run to the edge of their building and leap down to the street below just as MetalSeadramon dove after them. A loud explosion followed, after which Tai caught a brief glimpse of Terence and Pings fleeing into the maze of streets and alleyways that led deeper into downtown and away from the main battle. MetalSeadramon followed them without hesitation. Tai nodded in approval of the strategy. Separating him from the others would be a help.

"They'll be fine," he said to WarGreymon. "Come on. Let's get to Daemon and the others."

His partner nodded and together they descended down into the main battle in the streets below. They arrived to a chaotic scene of mutants and digimon in combat everywhere, attacks flying back and forth and lighting up the area in a display the likes of which Tai figured Tokyo hadn't seen since last New Year's fireworks show. Every now and then, the scene was punctuated by bursts of gunfire from the few mercenaries who were brave enough to throw themselves into the battles between super powered beings.

Tai scanned the area for any of the Dark Masters and soon spied Piedmon and Daemon in the middle of the main street alongside Hitachi's tower, taking on a group of digimon that included Angemon, Angewomon, and Stingmon. Daemon was thoroughly overpowering the champion level Stingmon and Angemon in hand-to-hand combat, knocking them both aside with a wide swing of his arm, while at the same time using his off hand to deflect the barrage of Celestial Arrows that Angewomon was sending at him from above. Piedmon, on the other hand, was markedly less active. Instead, he was immersed in laughing at the ineffectiveness of the digimon's attacks against Daemon, taunting them with a few choice words. Thus, he was caught totally off guard when a Terra Force attack from WarGreymon slammed into him from behind and drove him completely through the side of a nearby building.

Daemon noticed the loss of his partner immediately and looked up. He chuckled when he saw Tai and WarGreymon coming towards him. A casual flick of his wrist sent a Flame Inferno attack of dark energy at Angewomon, knocking her from the air.

"I was hoping it would be you that chose to battle me." He said to Tai. "It is amusing. These ineffective digimon try to protect their partners from my wrath, and now you are trying to protect them."

The Courageous Knight gave his opponent an even stare. "Really now?"

"And who will protect you? I see your mate is nowhere around. Rather brave, don't you think? Trying to take me on in this form. You really must have a death wish."

"Yeah, maybe so," Tai crossed his arms nonchalantly. The strategy was painfully obvious to him now. Daemon just wanted to anger him into entering into a one on one battle with him yet again, a battle that Tai wouldn't win due to their size difference alone, much less with Daemon's new enhancements. Tai ignored the taunt and continued walking forward. He had a better idea. "Oh, have you met my partner, WarGreymon here? Don't think you two have ever been formally introduced. He's just like me, except, you know, 50 times larger."

Daemon's gaze shifted up to Tai's partner and his grin slowly disappeared.

Now it was Tai that was smiling as he came to a stop. "Well, I guess I should let you two get better acquainted now. Buddy?"

WarGreymon replied with a roar and launched himself, gauntlets forward, at Daemon, who was barely able to raise his hands in a defensive posture in time. After a brutal collision, the two tumbled over one another, causing the ground to quake with each time they bounced off of it. They smashed into the side of a parked truck, which allowed Daemon to free himself from his attacker and take off into the air. In a flash, WarGreymon was after him.

Tai took the opportunity to check on the others.

"Thanks." Said Angemon, rubbing his shoulder as the Courageous Knight walked over to him. "That was not going well."

"No problem," said Tai. The others grouped around him. "Look guys, Puppetmon is around here somewhere too, and I can't let WarGreymon fight Daemon alone."

"Gotcha," said Stingmon. "How about you guys take Daemon, Angemon and Angewomon keep Piedmon busy, and I get Garurumon to help me track Puppetmon down?"

Tai nodded. It was a good idea. Garurumon did have more experience with the puppet digimon and had actually defeated him once in his MetalGarurumon form.

"But what about the others?" Asked Angewomon. "Aren't we supposed to be protecting our partners?"

Just then, as if to confirm her fears, an armored truckload of mercenaries sped by, firing into the midst of the digidestined and resistance fighters that were further down the street. The gun mounted jeep was closely tailed by a crowd of blue mutates, which had dived down to join it from overhead.

Tai cursed and prepared to take off after them, but before he could fly to his friends' aid, he was stopped by the sudden appearance of a giant, plate-armored white van careening around a corner and into the street. It slammed into the side of the assault vehicle with bone-jarring force and caused it to turn over onto its side. The jeep slid for a moment, sparks and smoke shooting from underneath it in all directions, then came to a stop up against the side of the pulsating tower shield.

As the men inside it were scrambling to get out, Tai looked across the street and saw Hatori get down on one knee and fire a shoulder mounted RPG at the disabled vehicle. It exploded with a terrific noise and a fiery spray in all directions. Hatori then said something into Kari's digivice and a sudden hail of gunfire rained down from the windows of the buildings across the street from the tower, mowing down the crowd of flying blue mutants easily, and sending them crashing to the ground with a series of loud thuds. A group of combatants, including Matt, Sora, and TK, quickly rushed over and finished them off.

"Okay," said Angemon with an impressed whistle. "Looks like they're holding their own then."

Tai nodded. "I'll say. Okay, you guys take on your assignments. I'll be back to help as soon as I can." He wasted no further time in taking to the air and heading to join his partner's aerial battle with Daemon. For now, their forces held an advantage; that of hope and newfound determination. Tai knew that this wouldn't last as the battle gradually dragged onwards. They would eventually lose their resolve and the adrenaline that was pumping through all of their veins at the moment wouldn't be able to carry them any longer. At that point they would need power and inspiration beyond anything that could be provided by a digivice or gun. Tai knew of only one source that could provide such power, and only one way to get it. He could only hope that the incursion team would take down that shield in time.

* * *

_Crack!_ The sound of yet another guard slamming into one of the metal walls of Hitachi's interior complex was music to Cody's ears. The man slumped to the ground and Cody, now in his mutated state, scanned the rest of the hallway for any more guards. After finding none, he shouted, "It's clear over here!"

"Good," said Curtis, rushing around the corner into the hallway with Rosa and the rest of the team in tow. "Because I think this is the way to go."

Cody gave Krista a perplexed look as he broke into a jog beside them. "What? I thought you told me to clear out this wing as a precaution and that the _other _hall led to the control room?"

"Um, yeah," she said. "That was a dead end."

"A dead end?"

"It's possible Izzy and I were looking at the schematic upside down."

"Ha!" Mimi snorted. "Possible? That's exactly what they were doing!"

"Cut the chatter guys." Krista ordered. She pointed ahead. "Hida, hit that door."

Cody did as she commanded, rushing ahead of them and driving his armored shoulder into the door at the end of the hallway. It caved into the next room easily and fell from its hinges with a loud clatter. Cody paused as he looked into the room beyond. Several armed guards were seated at a table within, in the middle of a round of poker, while a few others were kneeling on the floor, seemingly in the midst of a lively game of craps.

There was a moment of silence as the two groups looked at one another, and one surprised guard even allowed his cigarette to fall to the floor as his jaw dropped. "What the fu-"

"Take them out now!" Krista shouted, bursting into the room and releasing rounds of automatic gunfire.

The guards began to scatter and went for their weapons, but were too late as the others joined Krista. Cody took out two himself by throwing a couple of folding chairs he found sitting in a corner, while Curtis, Rosa, and the digimon eliminated the rest with a quick series of attacks. When it was all over, all the guards lay scattered across the room, a few still smoking from Tentomon's electrical attacks. Noriko walked into the room, wearing a dour expression as she looked at the men lying on the floor.

"Something wrong?" Cody asked.

"Yeah, by the time I drew my guns, it was all already over."

"That's a good thing," said Mimi. "You'd rather not kill them, if you can afford it."

"Says you."

Krista walked into the room and reloaded her weapon. "So, where are we?"

"Very close," said Curtis. "In fact, the control room should be on the other side of those double doors over there."

"Finally." Mimi wiped some sweat from her brow. "I was starting to think this would never end."

"Oh, this is just the beginning," said Krista. She looked at Cody. "Do the honors."

"Sure." Cody lowered his shoulder and rammed into the doors with all the force he could muster. He immediately regretted the action when the door didn't budge an inch and instead a sharp biting pain began coursing through his arm.

"Ouch." Curtis said. "You okay?"

"Yeah." Cody rubbed his shoulder, already numbing a bit from the impact. "I don't think we'll be breaking through that door."

"Doesn't look like it." Krista agreed. "Thing's probably solid steel and a few feet thick. Izumi, hurry with the code cracker."

"Coming." Izzy rushed over to the doors and threw a bag on the ground. From it he pulled out a small rectangular device with a long wire and a red LED display. He plugged the wire into a port on the side of the access panel beside the doors and a series of numbers began cycling rapidly on the display screen.

"Um, what is that exactly?" Asked Noriko.

"It's one of CADE's code crackers," explained Izzy. "It scans all possible access codes for the door and stops when it detects the right one."

"And how long will that take?"

"Well, let's see. Six digit access code, so we're looking at about a million possible combinations… Likely about fifteen minutes."

"You have to be kidding me." Rosa crossed her arms and sighed angrily. "So we break into this place by swimming through an underwater tunnel, take out like fifty guards, rappel up forty floors in an elevator shaft, and now we're stuck because we didn't expect the freakin door to be locked? This is retarded."

"That's not really helping," muttered Izzy. "If you have a better idea, I'd love to hear it."

Rosa turned and grumbled something before walking away.

After a moment of observation, Krista too took her attention away from Izzy's progress and turned around. "Curtis," she said, "can you think of another way to-" She paused and looked around the room. "Um, where's Curtis?"

"I don't know," said Cody, glancing around the room, as well. He'd also been too focused on Izzy's machinations to notice the Meditative Knight's disappearance. "But it looks like Rosa's gone too."

"What?" Mimi's brow furrowed as he looked around also. "Where did they-"

She was cut off by a loud squealing sound as the double doors beside Izzy slowly began to slide open.

"Heads up!" Shouted Krista. She raised her gun and pointed it at the opening doors, but lowered it with a sigh of relief when Curtis and Rosa were revealed standing on the other side, holding hands as their shields gave off a faint glow.

"Figured we'd cut out the middle man," said Curtis, his free hand still resting on the control panel inside the door.

"It didn't even occur to me that you could do that." Krista smirked. "Your new ability is definitely going to take some getting used to."

Curtis nodded. "Yeah. In fact, I'd love to test the limits of how far we can teleport. Perhaps we could-"

"Later, nerd." Rosa interrupted, pulling him further into the next room. "Right now, let's see where we are."

The rest of the group drew their weapons and followed. They walked a small distance down a nondescript hallway, which then opened into a gargantuan room with an arched ceiling that extended at least fifty feet up, if not higher. The ornate chamber was covered in several renaissance style murals on the walls, had a marble floor, and Greek inspired columns were erected evenly throughout the space, giving it a very elegant style and feel. Directly across the expanse was an identical hallway and a door which led to the other side of the tower. Halfway between the two hallways there was a gold plated private elevator. Belying its size, the room was notoriously quiet, and the echoes of the group's footsteps as they walked across it were uncomfortably loud.

"What is this?" Gotsumon whistled as he looked around the massive space. "Some kind of museum?"

"Looks like one," said Palmon. "But why in the world is there a museum here?"

Curtis shrugged. "Well, if Hitachi is anything, it's eccentric."

"True," Krista nodded, "but it looks like this is the right place. Look, over there in the far corner." She pointed to an area on the far side of the room, somewhat obscured by the multitude of columns, from which a faint blue glow was emanating. "They're computer consoles. Come on."

They headed in the direction Krista indicated- Cody, Curtis, and Rosa taking protective flanking positions as they maneuvered through the sculptures and columns- until they came upon a huge wall, lined with nothing but hundreds of video monitors from the floor to the ceiling. In front of the wall were several desks, each with its own computing system and monitor.

"Whoa." Mimi looked at the numerous displays in awe. "This is their ops center? It's huge."

"Well," said Izzy as he placed his backpack on one of the desks and began removing equipment. "you can't take over the world with just a laptop and determination."

"_You_ could." Mimi smiled as put down her medical supplies bag beside him.

Krista was noticeably less relaxed and she kept her gun drawn and at the ready as she looked around. "Okay, so we found the ops center..."

"But where are the operators?" Cody finished.

"Exactly what I was wondering," said Curtis.

The sound of a loud crash caught everyone's attention and they all turned to see Rosa standing beside a flipped over desk. Huddled in a curled position on the floor under where the desk had been was a small man in a lab coat. He glanced up nervously at his unveiler and adjusted his glasses before taking in the rest of the group.

"Found one." Rosa said with a smirk.

"Good job," said Krista. She turned to Cody. "Hida, do the honors."

Cody nodded. He couldn't help but feel a twinge of pleasure as he headed for the technician. There was no denying that part of him would enjoy this. In no time, he'd grabbed the man by the collar of his lab coat and slammed him up against of the room's many columns. The fear etched upon the man's face as he took in his captor's fierce visage would have been the comical to Cody were the situation not so dire.

Krista walked over to the two and took a moment to scrutinize the technician before speaking. "Name?"

The man looked at her in confusion. "I-I'm sorry?"

She pointed her gun at him. "NAME!"

"O-oh yes. M-Miko-"

"Who are you? What's your position here?"

"I-I'm nobody."

"Liar! Last chance!" Krista pressed the tip of the weapon to his forehead. "What's your position?"

Miko flinched and squeezed his eyes shut. "H-head tech! Head technician!"

Krista smiled. "Jackpot."

"Where are the other technicians?" Asked Cody.

"Th-there aren't any. There's just me."

Curtis looked perplexed and glanced at the incredible amount of consoles and machinery around them. "How is that possible?"

"Almost everything here is automated now." Miko said. "I am the only one Hitachi trusts being here tonight, and even that is a minor miracle."

"A minor miracle in our favor," said Rosa, "because from here on, you're going to be working for us."

With an anguished breath, Miko threw his head back and allowed it to bump against the column behind him. "I _knew_ this would happen! I told The Assassin to station those guards inside the lab, but _no_, they 'couldn't be trusted in here.' Well, apparently they couldn't be trusted out there either. And fat lot of good those 6 feet thick tempered steel doors were. You all waltzed right in-" Miko shook his head. "And how exactly did you all get through the tower's shield?" He held up a hand to stall any forthcoming answer. "Let me guess, you came in through the coolant release tunnel? Ugh, something else that I knew was going to happen, but if I had told Hitachi, he would have seen it as a slight to his intelligence and had me killed, as usual."

Rosa and Curtis looked at one another and the latter stepped forward. "Um, Miko was it?" He said. "You know, if we don't stop Hitachi tonight, everyone's going to die, including your friends or family that he must be holding hostage to gain your employ."

If Miko's family was being held against their will by Hitachi, the tech's reaction didn't betray any surprise at them knowing about it. "Perhaps," he responded calmly. "But I have yet to be presented with a viable alternative."

"We can stop him," said Noriko.

Miko scoffed. "Please."

"We can," assured Curtis.

"Yeah, sure. In case you didn't notice, he plans on coming back here with all the powers of a god." Miko began chuckling sardonically, but stopped when he looked up and took in everyone's determined expressions. "Wait, you're serious, aren't you? You actually have a plan?"

Curtis nodded. "If we can get one of our Knights through Hitachi's portal, we can gain power from another God, one that has sworn to help us. We'll have the power to stop him."

"Yes." Cody put him down and stepped back. "And you can help us, if you want. On the other hand-"

Rosa stepped forward and cracked her knuckles. "I can start smashing your face in until you give us the info we need. Or you die. Either way works for me. I'm not picky."

Miko raised his hands in defense "Yes, yes, I get it. Fine, but we have to hurry. As soon as he notices something is awry, The Assassin will send every man he can spare down here."

"In that case," Curtis pulled out his digivice. "Now that we have enough space to digivolve, we'll have the digimon guard the room's two entrances."

He evolved Taps and himself to their Boltmon form and the others followed suit, all tapping their digivices and bathing the room in a warm glow as their digimon grew in size and power.

"Now that's more like it!" Said Digmon, stretching and whirring the drills on his hands.

"Yeah." echoed Taps, as he reveled in his new strength and size and drew his battleaxe. "Now we just have to hope they're stupid enough to send some guys down here."

"I hope so," said Rosemon as he and Togemon began walking to the other side of the center.

"Really guys?" Asked Kabuterimon, hovering behind them. "We can't just hope that no one shows up and everything goes off without a hitch?"

"Are you kidding me?" Taps turned and gave him a bemused look. "What kind of OD are you?"

"The kind that's still alive, and wants to stay that way."

Togemon groaned and smacked her head with a gloved hand.

Krista shook her head as she watched the departing digimon before turning back to the group. "So, first things first. Taking down the shield."

"Can't be done," Miko said quickly. "Not as fast as you want, anyway. There's a way to deprogram the protection grid, but it will take way more time than what we have. And before you ask, no, the portal can't be closed. Once we opened it, the power behind it started coming from whatever is the other side. It's self sustaining now."

"Sounds like closing the portal is an option you already tried, yourself," observed Mimi.

Miko gave her a suspicious look. "Perhaps."

"That's fine, anyway," said Noriko. "We came to defeat Hitachi, right? Not lock him away and hope he never comes back."

Curtis nodded. "Right. We have to take that shield down though. It's the only way that Davis can get to the portal, and we don't have time to waste."

"Look over the specs if you want. It's impossible. Hitachi designed the system so that even I can't undo everything once it's set into motion. I doubt a bunch of teenagers can get around it-"

"Found a way around it!" Izzy shouted.

"What?"

"Look there," he pointed to one on the large flat-screens on the wall opposite his desk, now displaying what was on his laptop screen. "The tower isn't running off the power from the fusion plant below, like the portal. It's on the city's electrical grid. That means we can cut the power."

"So? The relays will just switch to the energy provided by the plant then. Just like a backup generator."

Izzy nodded. "Yep, and I'm betting we'll have a small window of time when that happens."

"Well..." Miko scratched his chin. "Actually, yes. That just might work. It could buy you a couple of seconds."

"Good," said Curtis, drifting towards the large screen. "But there's a few other suspicious things here. Look at how Hitachi's redirecting power from here all over the world, to these remote locations."

The display on one of the screens changed

"I noticed that too," said Miko. "That routine just started a while ago, but I didn't create it and I have no idea what in the world it could be."

"Look at those locations." Izzy stood up and squinted at the on screen map. "Aren't those the same exact areas that he targeted with nuclear strikes?"

"Yeah, they are," said Curtis. "And the formation you get when connecting those locations is familiar somehow..." He crossed his arms and bowed his head in thought. "I think Hitachi has more going on tonight than just that portal on the roof."

"Maybe," said Krista. "But this isn't the time to be playing junior detectives. Let's keep it simple. We know what we have to do, so how do we cut the power to take down that shield?"

Miko shook his head. "Can't from here. The building's main breakers are 40 floors down and there's a hard line feeding in power from outside underground -"

"Well, we're definitely not going back down, so the breakers are out," said Curtis. "We'll go for the hard line."

"As I said, that's outside. In case you haven't noticed, you're kind of stuck in here."

Curtis looked up at the massive video wall. "This thing have outside surveillance?"

Miko nodded. "Of course."

"Bring it up. We'll get outside help."

The head tech bent down and did as he said, tapping at few keys, and after a moment the screens lit up with multiple angles of all of the action going on outside. Suddenly the great battle taking place beyond the tower's walls was right before their eyes.

"It looks like The Dark Masters are back," observed Izzy with an ominous tone.

A moment of silence passed and Krista and Rosa began gravitating towards the screen.

"So they really didn't die." muttered the former as the latter simply focused on the grainy video with a fuming stare.

"They will," said Curtis, placing a hand on Rosa's shoulder. "But we have some important business to take care of first." He looked closely at one screen in particular and smiled. "And I know just who can help us."

* * *

Davis rubbed his head and grimaced. He took in his surroundings. An office- some type of conference room- or it used to be, at least, before he had been knocked through one of the room's walls and sent everything within flying in different directions. He groaned as he got back to his feet and took a few halting steps. That had hurt quite a bit more than he'd expected. He'd been knocked through walls before over his career as a Knight, but that damn Apocalymon must have hit him with three or four additional attacks as he was falling. It struck Davis as a bit overzealous, almost like cheating.

"I guess it could be worse," he muttered to himself. He made his way back to the site of his inglorious entrance and flinched when ExVeemon suddenly appeared outside the hole.

"You okay?" He asked.

"Yeah," Davis rubbed a particularly sore area on his back and stretched to work the pain out. "I think so."

"'Cause that looked like it hurt."

"It did."

"Ready to go back up?"

"You know it."

The two took off into the air and made their way back to where the battle with Apocalymon was taking place overhead. The new and improved Apocalymon, with his titanium plated armor and sixteen tentacle pods instead of eight, was one of the most formidable opponents Davis had ever faced. The attacks that came forth from his pods were nothing Davis couldn't handle, since they were just imitations of other digimon, most of whom he'd faced before, but the frequency at which they could be launched from sixteen different pods was nothing to play with.

Kuri flew over to join them, Peko trailing behind her. "You're back huh?"

"Yeah. Thanks for checking up on me."

She waved him off. "Eh, if you were in real trouble, I would've known. I sent ExVeemon, anyway."

Davis glanced at his partner. "She had to _send _you?"

"What? I knew you'd be okay too."

"Yeah, whatever," Davis shifted his attention back to the task at hand. "We need a plan."

"We know," said Peko. "But what? He's damn near invincible now."

"No he's not," countered ExVeemon. "Step one, destroy his pods. Step two, shoot him in the head. How hard is that?"

"Um, ok. How about you get back to us once you've figured out the extra twenty steps that brilliant plan needs in order to work."

"You know," said Kuri. "He seems to pay a lot of attention to us and our attacks. If we all charged at once to get his attention, but had a secondary attack, we could-"

"Elite one, you there?"

Davis looked down at the source of the sudden interruption- his digivice- and groaned. "Terrible timing Curtis," he grumbled as he unclipped it from his belt. "Yeah?"

"We found a way to take down the shield."

"Great news. How long will it take?"

"Well, that's the thing. We don't know. We're going to try turning off the power to the tower by cutting an outside hard line supply. It should give you guys a window of two or three seconds to get to the portal. We're going to need you to standby near the tower and wait."

Davis shook his head. "Curtis, I can't afford to do that. I'm helping in the battle against Apocalymon and we'll need to stay here as long as possible. Can't you just let us know when it looks like you're close to cutting the power?"

"Unfortunately, no. We can't be sure how this will go down. All I can say is, when I give you the signal, we're going to cut the power and you'll have to be ready to come through before your window closes."

"And just who's going to cut the power? I thought the hard line was outside?"

"You just be ready. What matters right now is that you get through."

"I-" Davis looked over at Clara and Keyan, doing their best just to not be blasted out of the sky. "I don't think I can-"

"Go!" The shout came from Tai, who had just flown up to join them. "I heard on my digivice. I'll take over for you here."

"But Daemon-"

"WarGreymon's handling him. Davis, you have to go through that portal!"

"Tai, you're good, but you can't make up for the four of us by yourself."

"Davis," Tai drifted over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'll do what I have to to make sure you get where you're supposed to be. We're all depending on you. So long as you believe that you and Kuri have to go through that portal to contact Miracles, I'm gonna support you one hundred percent on that. We'll be okay here. Just go."

With a resigned sigh and a nod, Davis finally gave in. "Okay. I'll go." His gaze shifted back to Apocalymon. "Just watch yourself."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll be here when you get back."

"You'd better." Davis turned to the others. "Alright guys, we're going in. Let's go!"

As the quartet took off for the tower and Tai headed for Apocalymon, Davis raised his digivice again. "Okay Curtis, we're on our way. Any idea who's going to cut that power line for us?"

"Yes," came the reply. "A pretty good idea, in fact."

* * *

Terence looked down at his digivice as if it were possessed. "Curtis? What do you mean 'how am I doing?' Pings and I are getting our asses handed to us by a giant metal snake-dragon-thing!"

"Yeah, I can see. We have you on surveillance."

"Humph." Terence leapfrogged a parked car just before another River of Power attack from his pursuer blew it to pieces. "Man, the upgraded MetalSeadramon is a bitch! Not that he wasn't before y'know, but now? Damn it!" Terence paused as a large hunk of flaming debris crashed to the ground in front of him, then leapt over it and resumed running. He lifted his digivice once again. "Not that it isn't good to hear you're still alive and kicking bro, but what the hell are you bothering me for?"

"We need your help."

"The hell-? I should be telling _you_ that!" Terence flinched as the building beside him exploded with the force of another attack. "Pings! Could you please, _please_ be of some use back there? Distract him or something!"

"How are you mad at me about this?" Rumbled the indignant Vikemon, trailing behind Terence in their flight from the Dark Master. "We could have been fighting Machinedramon or Puppetmon, but noooo, _you_ had to piss off the one that can _fly_!"

"Yeah," said another voice through the digivice, "out of all the Dark Masters, why are you always messing with him?"

"Who is that? Is that Rosa? Rosa, get off the damn line! This isn't the time!" Terence leapt towards a building and wall kicked off of it in order to avoid another strike that sailed under him. He landed and began heading in another direction just as MetalSeadramon flew past with a loud roar, missing him by only a few feet. "Curtis, if you have something to say, get on with it now while I'm still alive."

"Alright, I'm here Terence. We need to cut the power to the building in order to take down that shield long enough for Davis and Kuri to get to the portal."

"Okay, good to know... and that involves me how?"

"You're closest to the ground wire that has to be severed in order to cut the power to this building!"

"Just my luck. Out of everyone out here-"

"Terence."

"Alright. Where is it?"

"About fifty yards east of you."

"East? Do you see what's going on out here? Seriously, do you? Because how do you think I'm supposed to figure out whatever the hell direction east is?"

There was a sigh. "To your left, genius."

"Thank you."

Terence made the quick turn and began running down a much broader street than the one he had been in. _Damn it_, he thought, _I'm just a sitting duck here. _The street seemed to be a main thoroughfare through the downtown district and reminded him of some of the 12 lane freeways from back home. Not the best place to be to avoid an enemy that was dive bombing you from above.

"Terence, I don't think this is the best way to go," said Pings, still running along behind him. "We're out in the open here. This street's huge."

"Yeah, I noticed. But don't blame me. This suicide mission is my brother's idea."

"Hey!" Curtis protested. "If there was an easier way, I would-"

"Oh, calm down." Terence interrupted with a roll of his eyes. "Now where is this power line we're looking for?"

"It should be just to your- uh-oh."

"Uh-oh? I'm pretty sure uh-oh isn't a direction. Uh-oh what?'

"Your friend's back."

"Damn it." Terence turned around in time to see exactly what he was dreading; MetalSeadramon bearing down on he and Pings, zooming down towards the wide street at high speed and leaving them no time to go for cover.

"There's nowhere for you to hide this time!" His voice echoed down to them. "Now you will die!"

"Man," grunted Pings, "is that guy single-minded or what?

"Well, it's always good to set goals." Terence raised his energy mace in from of himself and held it like a shield. "Get behind me Pings. I hope this works."

"River of Power!" The usual blast of energy accompanying the exclamation came forth from MetalSeadramon's mouth, washing the area in a brilliant glow. It connected with Terence's mace with a radial burst of force, causing him to stumble backwards. He didn't lower the weapon, however, as it was the only thing keeping he and Pings alive by creating an eddy in the river of energy around them.

"Keep it up!" Encouraged Pings. "Don't stop whatever you're doing!"

"Um yeah, that's the plan." Terence narrowed his eyes as MetalSeadramon's dive brought him closer and closer. He kept the mace raised, energy swirling on either side of him as he waited for the perfect moment to strike... Then, just as his enemy came within range, Terence lunged forward with the weapon, swung it down at the head of the Dark Master, and was horrified to see the mace harmlessly shatter into a burst of red energy upon impact with the beast's fortified digizoid armor. Terence was barely able to process this before MetalSeadramon slammed into him and used his forward momentum to keep the Inspirational Knight pinned to his snout. As they started to lift up into the air, Terence began frantically slamming his fists into his captor's armor. It only caused the leviathan to chuckle as he opened his mouth and a sparse amount of blue light began to emanate from within. Terence cursed himself as he realized that he couldn't have been better positioned to take the point blank shot.

"Let go of my partner!" Shouted a gruff voice. Terence briefly saw a blur in his periphery as something hit the giant digimon, altering his flight path and knocking Terence free. He fell back down into the street, where he tumbled a couple of times, crashed through the plate glass window of a small flower shop, and slammed through a couple of aisles before finally coming to a stop.

"Ugh." Terence rubbed his head and looked down at the many roses, orchids, and pots of soil that had fallen upon him. With an irritated groan, he brushed the mess aside, looked over himself for any cuts or gashes, and said a silent thanks to his protective uniform after finding none. He quickly got to his feet and leapt back out of the window, then scanned the street outside for any sign of MetalSeadramon or Pings.

"Terence," Curtis' voice crackled through his digivice. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Where did they go?"

"Not sure. We don't see them on any of our screens at the moment."

"He'll be fine." Terence said, convincing himself more than anyone. "He's tough. Okay, where's this line I'm supposed to be cutting?"

"It runs under the street, right in front of where you are actually, but a few feet underground. Half a block over there's a maintenance hatch."

"Half a block? Can't I just get to it from here?"

"I suppose. But you may need some kind of digging tool-"

"Are you kidding me?" Terence ran into the street, then knelt down on one knee and reared his fist back. "This is the only tool I need!" He punched into the concrete as hard as he possibly could, driving right through the upper layer of manmade stone and into the compact earth below. The impact created a small crater, and a few more punches from Terence widened and deepened the hole enough that he could finally see a thick orange cable partially exposed below.

"Okay." he said into his digivice. "I found it. Now what?"

"Now you have to break it, but listen- do NOT touch the exposed end once you do, Terence. That wire is carrying enough current to kill you right on the spot, Knight or not."

"Oh, this just gets better and better. How did I get so lucky?" Terence lowered himself into the hole and dug out enough dirt to get his hands on either side of the massive cable, then began tugging at it with all the might he could muster. The bright polymer film that lined the outside of the cable began to twist and snap, but the copper bands underneath didn't budge. He released the cable and dug down even further, this time creating enough room to wrap his entire arms around it. Just before he could give another heave however, the distant sound of his partner frantically screaming interrupted him. Terence abandoned the endeavor and leapt out of the hole... just in time to see a giant Vikemon being forcefully hurled at him from midair.

"Pings? What th-" Terence was just able brace himself before his partner's body slammed into him. The two of them were sent skidding down the middle of the street and tumbled over each other a few times before coming to a stop with Terence pinned underneath one of his partner's huge legs. MetalSeadramon screamed by them in a low dive before lifting back into the air and getting ready to make another pass.

"Sorry." Pings said with a pained grunt as he lifted his leg and allowed his partner to roll free. "I... I tried your usual cowboy routine, but I guess he was ready for that this time."

"Don't worry about it." Terence said, ignoring the pain coursing through him as he stood up and glared in the direction the airborne serpent had departed. He'd had enough of this. "He's coming around again and you're in no condition to fight. You need to get out of the street and take cover."

Pings grunted and forced himself to his feet while wincing and favoring an injured shoulder. "And," he paused and took a labored breath, "what about you?"

"I'll be fine. I have a plan. Just do as I say Pings, and hurry." Terence broke into a run and headed straight for the hole in the ground he'd created, confident that his partner would follow his commands. One fortunate byproduct of his normal jovial demeanor was that when he was serious, people listened.

Terence leapt down into the hole once again and wrapped his arms around the cable, this time tugging at it with a newfound sense of anger. The cord ripped apart immediately with a concussing pop of electricity and a bright geyser of sparks. Terence grimaced as a few of the embers burned his skin, but kept pulling until the two ends were completely free of one another. One end fell to the ground, dull and lifeless, while the end Terence held in his arms crackled with enough electricity to power an entire city block.

He carefully made his way up to the edge of the hole while holding it, then raised the short length of taut cable high over his head, all the while ignoring the sight of an angry MetalSeadramon diving straight for him once again. He ripped the cable down as fast as he could, creating a whiplash effect in the line that was strong enough to tear a line through the street in front of him about fifty yards long. As the chunks of dirt and concrete sent flying came crashing back to the ground, a small smirk crossed Terence's face. He now had enough slack to manipulate the thick cable any way he wanted. Perfect.

"It is time that you DIED!" MetalSeadramon roared. He came flying towards him on his final approach, streaking low over the street and opening his mouth wide.

Terence began running forward to meet him head-on. "A little electricity took you out last time." He said. "I'm betting a lot will do your ass in for good!" He leapt at his enemy with the ground wire in hand, electric sparks streaming behind him, even as a blue energy attack was forming in the Dark Master's jaws.

"River of Pow-"

"I got your 'River of Power' right here!" Right before MetalSeadramon could release yet another devastating attack from his mouth, Terence threw the high capacity cable into it Immediately, the mega-level digimon's entire armored body lit up with hundreds of electrical arcs, forcing him to come to a complete stop and let loose an animalistic scream. He crashed to the ground and began writhing about like an earthworm on a hot asphalt road. The spectacle of the electricity coursing through the giant serpent was so bright that after Terence had landed, he had to turn away from the sight or risk being blinded. There was the sound of a massive explosion, a final scream, and when Terence turned back around, all that was left in the street was the smoking husk of chrome digizoid that had once been MetalSeadramon's outer shell of armor. A few lingering pixels of what had been his body drifted away into the air.

Terence sighed in relief. "God, I hope that's the last I ever see of you."

"Whoa," said Pings as he rumbled over to the scene, still nursing his shoulder. "He aint walking that one off. Gotta give you props, Terence, that was a good plan. So, did it work, cutting the power?"

Terence looked up at the top of Hitachi's tower and saw that it was still surrounded by its tinted shielding. "I don't know." He picked up his digivice. "Curtis, did it work?"

"Yes it did." His brother replied. "We lost power temporarily and they were able to get in. Great job Terence."

"Yeah, anytime. Stay not dead bro."

"Yeah. You do the same." After the communication cut Terence turned to his partner. "Well, that's one Dark Master down and who knows how many more to go. Let's get back to the others."

* * *

Atop Hitachi's tower, things were not going quite as smoothly as planned. The feeling of triumph that had passed through Davis as he led his group through the tower shield had proven to be quite fleeting, as the four now had an even more daunting task before them. The Assassin stood on the metal platform between them and the massive swirling portal, and by his expression he seemed almost pleased that the quartet had gotten this far.

"The only way you're getting to that portal," He said, cracking his knuckles. "Is through me. Try your luck, if you dare. You know that I'm more than a match for even the four of you."

Kuri pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "Davis, we don't have time for this crap. Hitachi went through that portal forever ago. We waste time fighting him and we're risking a lot."

Davis's hand drifted towards his digivice as he sized up their new opponent. "I know Kuri, but if we have to go through him, then that's what we have to do."

"I like it that way," said ExVeemon, stepping forward and pounding his fist into his palm. "I don't mind taking him on if-"

"This isn't your fight!" a voice interrupted, right before a bright streak of light passed over the group and smashed into The Assassin, knocking him from the platform and all the way and into the iron railing lining the edge of the tower. When the light faded Keyan was revealed to be standing on the platform in his place, the winds of the portal whipping her long white mane into a frenzy.

"You followed us through?" asked Kuri.

"Yes!" She gave the others a stern look. "Go through the portal, now! That is all that matters! I will handle The Assassin!"

"We can't-"

"Davis, go! Now! I can handle him! The world needs you to reach Miracles!"

"She's right Davis!" Shouted Kuri. "We have to go while we can!"

Davis had reservations about leaving Keyan alone to face such a dangerous opponent, but when he saw how The Assassin was slowly getting back to his feet, still having trouble shaking off the effects of her blow, he knew she could hold her own. He grabbed Kuri by the hand. "Alright then, let's go!"

Without any further hesitation, the four ran forward, leapt past Keyan into the swirling portal, and were pulled into the unknown of the ethereal dimension beyond. The first sensation Davis felt was an incredible pull upon his entire being, physically and mentally, as it seemed his very soul was fighting against his descent in to the darkness now threatening to engulf him. It was as if he were being torn apart, both literally and figuratively, and after a moment of this torture, he honestly wanted nothing more than to return to the relatively warm embrace of the real world.

Davis knew that would prove impossible, however, because he was now within the talons of a world whose entire purpose revolved around ensnaring the unsuspecting and pulling them into its grasp. It was not in the nature of darkness to release those that it had caught. Abruptly, the sensation ended, and Davis felt solid ground once again under his feet. He stumbled forward a bit and had to force down an overwhelming urge to vomit. A quick glance at the others told him that they were all feeling the same way.

Peko was the first to speak after the extreme nausea of the trip through the gateway had finally subsided. "Wow, it's cold."

"Yeah," said Veemon. He looked down at himself. "Aw man, and we devolved! This sucks!"

"I agree." Davis looked around the strange world that they now found themselves in. It was only an endless, dark and empty void, like being stuck in the middle of a vast, starless, night sky. To their rear was the portal back to the real world, now glowing white and eerily quiet compared to the loud swirling whirlwind it had been on the other side. The gray path that they now stood upon was suspended in the midst of the nothingness and extended out from the portal. In front of them, it branched into two directions, and then, after a small distance, those two paths forked, as well. The pattern continued into a large web that extended as far as the eye could see.

Kuri stepped forward and peered out over the endless network of paths. "Okay, this is not what I expected at all. Any idea which way we need to go, Mr. Miracles?"

Davis was about to shrug, but paused when he looked at her. "Kuri, you're glowing."

"Um, that's appreciated, Davis, but this is hardly the time for compliments-"

"No, Kuri," said Veemon. "You're really glowing, and so are me, Davis, and Peko."

"Oh?" Kuri looked around the group and saw that what he was saying was true. All of them were surrounded by faint golden auras. She gave Davis a questioning look.

"I think it's Miracles' protection," he said. "Willis did say that if we came here without it we'd pretty much be frozen solid on the spot. As it is, we just feel a little cold."

"Good thing too," said Peko. "Because I would not have been happy coming all this way just to be turned into a popsicle."

"Okay then." Kuri crossed her arms. "So we're protected. Good thing. But now we have this huge maze in front of us. Which way do we go?"

"Um," Davis bit his lip and scanned their infinite set of options. After a moment, his gaze settled on a set of pathways that seemed to somehow be calling out to him. He pointed in their direction. "That way."

Kuri looked at him suspiciously. "How do you know?"

"Um, I guess I don't really know. I just have a feeling."

"That's more than what I got," said Peko. "Lead the way."

* * *

The Assassin stared across the rooftop at his opponent and resisted the urge to smile. Since their first battle, he'd recovered much of his original powers and skill with diligent practice. She was still a relative novice, whom he was well capable of beating to a pulp. But the anger and confidence he saw on her face was something he could not afford to discourage. So long as Azulongmon's little Avatar believed that the two of them were on equal footing, his advantage for a crushing strike against her increased exponentially.

"So Avatar, are you sure this is what you want? Are you sure you want to face me tonight?"

Keyan glared at him. Her eyes crackled with electric energy and the light of the Tokyo cityscape illuminated her stark white mane as it continued to undulate in the wind created by the dark portal beside her. "Tonight, I will kill you. Thus, I am sure."

"Then you have sealed your fate."

The Assassin launched himself forward, easily dodging the two spheres of energy she reflexively threw at him. He almost laughed as the two attacks sailed by. It was like playing dodgeball with schoolchildren. Even the weakened Ineg was faster than this. He reached her before she could throw a third attack and reared back and drove his fist right into her face. The full force of the blow snapped her neck back for moment, before sending the girl tumbling end over and slamming her into the railing on the other side of the roof. The iron bars buckled considerably from the impact, but did not break, and just barely kept Keyan from careening over the edge. The Assassin grinned. He didn't want the girl falling over just yet. He was going to thoroughly enjoy the thrashing he was about to give her. But first he had something else to handle. If there was one thing The Assassin knew for sure, it was that the tower's shield hadn't just momentarily disappeared on its own. Someone else was pulling the strings down below.

He raised his walkie-talkie and spoke. "All men still on the tower interior, converge on the OPS center immediately. We have intruders there."

With that, he pocketed the device and began walking toward Keyan, who was just now regaining full consciousness and struggling to get back to her feet. He smiled menacingly. No matter what else happened tonight, he would have his fun.

* * *

In the OPS center below, Curtis let out a relieved breath.

"Okay," he said. "They're in the portal."

"So what do we do now?"

"Now we work on taking down that shield permanently," said Krista.

"That could take a while," Miko interjected. "The technology involved is terribly complicated, and there are some massive codes to deconstruct to stop the routines. We're talking hours here."

"Well, we certainly don't have that long." Curtis took a seat at the empty desk between the tech and Izzy. "I'm betting we can do it in 30 minutes. We'll split the code evenly between the three of us."

Rosa put her hands on her hips. "And while you're doing that, exactly what are the rest of us supposed to do, just stand here?"

No sooner had she uttered the words than the air was filled with the sound of three distinct explosions. Shards of metal and marble came flying through the room from all directions, forcing everyone to duck down and shield themselves from the hurtling debris. A couple of the plasma screens on the wall exploded in a shower of sparks.

"What's going on?" Shouted Krista as she took cover behind the desk Rosa had overturned earlier.

"They're breaking in!" yelled Rosemon from across the room.

"Who?"

"Um, everyone!"

Rosa stood up and saw that her partner was telling the truth. The two far doors and the elevator had been blown apart and there was now a steady stream of mutants and heavily armed men pouring through each of the entrances. The digimon had already engaged the attackers, but the sheer size of the sudden swarm of opponents was already beginning to overwhelm them.

"Keep them away from the equipment!" Shouted Krista. She stood and let out a primal scream as she began firing automatic gunfire at a group of mutants that had gotten past the digimon and were trying to make their way over to the lab area. Only a couple were felled by the barrage and the others quickly took cover behind some of the room's large columns. Krista continued to fire, regardless, sending chips of marble and granite flying everywhere, and was soon joined by Noriko.

As the two kept most of the attacking mutants at bay, Rosa made her way over to Cody and Curtis. "They're laying down some serious suppression fire for us!" She said. "Come on, we have to move in!"

Curtis nodded in agreement and the three of them quickly set off for the main battle. Krista stopped firing and joined them, leaving Noriko behind to provide cover for Izzy, Mimi, and Miko.

"You read my mind, Ruiz." Said the instructor, just as the four reached the groups of columns her targets had been hiding behind. A couple of shots from her rifle, a few swings of Cody's sword, a Tomahawk Crunch from Curtis, and a Thorn Whip from Rosa and all of the mutants were easily defeated. The four then continued forward past the maze of columns, eventually joining the digimon in the main battle near the massive room's entrances.

"About time you got here!" Shouted Taps, swinging his Boltmon axe, taking out a couple of gray mutants before reaching up and prying a blue one free from his back and throwing him into a wall.

"Yeah," Said Digmon. "I almost thought you guys were sitting this one out."

"Never that." said Rosa, striking out with a Thorn Whip and grabbing a guard by his feet. She swung him around overhead a few times, smashing several of his comrades, before tossing him into the blasted open elevator shaft. The sound of his fading scream was music to her ears. "You know I don't like to miss anything that's this much fun."

"I know!" Togemon threw a punch that sent a man flying head over heels before he smacked roughly into a column and fell to the ground with a loud thud. "I had no idea fighting humans could be so much fun, and so easy!"

Curtis smirked as he dodged an attack and kicked a mercenary into a wall. "I'm sure none of them have much experience fighting a ten foot tall cactus wearing boxing gloves."

"Well, they're getting some today."

A second wave of attackers came rushing through the doors just then, forcing the group to squeeze tighter together as they found themselves becoming slowly surrounded.

"Don't back down!" Yelled Rosa between throwing attacks. "We're stronger! They can't beat us!"

"True!" Said Cody. "But with their numbers, some of them _will _get to the OPS center, and if they destroy it-"

"That's not going to happen." Said Krista. "New tactic. Kabuterimon, go for it! Everyone else, jump!"

Without hesitation, all of them, human and digimon alike, jumped high into the air on her command. As soon as they were all airborne, the ground beneath them lit up with bolts of electricity going in all directions, all emanating from Izzy's Champion level partner. All of the mercenaries and mutants in the room suddenly stopped moving, caught before they could react by the electric grip of Kabuterimon's attack. By the time the group landed again, the attack had ceased, and all of the room's intruders had dropped to the ground, knocked out.

"Well," Krista looked around at the aftermath of the attack. "That ends that. Nice job, everyone. Curtis, Cody, Rosa, let's get back to the task at hand. Digimon, get rid of these guys before they wake up."

"You're welcome." grumbled Kabuterimon as he unceremoniously grabbed an unconscious mutant by its leg and flung him into the elevator shaft.

Krista ignored him and quickly returned with the others across the massive room to the OPS area.

"That was fast," said Izzy as they arrived. He was already seated in front of his laptop once again and back at work. It looked almost as if he'd never moved.

"Thanks to your partner," said Curtis.

Izzy smiled. "Yeah. Every now and then, he makes himself useful."

"It's funny," said Rosa. "With all of our powers, our most useful weapon wound up being a champion level attack."

"It makes sense," said Krista. "That's precisely why we practiced that maneuver during yesterday's training. Your most powerful attacks aren't necessarily going to be your most effective."

"That sounds like some advice your partners outside could use." Said Miko, who was sitting still at his desk as Mimi finished applying some medical salve to a gash a stray bit of debris had left in his forehead. He pointed to the surveillance displays. "You all fared much better than they are right now."

The others turned their attention to the bank of screens and found a recurring theme amongst the different angles of all the action outside. The Knights and their allies were losing. On one screen they could see Jun and Sparks taking on Machinedramon, not so much holding their own as doing their best just to avoid the android's barrage of missiles and gunfire. On another screen was a battle between Angemon, Angewomon, and Piedmon. The two angelic digimon were being tossed around brutally by the Dark Master, who laughed when their celestial counter attacks simply bounced off of his improved armor. A third screen showed the battle between Garurumon, Stingmon, and Puppetmon, almost a mirror image of the other's battle with Piedmon, except that Puppetmon's trademark mallet was also covered in a layer of polished metal, and he was using it to throw some vicious blows into his adversaries.

The final few screens were filled with the fight between WarGreymon and Daemon- a stalemate so far, though the former was weakening at a significantly faster rate than his opponent- and the gigantic aerial battle with Apocalymon, who looked like a giant hovering alien mothership from a sci-fi movie surrounded by a few annoying gnats. It was all his opponents could do just to keep themselves in the air against his barrage of attacks. The only fight that wasn't stuck in a stalemate or being lost was the one happening on the ground, and that was mostly due to the unexpected influx of hundreds of angry citizens joining the cause of the digidestined and resistance fighters down there.

"The odds are stacked against them," said Curtis. "They're mostly a bunch of Champion level digimon trying to take on Daemon and the Dark Masters, who, though they might technically be at the Mega level, we all know are a lot more powerful than that. Plus they have those enhancements..."

"Well," said Izzy. "It's never exactly been one of Hitachi's trademarks to fight fair."

"Hitachi's trademarks." Krista repeated quietly. She began tapping her chin with a finger and looked around the room. "Miko, tell me something. Did Hitachi make this building with the same safeguards as his last one?"

"Safeguards?" Miko gave the woman a confused look, before a dawning expression crossed his face. "You mean the self destruct contingency? Yes, I believe so."

"So this building is laced with high yield explosives then." Krista placed her hands on her hips and her gaze narrowed as she scanned around. "Where's the closest one?"

"Closest what? Explosive? Look, I doubt I even want to know why you're asking this, but," Miko tapped away at his keyboard and scrutinized the screen before him. "Looks like it's located where you just came from actually. On the other side of the room, embedded in the wall above the elevator."

"Good." Krista took off immediately. "Digmon!" She shouted as she ran. "I have a job for you!"

Rosa glanced at Curtis. "Any idea what in the world she's up to?"

"Not a clue." He kept his attention on the screens. "But what I do know is that we have to go out there and help them."

"Do you think we can teleport that far?"

"I'm not sure. The furthest we've gone is what, ten feet? We'd obviously have to go a lot farther than that."

"I think you can do it," said Mimi, forcing Miko to sit still as she applied a bandage. "The other Knight's shields connect to do some really amazing stuff and, I mean, teleporting is cool and all, but if you can only go a few feet at a time, that isn't exactly _amazing_."

"I have to admit," said Curtis. "That is oddly encouraging, in a way. Maybe we can make it."

"And what about everybody in here?" Asked Rosa. "We're just leaving them?"

"Don't worry," Said Noriko. "We'll guard things here. It's not like any of the Dark Masters are coming this way."

"Alright. But we're leaving Taps and Rosemon here, just in case."

"Appreciated." said Cody. "When you get out there, call us on our digivices and we can guide you to where the Dark Masters are."

Curtis reached out and took Rosa's hand. "Alright. Well then, here goes nothing-"

"Hey! Wait up!" Krista came running over just then, carrying something in her arms that looked like a gigantic round battery with several wires protruding from it.

Curtis greeted her arrival with a frown. "Tell me that isn't what I think it is."

"It is, and you're taking me with you."

"You'll have to forgive me if I'm a little apprehensive about trying to teleport with a bomb."

"Not to mention _you_, Ms. Lee." added Rosa. "We haven't actually tried teleporting _anything_ with us yet."

"You two didn't wind up naked last time, so you can obviously take _something_ with you. If you both take hold of me, I believe it'll work."

Curtis gave Rosa a questioning look and she shrugged. "Whatever. We don't have time to sit here and talk about it. Let's go for it."

"The rooftop of that office building just across the street is the closest and best target for you," said Izzy, pointing to one of the screens.

"Okay." Curtis nodded. "We'll both concentrate on reaching that location then."

"Great," said Krista. "I'll step between you and both of you take hold of my shoulders with one hand while you hold each other's hands."

Curtis and Rosa did as she instructed.

"Alright, let's hope this works."

"Yeah," Curtis kept a wary eye on the bomb nestled in Krista's arms. "Let's."

He then closed his eyes in concentration and Rosa followed suit. After a brief moment, the air around them suddenly changed in feel and temperature and Rosa felt a stiff wind hitting her face. She opened her eyes and grinned at what she saw. They were outside, right where they'd intended to be, on the office building across the street from Hitachi's tower. The atmosphere was markedly different from the OPS center, now filled with the distant sounds of cracks and booms from the battles going around them. Flashes of light filled the night sky from the overhead fight against Apocalymon.

"Well I'll be damned," said Curtis, taking a look around, as well.

Rosa smiled. "Yeah, it actually worked." She looked at Krista and noticed the woman's expression was a bit less than ideal. "Are you okay, Ms. Lee?"

"Ugh," she responded, staggering to the ledge at the edge of the roof and taking a seat. "That was definitely not pleasant." For a moment, it looked like she was about to throw up, but after taking a couple of deep breaths, she was able to compose herself. She looked up at Curtis and Rosa while rubbing her head. "Okay, here's the deal. I'm heading up with this thing to help against Apocalymon. The next most powerful digimon out here is Daemon. These two are our current highest priority targets. I want you two to take over the battles with Piedmon and Puppetmon and send anyone currently fighting them to help against one or the other."

"You're not going after Puppetmon yourself?" Asked Rosa.

Krista shook her head. "I've thought about it and, it's just not my battle. At least, not tonight anyway. It's more important that we save this world than seek revenge. If I thought any different, I'd be dishonoring everything that Xian was and stood for."

Rosa bowed her head and reflected on the words. They were simple, yet powerful, and affected her greatly.

"Okay," said Curtis, "and just how are you going to get involved in _that_?" He pointed to the giant battle going on in the sky. "You can't fly."

"Easy. Sent a distress beacon from my digivice to Sanchez just before we left. You know how she just lives to protect people. She should be here-"

A powerful blast of air interrupted Krista, blowing her hair across her face, and suddenly, hovering beside her as if materializing out of thin air, was Clara. She looked down at the three with a concerned expression.

Krista tossed her hair back."-in no time."

"What's wrong?" Clara asked. "I got the signal. Is everyone all right?"

"We're fine," said Krista. "I just need you to do me a favor. Take me up to the battle with Apocalymon. I have something that can help." She pointed to the explosive sitting in her lap.

"Um okay." Clara glanced back at the tower. "But the shield is still there. How did you all-?"

"Those two can teleport now. It's their shield ability."

Clara landed and looked over at Curtis and Rosa. "Really? Are you serious?"

They nodded in unison.

"That's..." A small smile crossed her face, "actually kinda cute."

"Depends on your perspective." grumbled Krista as she got to her feet and draped an arm around Clara's shoulders. "Let's just say, I'm much more comfortable traveling this way."

The Protective Knight scratched her temple and looked down at what her would-be passenger was holding. "I have to say, Ms. Lee, I'm a little worried about what you're planning-"

"Aren't we all, Sanchez," Krista interrupted, securing the heavy bomb in her arm. "Aren't we all. Now we don't have much time. We need to get going"

"Um, okay…" Clara directed a bewildered glance at her cousin, to which she replied with only a shrug. "Well, hold on then."

Before they departed, Krista looked pointedly at Curtis and Rosa. "Okay you two, remember what I said earlier. Your most powerful attacks may not be your most useful, so do _not _get into a slugfest with these guys. Use the resources at your disposal to make the fight easier. Depend on your minds, not your fists."

Curtis nodded, while Rosa gave an expression that conveyed she'd be much happier with a traditional "slugfest."

Krista then patted Clara's shoulder. "Okay Sanchez, let's go."

The two took off with a flourish of wind, and soon they looked like mere specks flying towards the overhead monstrosity that was Apocalymon.

Curtis turned to Rosa. "Okay then. So, you're taking Puppetmon?"

To his surprise, she shook her head. "No, you are."

"Me? But I-"

"Ms. Lee was right." Rosa walked to the edge of the roof top and looked down with a frown as the sounds of countless life or death struggles below filled the air. "Curtis, tonight is bigger than me and him. And much as I want to pound him into dust, I- I just can't. I have to keep my head. You take him on. You honor Xian's memory, 'cause god knows I won't. I'm just going to want revenge, and he's going to use that against me."

"Um, okay." Curtis looked more than a little skeptical. "You're sure about this...?"

"Yes. I'll take Piedmon, you take Puppetmon," She walked back to him, reached out and grabbed his shield chain, and pulled him close to her, locking his gaze with an intense stare. "And I'm fully expecting to see you back here in a few minutes after we both win."

Curtis nodded. "Count on it." He leaned down and gave her a brief kiss before speaking into his digivice. "Okay Noriko, I'm going after Puppetmon. Give me his position."

"No prob Curtis," came the reply. "Head north."

Curtis turned, looked back at Rosa one last time, then sprinted to the edge of the roof top and leapt out into the night. She watched him go, took a deep breath to quell the nagging sense of worry building within her, then raised her own digivice. "Alright Cody," she said. "Let's do this. Where's that damn clown?"

* * *

**The Realm**

"Rapidmon!" Willis' ineffective shout was drowned out by the loud noise of Ineg's attack slamming his partner in the back. His warning had come too late and the resulting explosion from the sphere of light Ineg had hurled into Rapidmon sent the champion level digimon flying. He sailed over the distant tree line and a loud boom subsequently echoed from wherever he'd landed in the forest beyond.

"No." Willis reluctantly turned his attention from his partner's fate and looked towards Turiemon and Ninjamon, both lying unconscious in the vast meadow surrounding the Academy. They'd fought Ineg valiantly, and for a moment, had seemed to have gained the upper hand in the battle, but as the fight had continued on, Gennai's dark counterpart had grown progressively stronger, and soon enough, he'd gained control. It was an unforeseen occurrence that Willis felt absolutely foolish for not factoring in earlier. As Ineg and Gennai came in closer proximity to one another, both received an unexpected surge in their relative power levels. It was a kind of physical anticipatory response by their bodies to the prospect of an imminent joining. Ineg had made good use of the power boost, eventually overcoming his three champion level opponents without breaking a sweat.

Now it fell entirely upon Willis to make sure that the joining didn't happen, not the way Ineg desired, anyway. Willis frowned. He had one chance, one backup plan that absolutely had to work if he was to have any chance of saving his mentor's life. He'd been working on it for quite a while, just in case he ever faced this particular scenario, but the prospect of actually having to resort to it was daunting, at best.

"It looks like it's just you and me, boy." Ineg began moving towards Willis with a confident swagger in his gait, a constant grin plastered upon his face, and a hunger flashing in his eyes. "Step aside, and I might spare your life."

"I have no intention of doing that."

"Then you intend to die." Dark energy accrued around Ineg's hands.

"I have no intention of doing that either." Willis reached behind him into the pack strapped on his back. Inside it was his laptop, turned on and running a particularly complex program that he'd been working on perfecting for months. It wasn't yet completely finished, but his last diagnostic had indicated that most of the bugs in the system had been eliminated. Right now, he hoped to god that was true. After a moment of searching, his hand settled on the object that he was searching for and he pulled it out of the bag.

Ineg paused, initially wary of what could have been a weapon, but his moment of concern was fleeting, and immediately after he realized what the young genius was holding, he burst into a healthy round of laughter. "You-you expect to defeat me with THAT?"

Willis looked down at what was in his hands, a small wireless gamepad, then back at Ineg. "Actually, yes."

"This isn't a game, fool. You know, I was considering allowing you to live, forcing you into my servitude, but after this blatant insult? No, you have to die."

"Then I guess we have nothing left to talk about."

"I guess not." Ineg threw a fist forward, sending a beam of intense energy streaking at Willis, who was barely able to react in time by pressing a button on his gamepad. A ball of light suddenly appeared between him and Ineg's attack and the two energies collided. The resulting explosion knocked Willis to the ground, and he quickly rolled back to his feet.

Ineg's face registered surprise for a moment, but then hardened into a scowl. "Parlor tricks. I should have expected something like this from you.'

Willis didn't respond and instead pressed a few more buttons on the controller. Three more spheres of light appeared in front of him. They hovered there for a moment, then shot directly at the guardian. Ineg was able to dodge the strikes easily, taking to the air and twisting acrobatically as each of the energy spheres sped past him.

"You'll have to do much better than that." He said with a grin.

"I plan to." Willis smirked as he manipulated an analog joystick on the controller.

Ineg's smile waned when he noticed that his opponent was actually looking past him and his eyes widened. "What are-" He started to turn around, but before he could, the three spheres Willis was redirecting slammed directly into the Dark Guardian's back in rapid succession, driving him into the ground, where the trajectory of his fall created a large trench in the soft earth and sent tons of dirt into the air.

For a moment, silence settled over the area along with the clumps of falling soil. That is, until Ineg climbed out of the trench and glared over at Willis in a huff.

Willis returned the glare defiantly. "Looks like this is going to be harder than you thought. I think you forgot that this is _my_ realm."

Ineg casually began brushing dirt away from his robes. "I must say, I'm grateful that you managed to cobble together some type of defense, childish though it may be. After all, no conquest is worthy without effort."

"Interesting. Well, allow me to show you how worthy I truly am." Willis pressed a few more buttons on his controller and five more spheres appeared around him in a semicircle.

Ineg took up a defensive posture and narrowed his gaze at his young opponent. "Do your worst, but be prepared to pay the price."

"Same to you." Willis pressed another button and the spheres all came flying forward, ready to deal out punishment once again.

_To be continued…_

* * *

Next up: **Tennozan** **Part III** Action! Action! Action! The fight against Ineg, The Assassin, and the Dark Masters continues. How will the Knights fare? Keep reading upcoming chapters of Digital Knights!

(Sorry about the abrupt endings. It's hard figuring out where to cut these chapters!)


	29. Tennozan Pt 3

As scheduled, here is part three. I'm starting to feel like I'm putting out regular episodes of a TV show now. Is there a such thing as December sweeps for fanfics? As always, reviews appreciated. Enjoy.

* * *

**Tennozan** **Part III**

Tai hated being frustrated. He hated the feeling of helplessness that accompanied when events did not go according to plan, and right now, things were definitely not proceeding the way he'd mapped it all out. If they had been, he wouldn't have been where he was, fighting an opponent the size of a small city, with only Clara, Marta, and Birdramon to aid him. He would have ended this battle and been on the ground helping his partner, who by now had his hands more than full trying to take on Daemon.

Tai changed his flight trajectory to avoid a couple of Giga Cannon blasts that Apocalymon launched at him. They sped out over the air and crashed into the distant harbor with twin splashes and two giant geysers of steam.

Things probably wouldn't have been going so bad if Keyan had stayed involved their battle, but she'd disappeared at the same time as Davis and the others had departed. Tai had a pretty good idea where she had gone, and after one quick call to Jun, who had a view of the roof top of Hitachi's tower, his suspicions had been confirmed. Keyan was, in fact, fighting The Assassin. Tai grimaced and cursed as he did a barrel roll to avoid yet another blast. He couldn't blame her for wanting to avenge her parents' deaths, but she could have at least told him she would be leaving. Without her powers, what had been a stalemate with Apocalymon had turned into a game of "launch an ineffective attack and run for your life."

Tai glanced around the area to take inventory and make sure the others were okay, and frowned when he only spotted Birdramon and Marta circling around the large floating behemoth along with him.

He came to a stop and looked around frantically. What the hell had happened to Clara? Was she hurt? Damn it, why hadn't he kept in constant contact with her? He pulled out his digivice. "Clara! Where are you? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Tai!"

The shout came from below Tai rather than through his digivice and he quickly looked down to see Clara flying up towards him, while holding Krista in her arms.

"Where did you go? Why didn't you tell me anything?"

"Sorry Tai. Things are just crazy out here and I-"

"She's fine now," interrupted Krista with an impatient huff. "Now can we get some distance between us and that humongous abomination before he blasts us into next week? And call your partner, Clara. We'll need her."

Clara activated the beacon on her digivice as they all moved out of Apocalymon's immediate range and retreated down to the other side of a partially destroyed residential tower.

"You have some kind of plan, don't you?" Tai asked of his old teacher as they hovered in the protective shadow of the building. "I know that look."

"I might. But I will need you guys to buy me a little time."

"Time for what?"

A blast of air hit them as Marta arrived and began circling around their position, a scowl etched across her face. "What is this, a tea party? You guys do happen to know that we're fighting a digimon the size of a football stadium with sixteen attacking arms and a huge temper over there, right?"

Without warning, Krista leapt from Clara's arms and landed neatly on Marta's back.

"Hey!" The Nefertimon protested. She wavered a moment from the sudden addition of weight before stabilizing herself. "What gives?"

"Sorry," said Krista. "But I'm going to need you to stay here with me while they return to fight Apocalymon."

"I can't do that! Clara needs me! Al least let me digivolve-"

Krista shook her head. "Sorry, I can't ride a Silphymon, and Phoenixmon is way too slow for what I need."

"She has a point Ms. Lee," said Tai. "We were barely holding out _with_ Marta. How do you expect us-"

"I do have a plan, Kamiya, remember? Plus, you have reinforcements coming. I sent Curtis and Rosa to relieve the digimon fighting Piedmon and Puppetmon. They should be headed up here any moment."

Tai's brow furrowed. "Which reminds me, just how exactly did you get here? I thought-"

"Curtis and Rosa can use their shields to teleport now, apparently," said Clara. She gave a slight shrug, as if to say that the possibility of this was no more insane than anything else that had happened so far tonight.

"Humph," Tai shrugged in the same manner. "Well that's useful."

"Sure is," said Krista, "because it allowed me to come here to use this," she raised a large, disc shaped item, in her hands, "to help take down Apocalymon."

Tai looked down at the object that she was holding and his eyes went wide. "Is that a... bomb?"

"Yes it is, Tai."

"And just what exactly what are you planning to do with it?"

"What do you think? Blow something up. Well, as soon as I get it working anyway. I need the rest of you to hold big boy's attention for the meanwhile."

"Wait," said a wide-eyed Marta. "I have to hold her on my back while she's tooling around with a bomb? How is that fair?"

"Hush, Marta," said Clara. "We're the ones that actually have to fight Apocalymon while you just wait here."

"Yeah, with a friggin ticking bomb on my back. You wanna trade places?"

"Oh, relax," said Krista, her fingers moving quickly as she worked with the wires on the device. "It's not ticking yet... which is quite frustrating actually."

Marta scowled. "Is that supposed to be reassuring?"

"No. And stay still. This is delicate work."

"I'd advise you do as she says, Marta," said Tai. "I mean, _really _advise it. Come on Clara, let's buy her time some time."

"Right." Clara took up position on Tai's flank and they both ascended back toward the battle overhead.

* * *

Rosa sped through the air, her path buffeted by a stream of warm air gusting in from recently heated waters of the harbor. She continued scanning the cityscape, doing her best not to be distracted by the bright spectacle going on overhead that was the battle with Apocalymon.

"Cody, are you sure about this? I'm not seeing anything."

"I'm certain," came the reply. "They're on top of some kind of warehouse, just across the street from the Hyato building."

"The who? You know I'm not from around here."

"But it was on all the maps and schematics we looked over while we were planning-"

"Cody…" Rosa said in a warning tone.

"Ok, sorry. It's the tower with the all the red neon lights and the billboard for Eclipse Cola."

Rosa looked around and spied the building. As Cody had said, across the street from it was what looked like a large warehouse, on top of which was what could best be described as a clown taking on two angels and having no trouble at all against either of them. "Alright, I got 'em. Moving in."

"Good luck."

"Thanks." Rosa rolled into a steep dive and smashed down in such a hard landing between the three combatants that it created a small indentation in the reinforced metal of the sloped roof. "Alright, I'm breaking this up!"

Piedmon sighed, as if only annoyed by the interruption. "Excuse you girl, but I have no reason to stop anything simply because you arrived. I owe a thrashing to these two that's been long overdue."

Rosa ignored him and turned to the two digimon standing behind her. "Angemon and Angewomon, Tai needs your help up there taking on Apocalymon. It's more important that you go up there and help in that fight."

"But we-"

"I can handle him. Just get moving. That's an order!"

The two angelic digimon looked at one another, then back down at Rosa.

"You're sure?" Asked Angemon, his gaze shifting uncertainly between the small Rosa and the imposing Piedmon.

"Of course I am! You swore to do as we said, so hurry and go! They need you!"

"Alright," said Angewomon. She grabbed her partner by the arm. "Let's go, Angemon. I think she'll be fine."

"That's just because she reminds you so much of yourself." Angemon looked down at Rosa. "You call for help the moment you need it, okay?"

"Won't be necessary," said the Willful Knight with a shrug. "But sure."

"Come on," beckoned Angewomon, taking to the air. "Let's hurry!"

"Fine." Angemon reluctantly turned and followed.

Rosa watched them lift off for a moment, then turned her attention back to Piedmon, who grinned hungrily at her.

"Aren't you a brave little girl." He said, his new and improved metal armor gleaming as he pulled one of his rapiers from the dual scabbards on his back. "Not like I won't be rid of you quickly enough to continue with the business at hand. I must admit, however, you'll make for an adorable keychain."

"You just try it. I'll shove that sheet down your throat and that sword up your-"

"Ah, damn it!"

The interrupting words grabbed both Piedmon and Rosa's attention and they turned in the direction that the exclamation had come from. There they saw the mahogany skinned Inspirational Knight climbing up and over the edge of the rooftop. He looked between the two combatants and frowned.

"Really? You two just had to be doing this _here_? I _just_ got done with MetalSeadramon. Can't I at least get one single moment of peace?"

Rosa glared at him. "_You_ climbed up _here_."

"Yeah, I thought I was getting away from all this craziness, at least for a second to catch my breath, but noooo, here you are with this clown."

She rolled her eyes and sighed. "Did you at least bring Pings with you?"

Terence shook his head. "He took off with Ikkakumon to go help Wargreymon against Daemon. Like I wanted to get caught up in that giant clash of the titans. And how did you even get here, anyway? You're supposed to be in the tower."

"I teleported."

Terence stared at her for a moment in bewilderment, then scowled. "You know, if you aren't going to take this seriously-"

"Enough!" Bellowed Piedmon, stomping his foot down angrily. "I didn't come here to listen to you two prattle on! Either run like cowards, or stay here and die!"

Terence raised a brow at the infuriated Dark Master, then turned to Rosa with a smirk. "I see you haven't kicked his ass yet."

"I was just getting to that."

"Uh-huh. Sounds like you're slipping, to me."

"God Terence, would you shut-up?"

"Please do!" Exclaimed Piedmon through gritted teeth. "Or I will I have to impale _your_ heart before getting to hers."

"Aw hell no." Terence let out a deep breath and entered into a fighting stance. "You know, I wasn't even gonna get into this. I was just planning on letting you two work things out between yourselves, but damn that now. You just had to go and run your mouth." He glanced at Rosa. "Cool with you if we make this a co-op, squirt?"

Rosa bristled at the nickname, but managed a shrug. "Whatever. Drop in a quarter, push start, let's just do this."

Piedmon smiled and pulled a second sword from the metal sheath on his back. "A two for one deal. Economical. I like it."

"How 'bout we give this fool a bad case of buyer's remorse."

"Ugh." Rosa shook her head. "That was horrible."

Terence shrugged. "Eh, everyone's a critic. Come on."

The duo rushed forward with twin battle cries and Piedmon raised his weapons to meet them head on.

* * *

With a grunt, Curtis came to a rough landing on top of what seemed to be some type of large restaurant complex. At least that's what he figured it was, judging by the plethora of ventilation fans and large metal tubes that covered the vast, gravel-lined landscape. The structure below him was only five stories tall, at most, and the multitude of skyscrapers and buildings towering over the area cast an eclectic play of light and shadow over everything. Curtis pulled out his energy axe and placed it before him, providing an illuminating glow as he began walking forward through the maze of constructs. After a moment, he heard the sound of metal pounding against flesh nearby, accompanied by a familiar, high pitched cackling.

Noriko spoke through his digivice, her voice a low whisper. "I've got you and Puppetmon showing on different camera angles, but I think you should be pretty close by now."

"Yeah, I think I found him. I'm moving in. Keep me posted."

"Will do. Good luck."

Curtis leapt over a seven foot tall, foil-lined tube in front of him. When he landed on the other side he found himself face to face with Stingmon, who was rubbing his head and in the process up picking himself up off of the ground.

"You okay?" Curtis asked the much larger champion digimon.

"Sure." Stingmon answered. "It'll take much more than that to bring me down. He's pretty strong though."

"Yeah. You can't let his size deceive you." Curtis looked up and saw Puppetmon, standing out against the night with the city lights reflecting off of his new armor. Currently he and Garurumon were in a face to face standoff. The wolf-like champion had obviously taken the worst of their battle thus far, judging by the matted state of his fur and the various cuts and bruises along his sides.

"Come, on big guy," taunted Puppetmon, hopping up and down excitedly. "You ready for another round, huh? Huh, boy? Doggy want some of what his friend just got? Doggy wanna die?"

Curtis immediately realized why Puppetmon's taunting was a bit more vicious than usual. MetalGarurumon had killed the Dark Master they last time they had met in combat, and it was a fact that he definitely hadn't forgotten. Now he seemed to be trying to torture the wolf-like digimon as much as possible before finally doing him in.

"Hey!" Curtis yelled out. "Why don't you fight someone your own level!"

Puppetmon stopped jumping and spun around to face him. "Oh, we've got someone else that wants to play. Goody!"

Despite the immaturity of the language, Puppetmon's voice held none of its usual youthful tenor. Instead, it carried a serious tone that Curtis found incredibly disturbing.

"Oh, I came to play alright." He said, gripping the handle of his battleaxe tightly. "Stingmon, Garurumon, you both need to go where you're needed."

"And that not here?" said Stingmon, entering into a fighting stance beside Curtis.

Curtis shook his head without taking his stare away from Puppetmon. "No, it's not. You both need to go help in the battle with Daemon. WarGreymon's trying to hold him off, but he can't take him on alone."

"And you?" Garurumon asked. "You're going to fight _him_ alone?"

"I'll be fine. I came here for a reason, you know. Now you guys have to go. We have a plan, remember? And you promised to play your parts."

"He's right," said Stingmon. "Come on, we have to help WarGreymon."

"Fine." Garurumon didn't look happy at all about the decision and gave Puppetmon one final glare before turning and bounding away to follow Stingmon over the edge of the rooftop.

Puppetmon watched them leave with an exaggerated frown. "Awww," he said to Curtis, "You scared my playmates off."

Curtis shrugged, his stony expression unchanging. "Guess you'll just have to make do with me."

"Oh, I plan to." Puppetmon began to stalk towards him with a wide grin, casually tossing his mallet back and forth between his hands. "Let's play."

* * *

Machinedramon made another pass over the skyscraper, leaving several lethal explosions in his wake after firing another round of ordinance at his targets. Jun barely managed to avoid the attacks, this time by ducking behind the partially destroyed metal framework of what had once been a beautiful glass rooftop atrium. The lights within the globe-shaped frame, which had given the entire construct a nice glow, now scattered random disorienting beams of red light throughout the area. After confirming the Dark Master had finished his latest pass over, Jun blinked rapidly to restore her vision and looked around frantically for her partner. Upon not seeing him, she feared the worst.

"This can't be what you planned!" Yelled Sparks. He clung to the ledge lining the roof of the Daiki complex, a harrowing situation since it was the tallest building in the area surrounding Hitachi's tower, and let out a roar of exertion as he pulled himself back up onto the roof. The GrappLeomon then took a moment to catch his breath.

"Of course not," said Jun after sprinting to his side and making sure he was alright. "I thought that by climbing all the way up here we'd be opening him up to a more effective attack."

"Oh yeah, the famous he can fly but we can't so let's fight him a thousand feet up in the air maneuver. I'm shocked it's not working."

"Well, he couldn't exactly fly before. He just kind of hovered awkwardly. I thought we could knock out those rockets of his while he was this high up and send him crashing back down."

"Humph. So much for that with those new upgrades he's got." Sparks said, groaning as he watched the large mechanical digimon do a perfect loop in mid air and turn to dive back towards them. "Now he's got like eight rockets and a pair of metal wings. Jun, you did not think this through."

Jun rolled her eyes. Typical Sparks, as if he'd come up with any helpful ideas. She retreated to the other side of the roof and looked out over the cityscape to the nearby waterfront, hoping to find anything that could give them some type of tactical advantage. In short order she found one. A smile crossed her face.

"Jun, he's coming back for round three! I hope you have some kind of _working_ plan in mind!"

"Actually, I do," she said. "Well, I've only seen it work in cartoons and movies..."

Sparks let out an irritated sigh. "Are you freaking kidding me, Jun? Really?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Let's go with your brilliant plan, since you obviously have one."

"Fine, fine. What do we have to do?"

"Get down from here."

"And how do we do that?"

A couple of loud hisses echoed over the area as Machinedramon sent two missile volleys in their direction.

"Follow my lead." Jun took a step back, then propelled herself off of the roof and out into the open air. She twisted her body around just before crashing into the side of the building across the street, braced her feet against it, and pushed herself off of it back towards the tower she'd jumped from. She continued this process, slowly descending each time, until she reached the street far below and rolled to a landing. Moment later, Sparks landed beside her with a loud thud.

"Okay," he said, looking up as the missiles that had been launched at them exploded harmlessly, hundreds of feet overhead. "That was fun. Now what?"

Jun pointed. "We head that way, and we need to get down to the waterfront, so-" She pulled out her digivice and evolved Sparks to SaberLeomon, then leapt up onto her partner's back. "I know we're supposed to be conserving power, but we need to get there fast."

Sparks got the hint and took off with a growl while Jun clung tightly to his mane and provided directions to where she wanted him to go. It wasn't long before machinegun fire from Machinedramon, descending down on them from overhead, began to pepper the pavement behind them as they dashed through the city streets.

"Stop and surrender!" Yelled the Dark Master in his usual authoritative mechanical voice as he flew behind them in hot pursuit. "You cannot win this battle!"

"Yeah, yeah, we get it," muttered Sparks. "Resistance is futile or whatever. Damn machines..."

Machinedramon fired another two missiles, which streaked over the two and exploded in the street in front of them, forcing Sparks to take a mighty leap to clear the resulting smoking craters.

"Nice one!" Jun shouted as they landed. She pointed to the left. "Okay, now that way!"

The SaberLeomon slid as he made the sudden turn, pumping his legs until his claws gained purchase on the concrete and they took off once again. Machinedramon just missed slamming into them and went careening in the other direction before he could correct his flight path.

"It's up there!" Jun shouted. She ducked just in time to avoid being smacked by an overhead stoplight. "The waterfront salvage yard!" Ahead was a tall wooden fence with a dilapidated plexiglas placard bolted to it, which read; "TOKYO BARGE & SALVAGE."

"Alright!" Sparks sped up and leapt the tall, barbed-wire fence surrounding the site easily, then let Jun down after landing on the other side. He looked around the area and saw nothing but stacks of old dilapidated cars, tires, and various other pieces of scrap metal strewn around an expansive dirt lot. "Jun, what the hell? How is this place supposed to help us?"

"Actually I'm not sure yet. I have to take a look around-" Jun paused as the sound of Machinedramon's fast approaching rocket engines echoed over the area. "And you have to keep him busy for me."

"Oh, yeah. I'm just loving this plan."

"Just do it, Sparks. I'll be back." Jun took off into the maze of junk and immediately began scanning between the mounds of scrap for what she was looking for. After a moment of searching, she heard the sound of Machinedramon's weapons firing and her partner letting out a furious roar. This was followed by the loud noise of several stacks of metal crashing to the ground after the two giants' inevitable clash.

_Just hold him off, Sparks,_ Jun thought as she quickly swept through the seemingly endless amounts of crushed cars and appliances piled into haphazardly high columns. It had to be somewhere around here, if everything she'd heard about junkyards was even remotely true. Of course, since everything she'd heard about them had come from an eclectic collection of cartoons and movies, there was a good chance that nothing useful would result from any of this, but she figured she had to at least try. She and Sparks had to do their part and take out at least one of the Dark Masters, especially considering all of the trouble she heard the others were having via the Digital Band. With Davis and Kuri gone through that portal, and Curtis and Rosa inside the tower, their ranks were left pretty thin. They needed to get rid of Machinedramon as soon as possible and return to help the others.

Jun rounded a corner and came to a sudden stop. There it was, exactly what she was looking for, sitting there as if it had been calling out to her for a lifetime. She smiled. Now she just had to figure out how to get Machinedramon over here.

She activated the beacon on her digivice and a few moments later Sparks came flying over a couple of the stacks of junk. He landed beside her with a growl. "Are you alright?"

"Fine." Jun looked over a couple of fresh scratches and burns on one of his haunches. "Are you?"

"Of course. What did you call me for?"

"I found what I was looking for. Where's Machinedramon?"

"I stalled him by hitting him with half of an old car right before I left. I'm sure he'll be here soon, as pissed off as ever."

"Good." Jun tapped her digivice and devolved Sparks down to his Elecmon form.

The suddenly rookie level digimon looked at himself in surprise, then up at his partner. "Oh, come on Jun! You have to start making _some_ sense tonight!"

"Trust me, Sparks, this plan's going to work. Now listen up, 'cause we don't have much time."

* * *

**The Realm**

Back in the realm, Willis could only wish that he could come up with a plan, since his current one was failing so terribly. What had begun as a one sided technology fueled beat down of Ineg had now become something quite different. Now Willis found that he had become the one on the defensive, using his gamepad to just barely maintain a constant barrier of exploding starlets between him and his opponent. As ingenious as his combat program was, he'd failed to take into account Ineg's raw speed, specifically the fact that the Dark Guardian was able to dash fifty feet in the same amount of time that it took Willis' mind to tell his thumbs to move a mere millimeter.

He couldn't keep up, and with each passing moment, Ineg was gradually getting closer, sidestepping and countering the attacks Willis launched at him like they were nothing. Willis' hands flew across his controller, calling up every trick he still had to take down his enemy, but none of them were working. The program was running flawlessly, but it could not overcome Willis' own human fallibility. He was just too slow. Now he could hardly even create one of the powerful spheres of light before Ineg knocked it aside with an attack of his own, and each time he did so, the resulting explosion of raw energy threatened to consume the young genius within its blast radius.

Willis attempted to back away while continuing to create the spheres, but slipped on a rock hidden in the grasses and stumbled. The momentary distraction was all the opening Ineg needed. He launched a blast of dark energy from his hands, but instead of hitting Willis directly, it collided with the ground just in front of him and the resulting blast sent him flying. He flipped head over heels a couple of times, his world turning into a rapidly rotating blur, before falling to a bone-crunching landing on his back.

For just a moment, everything went black for Willis. There were no sounds, no sensations, no sense of space. Then, without warning, his consciousness returned and Willis' world suddenly exploded with a flood of blinding light and extreme pain. He forced his eyes to roll forward and tried to sit up, but instead found a dark shape blotting out the overhead glare of the digital sun, and felt a strong hand grip the collar of his shirt and pick him up off of the ground. Still reeling from the explosion, Willis was just barely aware of his captor removing his backpack and throwing it to the ground. He shook his head and blinked his eyes rapidly and gradually the sneering countenance of the dark guardian came into focus. The reality of the situation Willis now faced almost made him wish for semi-consciousness again. He pushed the emotion aside, however, and quickly began to gather his wits. The battle was not yet lost. He still had one last contingency plan for just this predicament...

"And now, boy, I will claim my prize. And I will end your life." Ineg's gaze narrowed as the urgency that had previously occupied his expression disappeared. He was going to enjoy this. "I have you exactly where I want you."

"And how are you so sure it isn't the other way around?"

"Don't insult my intelligence, boy. Now die." Ineg reared his fist back and looked like he was preparing to drive a lethal attack right through his young adversary and obliterate him on the spot, but after a moment of suspense, nothing happened.

"Problem?" Willis asked, wearing a smirk despite his precarious position. "Because, you know, I'm displaying a remarkable lack of 'dead' here."

"I-I-" Ineg's brow furrowed and he glanced back at his hand. "What is-?"

"Are you having a moral conflict or something? That's unlike you, Ineg."

The suddenly powerless guardian narrowed his gaze at his captive. "What did you do?"

Willis looked down briefly and Ineg followed the glance, where he spied a small plastic cylinder that was protruding from his side. Willis jerked the object free from Ineg's torso, revealing a needle at its end, and smiled as he allowed the syringe to fall from his hand into the grass. "I just injected you with a high potency dosage of a serum that took away your powers."

"What?" Ineg released Willis with a look of horror. "No! What have you done?"

"It's not what I did, per se. Ken Ichijouji created the serum and Curtis brought the formula to my attention. All I did was reproduce it. So you could say it was more of a 'team effort.'"

"But... how?" Ineg brought his hand before him and kept opening and closing it into a fist, as if hoping the normal sphere of energy that should have been there would finally appear.

"Simple really," Willis brushed himself off and straightened his collar. "Ken created the serum back in his post Emperor days in order to negate the effects of the Dark Spore that Oikawa placed into him. You know, the same type of dark spore that was shot into Gennai. Which, by the way, would also be the same exact dark spore that you now draw your powers from, or used to, anyway."

"You, sniveling little-"

"Of course, we both know that you _did_ absorb Sensei Enn though, meaning you could draw your power from the Light, if you wanted to. But that's not going to happen, now is it?'

"I don't need powers." Ineg seethed. "I'll kill you with my bare hands!"

He came forward with a clumsy strike, which Willis easily dodged and countered with a perfectly timed spinning roundhouse to the back of the dark guardian's head. Ineg went to the ground in a heap and let out a low groan as he lay prone on the ground.

"Come on," said Willis. "I just spent the last year of my life living with a bunch of trained combatants, martial artists, and ninjas. Did you really think I hadn't picked up a thing or two?"

Ineg's only response was to emit another groan. Willis walked over to where he lay and kneeled next to him on his haunches. He knew the dark being was down for the count. Without his powers, he was now in much the same weak and unstable state as Gennai.

Ineg slowly turned himself over and gave the boy a vicious glare, its intimidating effect tempered by the fact that his entire body had already started to fluctuate greatly. "I... hate... you."

Willis continued to grin. "I'm sure you do."

A set of loud footfalls approached the pair and Willis turned to see Rapidmon and a devolved Lopmon walking toward them. They were a bit beaten, but none the worse for wear. Ninjamon trailed them, holding his broken arm, which Willis knew would heal rather quickly.

"You... beat him?" Asked Lopmon, looking at the flickering Ineg with a surprised expression.

"No. _We_ did. Now hurry and go get Gennai. We don't have much time."

"Right." Rapidmon turned and was gone in a flash. Only seconds passed before he reappeared with the weakened old guardian cradled in his arms. He gently placed him down next to Ineg and everyone watched as Gennai kneeled down in the grass beside his dark aspect.

"You vulture," Ineg rasped, turning a wary eye on him. "Back to abandon me, bury me deep within once again?"

Gennai nodded. "Of course. I am a product and servant of the Light. That is the path I chose. But, like Counselor Gen, I do realize that you are needed. Without you, there is no choice, and thus, there is no me."

"That is no consolation."

"No, I don't imagine it would be." Gennai reached forward.

"Wait!" Ineg weakly raised a hand to stall Gennai. "Make sure that you all do- do me... one small favor."

Willis was taken aback by the request. "Why would we do anything for y-"

"Just... just kill him."

"Kill who?"

"KiAdjae. He betrayed you. He betrayed me. Kill. The. Assassin."

Gennai nodded. "On that we can agree. We can't, we _won't_, allow his evil to continue any longer."

"G-good... Bastard deserves it." Ineg dropped back to the ground and allowed his eyes to slowly close shut. Shortly after, his entire body began to waver.

Willis glanced up at his mentor. "Gennai hurry! Before he phases out completely!"

"Right." Gennai reached out a hand towards Ineg, and a point of intense light began to emanate from the point where their two bodies connected. The light expanded, eventually growing large enough that it enveloped them both and forced the four onlookers to take a few steps back. Eventually it began to recede, revealing one solitary figure standing where two had been earlier. Gennai opened his eyes, his form and youth completely restored. All of his facets were now there; the optimism of counselor Gen, the expertise of Nai, the fighting spirit of Enn. His robes had returned to their natural gray and white pattern and his hair was brown once again and back to its slightly unkempt state.

Willis looked up at the restored guardian in awe. It felt like it had literally been forever since he last saw him in his unified form. "How do you feel?"

Gennai turned and looked down at him. His expression was not the one that Willis had expected. It was one of graven shock, as if Gennai had just heard or discovered something absolutely horrifying.

"I have Ineg's memories." He said. "Some seem faint, but the important ones are as clear as day."

"What is it, Gennai? What's wrong?"

"Something terrible, unimaginable even. We need to make a plan."

Willis looked at his restored mentor curiously. "Gennai... your hands."

Gennai looked down, turned up his palms, and saw that they were emitting a faint glow. "Yes, it would seem that the serum you injected Ineg with is still in effect. For now, I have regained control of my powers."

"That's great news!" Said Lopmon.

Gennai shook his head. "It won't be for long if we don't stop what Hitachi is planning. Now listen up, this is what we're going to do..."

* * *

**Tokyo**

Rosa slammed hard against a smokestack protruding from the warehouse rooftop, dropped hard to the metal surface, and immediately tried to rub a maddening jab of pain from her shoulder. Piedmon was not going down easily. Hell, he wasn't going down at all, at this rate. While she recovered her bearings, Rosa observed Terence's progress fighting the Dark Master. He wasn't having any real amount of success either. Just as had happened with her, all of his attacks were bouncing off of the clown digimon's new armor as if they were nothing but annoyances.

Terence tried changing tactics, leaping at the much larger opponent and throwing a series of punches and kicks that also glanced ineffectively off of Piedmon's metal hide. For his efforts he was rewarded with Piedmon grabbing him by the legs and flinging him aside. He crashed into a ventilation shaft only a few feet away from Rosa and crumpled to the ground, then lay there for a couple of seconds before finally sitting up with a groan and squinting as he rubbed his head.

"You okay?" Asked Rosa.

"Yeah, I think so." Terence patted himself down, looking for bruises or broken bones. "Man, this uniform is really coming through for me tonight. Remind me to buy Willis a boat or something when this is over."

"I dunno." She said, still rubbing her shoulder. "It could be better."

"Done so soon, digidestined?" Taunted Piedmon from across the roof. "And here I thought you were supposed to be made of sterner stuff. Or wait-" He thumped a finger against his armor, creating a metallic ring. "Maybe that's me."

"This corny son of a-" Terence muttered. He turned to Rosa. "You ready for round two?"

"Yeah, sure." Rosa crossed her arms and reached out towards Terence, who did the same. They grabbed each other's hands and used the joint leverage to pull themselves to their feet. "But we need a plan."

"Okay. Um, lets punch him _really_ hard this time."

"We already tried that and it didn't work, at all. We need a better plan."

"You have something in mind, don't you squirt?"

Rosa nodded. "Let's use his own powers against him."

"Alright, and how do we do that?"

"I have an idea..." She was barely able to convey the details of her plan to Terence before the sloped sheet of metal beneath their feet began to undulate and wave. Both looked up to see Piedmon angrily stomping towards them, holding his two rapiers before him like a cross.

"He looks mad," said Terence.

"Good."

"I'm tired of this game with you two!" Piedmon's eyes glowed with anger as he said the words, providing his gleaming armor with an intimidating bright red hue. "If you won't fight me, you will have to die! I don't have time for this!"

Terence frowned. "You know, I miss the ridiculous green pants. It was much easier not to take him seriously."

Rosa chuckled. "Just go do what you do best."

Terence gave a slight nod and ran forward, screaming out a loud battle cry. He raised his reformed energy mace high over his head and leapt into the air, bringing the weapon down against the Dark Master's two swords with a loud clash. As the two entered into a series of strikes and dodges, Rosa slowly moved closer, maneuvering herself into the right spot. Once in position, she looked up at the battle and waited for her cue.

"Rosa!" Terence yelled out. "I sure could use your help over here! He's too strong for me alone!"

_Atta boy._ _Right on time._ "Of course he's too strong!" she yelled back. "That's why we shouldn't be fighting him! With that armor he's going to kill us!"

"I-I can't believe you!" Terence ducked a swing from Piedmon and rolled to the side. "You're just going to abandon me?"

"I told you we should leave! Look at him, he's too strong for us!"

"Fine then! I'll beat him myself!" Terence drew his mace back and swung upwards at his opponent, who blocked the blow once again with his swords. For a moment the two stood there, gnashing their weapons against each other, each trying desperately to force the other back and gain an advantage. Then Terence faltered slightly, Piedmon pressed down and struck out with a kick. The blow caught Terence full on in the stomach and he fell back with a shout of pain, hitting the rooftop hard and sliding down the sloped metal surface slightly before coming to a stop. He lay there, face up and eyes closed, and didn't move.

"The girl is right, foolish boy," said Piedmon as he casually walked over to where Terence lay and pulled a white sheet from a sheath on his belt. "You should have listened to her." He tossed the sheet into the air over Terence and it slowly began to fall to the ground.

This was the moment Rosa had been waiting for. "Terence, now!" she yelled, stretching out her arms.

The Inspirational Knight's eyes suddenly popped open and he rolled himself to the side just as two thorn whips shot out from Rosa's hands. The sturdy vines wrapped themselves around Piedmon's legs before he could react, and with a strong tug, Rosa pulled the surprised Dark Master off of his feet and to the ground with a loud thud.

Piedmon shot a glare at his attacker and angrily began to get back to his feet. "Why you impudent little-" His words were cut off as his own sheet, still slowly descending from the air, fell over him. There was a brief flash of light, and then he was gone. Terence got up and brushed himself off. He walked over to the where the large white cloth lay sprawled over the ground and picked it up, revealing nothing underneath but a collection of armor plates surrounding a small, clown-like doll.

"Are you okay?" Rosa asked as she walked over.

Terence nodded. "If there's one thing I've learned in my life, it's how to roll with the punches, or kicks, that come my way. So, is he dead or what?"

"I don't know." Rosa said. She bent down and picked up the small keychain doll. "The ODs weren't when he did this to them. So, just in case..." She threw the doll into the air and struck out with a perfect punch, shattering it into pieces, all of which fell to the ground and immediately began to pixellate away. "Okay. _Now_ he's dead."

"Nice jab." Terence placed a hand on Rosa's shoulder. "And it wasn't a half bad plan either."

She raised a brow. "Whoa. I think I need to sit down. For a second there it sounded like you gave me a compliment."

"Ha. Ha. Funny. So, what fight do we move on to next?"

Rosa placed her hands on her hips and looked at him skeptically. "I thought you were trying to rest. You know, 'get a moment of peace' for yourself?"

"Please." Terence rolled his eyes. "You know I only climbed up here to help you. I swear, you and Curtis totally misread my humor-"

"Curtis!" Rosa's eyes went wide. "I have to go check on him! Stay here, I'll be back in a second!" With that, the Willful Knight took to the air, leaving Terence staring after her with a confused expression.

* * *

An extremely long, high pitched cackle echoed over seemingly all of Tokyo, prompting Curtis to take his attention away from his throbbing back and look up at the enemy that had put him in his current position, seated on the ground up against a piece of metal piping, pain coursing from his tailbone to his neck. Puppetmon had always been a formidable opponent for his size, but now that he was wearing a suit of armor digizoid and wielding a powerful mallet coated in the same indestructible metal, he was practically unbeatable. As far as Curtis could tell, there was only one possible flaw in his opponent's facade. The Dark master seemed to be quite unhinged. Well, a bit more than usual anyway. There had to be a way to use that.

Puppetmon's cackle turned into a low murderous chuckle as he looked at his opponent, a gleeful smile playing across his face. He started to come forward. _Think Curtis, think. _The Meditative Knight's mind quickly raced through a series of options at his disposal and he looked up in surprise as the solution came to him in a sudden moment of clarity. The answer had been right in front of him all this time... But in order to use it, he would have to outthink his opponent rather than overpower him. He'd follow Ms. Lee's advice to a T.

"Youuu're going to diiiiie." Puppetmon said in an eerie singsong voice, approaching Curtis and patting the shaft of his mallet against his open palm. "Just like your cruddy old teacher with his smooshed head."

Curtis felt a surge of rage flash through him as he got to his feet, but forced it down. He was too smart for that. He had to maintain a level head. "You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

"What, you dead? Of course. Duh."

"Yeah, killing me would definitely help you overcome your own paranoia."

Puppetmon paused and looked at him curiously. "What?"

"You've died what, twice now? That has to suck. You're supposed to be some kind of great Dark Master, but people keep killing you. I'd develop some kind of complex after all that too if I were you."

"Well you're not me. You're just some dumb kid that doesn't know what he's talking about."

"Yeah, that's probably what I'd say too. But the fact still remains, we have killed you twice. You're not immortal. If it weren't for Hitachi, you'd be nothing but a distant memory. That has to make you feel weak."

"Shut up, kid."

"And now that we have control of your OPS center, no one's going to be bringing you back if you die this time. You must know that. I mean, that has to be why you're wearing such excessive amounts of armor now."

"You can't kill me kid. I'm not scared of you. I beat you last time without breaking a sweat."

"Ha!" Curtis gave Puppetmon a derisive smile. "If that was true, you wouldn't be facing me like a coward, covered in layers of digizoid, fearing your death with every step you take, clinging to your armor like a security blanket."

"Arrrgh!" Without warning, Puppetmon came forward, swinging his mallet in a wide arc. Curtis was able to leap back in time to avoid taking the full brunt of the strike, but was still dealt a glancing blow to his side that sent him flying backwards. He hit the ground hard on his back and rolled a couple of times before coming to a stop.

"Yeah! How do you like that you stupid little bastard! Huh? You got somthin to say now?"

"What?" Curtis grimaced and got up into a seated position, doing his best to ignore the shooting pain in his bruised ribs. "You- you think you just did something? You're still nothing but a coward with that armor. Scared to face the possibility of his own death."

"Death from what? From you? Look at you. You're practically dead yourself! I'm not scared of you!"

Curtis gave his opponent a sardonic smirk and allowed his eyes to travel up and down his armored exterior. "Sure."

"That's it!" A bright light began to emanate from Puppetmon's eyes, followed by several other beams of light from the numerous cracks and fissures along his armor's fittings. Gradually the various pieces of metal began to fall away from his body and clattered to the ground. "Now, what do you have to say, huh? Nothing? That's what I thought. Because armor or not, look at you! You know you still can't beat me!"

Curtis smiled as the last bit of Puppetmon's armor fell to the ground. Just what he'd been waiting for. He furtively reached down, tapped the screen on his digivice, and felt himself decrease in power. Curtis hoped the sudden devolution wouldn't interfere with Taps' activities in the OPS center too much, but it had to be done.

Puppetmon leapt high into the air with a blood curdling scream and raised his mallet over his head. His angered, tortured eyes combined with the almost gleeful smile upon his face to make him look positively demonic.

"Now you DIE!" He screamed.

"No." Curtis lifted an arm. "Now you BURN!"

A column of intensely hot blue flames came forth from his hands, engulfing Puppetmon and igniting the mega level digimon as if he were made of gasoline. Of course, he _was_ now composed of the next best thing. Puppetmon's trajectory was thrown off by the sudden attack and he went sailing over Curtis's head before slamming into the side of the metal housing of a nearby ventilation fan. He immediately began screaming in pain and rolled around frantically in an attempt to put out the flames surrounding him.

"Don't think so," said Curtis. He picked himself up from the ground and raised both hands this time, sending twin streams of fire at his opponent.

Puppetmon let out a new scream of agony.

"I don't know why this didn't occur to me before." Curtis said with a shake of his head. "It's not hard to figure out that a wooden digimon would be particularly susceptible to fire based attacks."

Puppetmon struggled to his feet and tried to run, despite the multitude of flames burning away at him, layer by layer. He stumbled aimlessly. "B-but How?"

"Oh, you didn't know? My ultimate level form happens to be Blue Meramon. Kinda sucks for you, huh?"

"A tr-trick? D-damn you..."

"Well, that's not very nice." Curtis sent another blast of fire at his opponent, this time knocking him into one of the rooftop's air ducts.

Puppetmon slammed up against the metal pipe, then dropped to the ground. After the hard landing he didn't move. He didn't scream. He simply sat there, smoke pouring from his deteriorating body, and allowed his head to droop in defeat.

Curtis was too smart to fall for the ploy. He started a mental countdown. _Five...four...three...two…_

On cue, Puppetmon's eyes snapped open and he lunged forward with another scream of rage.

_Gotcha._ Curtis's hands were already up and at the ready. He sent two more streams of fire into the airborne Puppetmon, concentrating so hard the flames almost turned white with heat. The power of the attack separated the dark Master from his ever-present mallet and sent the charred wooden weapon sailing over the edge of the roof top. Puppetmon himself was sent flying in another direction and came to a crash landing on top of a large, round, metal tank mounted on the middle of the roof.

"You moron," said Curtis as he slowly approached where the puppet had landed. "Unless you can fake pixellate, you can't fake being dead."

Puppetmon provided no retort, no menacing laugh, no sudden counterattack. Instead, he just lay there as a stream of particles began floating up from his burning body into the sky.

"Now that's more like it." Curtis released a weary breath and allowed his hands to drop to his sides. "I guess Mr. Chan's death has finally been aven-" He paused as something caught his attention. He looked at the tank Puppetmon lay upon and read the letters on it that weren't obscured by the Dark Master's burning, pixellating, body; PROP-

"Damn it!" Curtis's eyes went wide and he turned and immediately began to run. Considering how long Puppetmon had been lying on the tank, he didn't figure he had a great chance to clear the imminent blast's radius in time, but he sure as hell was going to try.

He ran along the roof, churning his legs as fast as they would go, desperately hoping he had enough time, when out of nowhere a hand suddenly appeared reaching down in front of his face. Instinctively Curtis reached out and latched onto the petite appendage, and just as he did, there came a loud booming noise from behind him. He felt the air around him being sucked in by the propane fueled explosion, and then his entire field of vision turned completely, blindingly, white. Abruptly, as quickly as everything began, it was suddenly dark again. Curtis felt himself falling and braced himself before rolling to a rough landing on an uneven metal surface. Seconds later, Rosa landed beside him in a much more graceful manner, her shield glowing brightly.

Curtis looked up at her as if gazing upon the face of a guardian angel. She smiled and reached a hand out to him, which he took gingerly.

"Man, we've had some close calls tonight, huh?" She said as she helped pull him up to his feet.

He responded by simply wrapping his arms around her and pulling her tightly to him. "Thank-you, Rosa. Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you."

"No." She whispered into his ear. "I saw what you did back there. Thank-_you _Curtis."

He pulled back from her and gave a small nod.

"Oh man!" came an excited shout. "Did you see that? My brother is the damn Demolition man!"

Curtis turned and saw Terence walking toward them with a broad smile. In the distance behind him was a column of flame and smoke towering incredibly high into the night sky. The area where Curtis had been only moments before had been completely consumed by the raging fire.

"And you weren't lying about that teleporting!" Terence continued, now looking at Rosa. "You lucky little bastards actually came up with a halfway decent shield power."

"You know," muttered Curtis. "If we both grab his arms, we _could_ drop him off in the fire."

"I'll keep that in mind." Rosa chuckled and leaned against him, taking advantage of the momentary respite to recuperate before they'd inevitably have to throw themselves into the next battle.

* * *

Overhead, Tai was growing quite impatient with the way things were progressing against Apocalymon. Their small fighting unit had received some reinforcement by the sudden arrival of Angemon and Angewomon to their ranks, but Apocalymon was still dealing out far more damage than he was taking. And what was worse, now he was being talkative.

"So, this is the best challenge that Gennai's mighty knights can offer?" He taunted, his raspy voice carrying far over the air. "It seems we get a few enhancements and you all are suddenly nothing more than fodder!"

"Freaking giant, floating octopus," Tai grumbled as he continued to fly in a wide arc around Apocalymon. "What is taking Ms. Lee so long?"

"They say patience is a virtue, you should try it."

Tai turned to the sight of Krista riding atop Marta beside him. The bomb held in her arms no longer had wires sticking out in every direction and now looked like much more of a weapon than an unstable device that could kill them all.

"It's about time," said Tai. "So, are we going to use that thing or what?"

Krista nodded. "Of course. Now catch me." With no further warning, she leapt from Marta's back, forcing Tai to suddenly dip down in order to catch her under her arms.

"Are you crazy?" He exclaimed. "You could have fallen to your death!"

"Please," she scoffed. "You always had the best reflexes out of the whole academy. If there's one thing I know, it's my students' abilities."

"Yeah, sure." Tai shifted her weight and adjusted his hold so that he was sure he had a tight grip on her. "Mind explaining why you jumped in the first place?"

"Because this is the part of the plan where you're going to throw me at Apocalymon."

He gave her a look of disbelief. "Oh I see. So you _are_ crazy."

"Certifiable," added Marta.

"Kamiya, this is going to work. I noticed that he seems to only pay attention to the most powerful attacks that come at him and completely ignores the smaller ones, even if they hit him. He's totally paranoid about losing his pods again. We can use that."

"Okay." Tai nodded. "I think I see what you're getting at-"

"LOOK OUT!"

The shout came from Clara, and prompted Tai to look up just in time to see a Lightning attack launched by Apocalymon coming straight for them. Before he could do anything, however, a yellow barrier materialized around the group and the attack deflected off of it into the air.

"What are you people doing?" Clara demanded, now right in their midst. "Just sitting here, having a chat right in front of him? Are you nuts?"

"So, I see you got my beacon," said Krista. "Good. Now we can attack."

"Now we-?" The Protective Knight seemed perplexed. "What, you fixed the bomb?"

"Yes. Now evolve yourself and your partner. We're making a strafing run."

Clara followed the order, evolving herself and Marta to the Phoenixmon level. "We're slower in this form, you know." She said once the transformation had finished.

"I know, but now Marta is the biggest, brightest thing in the sky with the most powerful attack. She's going to draw all of Apocalymon's attention."

"Oh goody," said Marta, her voice echoing with the power of her mega-evolved form. "Just what I always wanted to be; giant, metal, insane octopus bait. I'm getting all the best jobs tonight."

"You're indispensible," deadpanned Krista. "All right, now we're ready to go. Sanchez, keep your shield up and you and Marta fly at him, Tai and I will be right on your heels. At the last possible moment, send a little Crimson Flame his way and peel off. We'll take care of the rest."

"And just what are you going to do?"

"You'll see. Now let's go! I triggered the timer, so this bomb is already ticking!"

"WHAT?" Tai exclaimed.

Clara's eyes went wide. "Oh hell, come on Marta!" She turned and immediately started to accelerate towards Apocalymon, Marta beside her, and a rattled Tai settled in their wake.

Clara's shield eventually began to shake and waver as Apocalymon started pounding it with an array of mega level attacks. As Krista had predicted, their group had taken all of his attention as they were now the greatest threat to destroy his pods.

"I can't keep this up much longer!" shouted Clara. "He already has about six claws shooting attacks at us!"

"Okay, fine!" Answered Krista. "We're close enough! You and Marta break formation and fire a few attacks to draw his attention!"

They did just as she said, lighting up the sky with a pair of Crimson Flame attacks as they made a right turn. Just as Krista had predicted, the concentration of Apocalymon's attacks followed them.

"Okay Tai, now throw me at his main body platform and retreat out of his range before he sees you!"

"And what are you going to-"

"Just watch! Now do it!"

"Okay!" Tai allowed Krista to drop down until he held her by the wrist. "On three." He said, and began swinging her back and forth to gain momentum. "One... two..."

"THREE!" They yelled together. Tai thrust his arm forward and released her at the last possible second, sending Krista flying toward Apocalymon in a high arc. She flipped a few times as she sailed through the air, then came down to a rough landing near the edge of Apocalymon's pentagonal shaped platform. Tai gasped when she lost her footing and slid over the edge of the platform, but at the last second she caught onto its edge with her free hand. At that moment Apocalymon turned his head in her direction, likely alerted by her less than auspicious landing, but upon seeing no one there, instead trained his attention on the one enemy he could see.

"Your trick won't work, boy!" He yelled at Tai, raising two of his claws and taking aim. "Take this!"

The nightmare claws opened up and unleashed a River of Power and a Crimson Lightning attack in Tai's direction, causing him to immediately ascend away from Apocalymon to avoid the attacks and retreat out of his immediate range. Once he was satisfied that Tai was a safe distance away, the behemoth turned his attention back to the nearer Clara and Marta, but kept two claws aimed in Tai's direction, just in case.

Meanwhile, Krista swung her legs up and rolled herself back onto the top of the platform. She took only a moment to catch her breath before getting back to her feet and continuing the task at hand. Tai watched, impressed, as the woman ran along the length of Apocalymon's main platform, heading for his true form, a relatively small, grotesque body that extended from the waistline up, out of the middle of the massive octagonal construct.

Once she approached the area that his torso protruded from, Apocalymon spotted Krista and swung out at her with one of his arms. She managed to avoid the strike with a twisting leap, ran around him, then dropped the bomb in the one spot the powerful digimon couldn't see, right behind his back. She somersaulted to avoid another swipe, then continued her sprint all the way to the other side of his platform. Once she reached the edge, she leapt off of him into the night like an Olympic diver. Tai broke from his amazed transfixion after he saw Krista disappear over the other side of Apocalymon's body. Did she mean to do that? How could-

He cursed himself mentally as he realized what her plan was and broke into a dive. _Damn it, why didn't she just tell him she was going to do this? _The wind stung his face and the lights of battle turned into blurs as Tai accelerated his descent. After a few tense seconds, he just managed to catch Krista with an arm around her waist, mere moments before she would have come to a crushing landing on the top of a nearby hi-rise. He dipped slightly, and began to ascend once again.

"What were you thinking," He yelled once she was secure in one of his arms. "Not telling me about that part of your plan?"

"Didn't think I had to." She said. "What, you thought I was just going to hang out up there with Apocalymon and a live bomb? Besides, like I said earlier, I trust your reflexes... though I _was_ starting to regret that decision at the last moment there."

"I'll bet."

"Is that all you have, digidestined?" yelled Apocalymon above. "_That's_ your best effort? You send a mere powerless human to attack me, only to run like a coward? HA! If that is the best you can offer, the Dark God will make quick work of all of you!"

"Okay," said Tai, "so the good thing is that he doesn't know about the bomb. Bad thing is that it's apparently _not _a bomb at all."

"Just give it a moment, Kamiya," assured Krista, looking at the clock on her digivice. "It should work right- about- now."

Tai looked upwards in anticipation for a few seconds, but frowned when nothing happened. "Yeah, great job, Ms Lee."

She furrowed her brow angrily. "I don't understand. I think I properly set all of the wires, and the timing mechanism was calibrated to-"

A concussing _BOOM_ interrupted whatever her next words were going to be, and was followed by an inhuman screaming that echoed out over the air. Apocalymon was enveloped by a bright flash and Tai wavered for a moment when the shock wave from the blast passed by and destabilized the air around them. Once Tai steadied himself and the blinding light cleared, he was able to make out Apocalymon, desperately clawing at the platform surrounding his small main body, now covered in flames. His tentacles were moving about wildly in random directions

Tai pulled out his digivice. "Now, everyone!" He shouted into it. "Now! Now! Now! Get every single one of those damn claws!"

Clara and Marta were the first to follow his orders, firing a barrage Crimson Flames that each destroyed four of the pods. Angemon, Birdramon, and Angewomon were able to destroy six combined. And Tai easily took out the two that remained with a well-aimed Terra Force attack that destroyed the ports where they connected to Apocalymon's main body.

"Nice shot." Krista said, watching as the pods and their chain-like tentacles fell down towards the city streets below.

"Thanks."

Apocalymon continued to scream above, wildly flinging his arms at the flames surrounding his body. His shouts of anger rang out over the air, as he cursed each one of the digidestined and Knights by name and slowly began to descend from the air.

Clara flew over to them. "That was a crazy-ass plan, Ms. Lee," she said, shaking her head. "But it looks like it worked."

"Of course it did," said Krista. "Look at him. He's going down like a giant ship."

"Yeah." said Tai. "It's like watching the Titanic sink... while shouting a stream of profanities."

"But his Total Annihilation attack!" Clara exclaimed. "What if he uses it?"

"He won't." Said Krista

"Why not? He has nothing to lose!"

"No," said Tai. "She's right. He's waiting on the arrival of the Dark God, remember? I doubt this God will be happy if he destroys everything in the vicinity, including Hitachi's tower."

Krista nodded. "Yes. Right now, Apocalymon would much rather die in hopes of being brought back to life later on than go against the wishes of his God and give himself a permanent death."

"Okay, so now what? We leave him floating up there with no arms, screaming like a maniac?"

"Sounds good to me."

Clara shot a perturbed look at Krista.

"Relax Sanchez. He's already dying, see?" Krista pointed to a section of Apocalymon's burning body that was already beginning to erode away in a steam of particles into the air. "Half of him was already blown away, and without his pods he can't use any of his powers to put out the flames. And unlike the last time he was defeated this way, he doesn't have a trump card he can use anymore. He's done for."

"Well..." Clara finally gave in with a slow nod. "Okay. I guess. So if he's gone, then what's next?"

"Heads up!" Tai tossed Krista through the air at Clara, who was barely able catch the instructor by one of her arms.

"What the hell, Tai?" Both women said in unison.

"You know your students so well, remember?" Tai smirked. "She's the best flyer. She would have dove down to catch you before you hit the ground, right Clara?"

"Maybe. But you mind telling me why you're just chucked our teacher through the air at me?"

"We still have work to do. I'm going to find Jun, just in case we need to become J'ai to beat Daemon. You guys find the others and we'll meet up to take out whatever of the Dark Masters are left."

* * *

Jun waited with bated breath as she heard the sound of the rocket engines approach. This was it. If Sparks played his part, everything would work. Machinedramon appeared, his thrusters kicking up dust as he hovered a few feet above ground. His head swept side to side and his left eye emitted an infrared beam as he scanned the area. It wasn't long before he located Jun, standing alone in a small alcove, surrounded by giant stacks of old tractor tires. His rear thrusters fired and he accelerated towards her.

_That's right. Come on. Take the bait._

Machinedramon continued forward for a moment, then came to a sudden stop and performed another sweep of the area, this time scanning everything but Jun.

She frowned. _Damn it._ She'd have to lure him. "What's wrong, Machinedramon?" She said tauntingly. "Afraid to fight me now?"

"Far from it. Your partner is nowhere to be seen. This is obviously some type of trap. What kind of fool do you take me for?"

_A bigger one than you are, apparently._ Jun quickly came up with another plan. "You don't know where he is?" She said, eyes wide. "Then he must be okay! And here I thought he'd sacrificed himself for me. I have to find him!" Jun turned and started to scale the stack of tires behind her.

Machinedramon stopped his scans. "You expect me to believe that you did not know that he is alive?"

"I don't care what you believe." Jun said, still climbing. "I'm going to find my partner." She spared a brief glance back at him over her shoulder and saw that he was hovering there, seemingly in thought. Jun returned to climbing and quickened her pace.

"Halt!" He said, finally. "You cannot escape!" His thrusters fired and he began moving forward again. As he entered into the alcove, two gun turrets emerged from his shoulders and immediately took aim at her.

Jun turned around again, but this time directed her gaze at the ground underneath her enemy. _Good. He was in position_. "Alright Sparks!' She shouted. "Now!"

A small creature that looked like nothing more than a bundle of red fur, leapt off the top of the closest stack of tires to Machinedramon. He hung in mid-air for a moment, then began descending directly towards the massive android digimon's body. Jun quickly pulled out her digivice and evolved Sparks, and with a midair flash, he turned into SaberLeomon once again. His full weight was brought to bear right on top of Machinedramon, knocking him to the ground, where both then disappeared into a hole that had been previously hidden by a pile of loosely placed junk.

Jun leapt down from her perch and quickly sprinted to the spot where they had crashed. She ignored the sounds of snarls, growls, and whining servos coming from within the hold as she tossed aside several large pieces of nearby scrap metal, revealing a control panel underneath. She pulled a lever connected to the panel and with a loud grinding noise, the metal sides of the hole in which the two mega digimon were fighting began to close in upon them. At the same time, a thick steel panel on the ground next to the hole lifted up and began closing over the top of it.

Jun ran to the side of the contracting metal enclosure and shouted down. "Okay Sparks, the compactor's closing! Get out of there!"

"I'd love to!" Her partner responded between grunts, struggling in the tight space to hold his opponent's various weapons at angles where they couldn't be fired directly at him. "But it's a pretty tight fit in here, and we're tangled up!"

"Let me out!" demanded Machinedramon. "Or I will destroy you both!"

Jun ignored him, already well acquainted with the Dark Masters' ability to issue demands in positions where they held no leverage whatsoever. "Sparks, you don't have much time! The top is closing down!"

"Um, yeah, I can see that, but I'll be fine if-"

"No!" She shook her head and began heading back for the controls. "That's it! I'm shutting this thing down before it's too late!"

"Jun! Would you stop screwing around and just devolve me already!"

"Oh!" Jun wanted to slap herself for not thinking of that option sooner. She pulled out her digivice and pressed the appropriate part of the screen. A flash came from within the compactor and seconds later, out jumped Sparks as Elecmon. He bounded away from the machine just before the overhead plate slammed down and a loud crunching of metal and groaning of gears began to emanate from inside it.

"No!" Machinedramon's shout from within echoed over the salvage yard, along with the sound of him unleashing several rounds of gunfire, which futilely ricocheted off the shrinking sides of his metal death trap. "Noooooo!"

A great explosion immediately followed the outburst, and then silence. The only evidence left of the Dark Master was a large amount of smoke pouring forth from the machine as it continued compacting what was left of his armor.

"You know," said Sparks, after reaching his partner's side. "In the cartoons, a little smushed-up cube always squirts out at the end-"

Jun kneeled down beside her partner and patted him on the head. "No, Sparks, that's not going to happen."

"Aw, damn it."

"But you did do a great job." A sudden flash in the sky caught Jun's eye and she looked up towards where the fight with Apocalymon had been taking place. She saw that the massive digimon was now on fire, was missing most of his tentacle pods, and seemed to be rapidly falling from the sky. She could faintly make out a steady line of pixellating particles that was streaming from his body and up into the sky. A grin crossed her face. "Good. They beat him."

"Impressive sight, isn't it?"

The comment startled Jun, as it hadn't come from Sparks. She quickly evolved him back to SaberLeomon and turned around, alert and ready. "Who said that? Show yourself!"

"Up here."

Jun directed her gaze upwards and was greeted by a startling sight she was in no way prepared to see. A man was looking down at her. He wore familiar gray and white robes, had cropped brown hair with one beaded braid, and a youthful smile that extended from his mouth to his twinkling hazel eyes... Before her, floating in mid-air like he didn't have a care in the world, was... Gennai.

"You- you're-"

He chuckled and came to a landing in front of her. "I'm back."

Jun threw her arms around the returned guardian and hugged him fiercely. She pulled back to take in his appearance once more, just to make sure her eyes weren't deceiving her, then hugged him again.

"Yes, Jun, it's really me." He gently patted her on the back.

"But how?" Said Sparks. "Last time we saw you, you weren't just at death's door, you were practically on the other side."

At that, Jun finally released Gennai and took a step back. "Yeah," she said. "How did you get your powers back?"

"What can I say? Ineg was foolhardy enough to attack us in the realm, and Willis devised a brilliant method of defeating him. I now have all of my aspects once again. I am now whole."

"And he gave you your powers back?"

"Temporarily. Willis defeated Ineg by injecting him with a serum, created by Ken, that negates dark spore effects. So long as this serum lasts, my powers are restored."

Jun smiled and thought back to how Curtis had reacted back when he'd first learned of the serum from Ken. _So that's what he was so excited about._

"Well," she said. "Most of the heavy lifting's done. We could have used your help a few minutes ago, but Machinedramon and Apocalymon are already gone, and I'm sure the other Dark Masters are being taken care of with them out of the way."

A small frown crossed Gennai's face. "No, Jun. I'm afraid the true battle tonight hasn't even started."

Jun furrowed her brow as she absorbed the words. "I understand we haven't beaten Hitachi yet, but we did get Davis and Kuri through the portal. You make it sound like we haven't done anything yet. What else could possibly-"

A piercing dark aura, akin to death, if such a thing could be described, suddenly permeated the atmosphere. It was entirely encompassing in its scope and breadth, affecting both Jun and Sparks. It forced them to the ground, where they immediately began clutching at their abdomens and holding their heads while wearing grimaces of pain.

"Ugh," Said Sparks. "What the hell? It's like someone's splitting my head in two."

"What's going on?" Jun wondered aloud, squinting as she attempted to put aside the extreme discomfort to take inventory of the others' status.

"Something I feared," answered Gennai as he too looked around the scattered landscape. He seemed relatively unscathed by the gripping coldness, likely another aftereffect of the serum Willis had provided him. "He's already opening it."

"Opening what?"

"You saw what kind of effect only a small portal to the Dark dimension had on all of Japan. Imagine if Hitachi created one that could encompass the entire earth."

The sounds of anguish from Sparks faded away for Jun, as she briefly considered the devastating possibilities of what her mentor was saying. "That's...that's not possible...is it?"

Gennai gave an almost imperceptible nod and looked up to the sky, which was growing even darker than it already had been. "I would not have thought it possible until only a few minutes ago."

"But how? Where would it generate?"

"In space, just beyond the planet's current position. It will allow the earth's own orbit to carry us through. It's the most logical method to absorb both of our worlds into his grasp."

"No." Jun looked up at the clouds, already beginning to swirl rapidly as they were pulled upwards into blackness. She placed a hand to her chest and a fleeting moment of forlorn awe almost overtook her, but was pushed aside. She'd never been one to play the helpless damsel, and damn sure wasn't going to start now. Her expression steeled. "Okay. Then how do we stop him?"

Gennai kept looking up as he talked. "There are 36 points on the planet from which a portion of the portal is generated. Each is in an area that Hitachi previously struck with a nuclear weapon."

"So that's why he didn't hit heavily populated areas. He had this up his sleeve."

"Yes. And our only real option is to proceed to taking out each one of these origin points, one by one."

"Then we need to start immediately. Where is the closest one?"

"Here," Gennai said. "And it's the only one we need to worry about."

Jun gave the older guardian a questioning look. "But you said-"

"Insightful Knight," Gennai glanced down at her and gave a characteristic smirk. "Trust me on this." His expression quickly turned serious again. "Now, tell me. Where is The Assassin?"

"Where do you think?" Jun look upwards and Gennai followed her gaze to the top of Hitachi's tower. "The last place we would want him to be. Keyan's taking him on, but I can't exactly say if she's holding her own, much less beating him."

"I'm going up there. Regroup the forces and take out what's left of the Dark Masters. I'll handle getting my wayward brother out of the way."

Gennai lifted off from the ground and immediately headed toward the tower's apex.

"But Gennai," Jun shouted after him, "the shield!"

If the restored guardian heard her as he ascended, he gave no outward sign of it, zooming toward the pyramid surrounding Hitachi's tower with no obvious intention of stopping.

"Maybe he knows some way to get past it," said Sparks. "Guardians are supposed to be so badass and all."

"Yeah, maybe." Jun felt a gust of wind hit her from behind and turned just in time to see Tai come to a landing behind her.

He looked up towards the tower and the diminishing gray figure ascending up its façade, then turned to Jun. "Was that-?"

"Yeah, it was. Gennai's back."

"Really?" Tai squinted and tried to make out the departing Guardian. "But how-?"

"Ineg got into the realm and Willis handed him his ass," said Sparks. "Or something like that."

"Yeah," said Jun. "Something like that. He recovered his aspects and his powers and now he's going up there to help Keyan fight The Assassin"

"So Gennai's back." The faintest hint of a smile crossed Tai's face before he grimaced and brought a hand to his forehead.

"Tai!" Jun put a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," he said. "It's just that, whatever the hell that is in the sky."

"It's a portal to the dark dimension." Jun said. "One big enough for the entire earth to fit through."

Tai gave her a look of shock, then stared up at the mammoth construct. "It's...it's that huge? That's possible? How do we close it?"

"We don't. Gennai said Willis is taking care of it. He sounded pretty confident."

"I...guess that's good enough." Despite the words, Tai's expression didn't change as he stared up at the portal, whose massive size filled up the entire night sky, from horizon to horizon. "It's going to have to be."

Jun looked around. "Where's WarGreymon?"

The question brought Tai back from his transfixion and he looked at Jun again. "That's why I'm here. Daemon's gone ballistic. He's the only Dark Master left and he's not taking it too well."

"So? If he's the only one left, isn't he greatly outnumbered?"

"Yes, but until we regroup, we're not going to be able to stop him. We need to make our numbers work for us."

"Where is he?" Asked Sparks.

"Hana Park, a couple of blocks from the tower."

"I'm on it. See you there." The SaberLeomon growled, sprinted away, and disappeared over the salvage yard fence.

"Great." Tai shook his head. "I say we need to regroup and he takes off like a bat out of hell."

"That's my partner for you." Jun wrapped her arms around Tai's neck and he neatly scooped her into his arms. They took to the air, and Jun closed her eyes as the wind rushed around them. "I missed you," she said, running a hand through his hair.

"Really, Jun? Is this the time? We've got world-eating portals and gods of darkness-"

"Of course this is the time, Tai. It may be the only time we have left."

"Jun, come on. Don't talk like that. That's not the attitude we need."

"Fine." She turned away from him, a frown playing across her face. "You're right, I suppose."

A smile crossed Tai's face, as even in the midst of the world going to hell around them, her sulking still had the ability to melt his heart. "Okay, okay." He gave in. "I love you too." He planted a brief, yet tender, kiss on her cheek.

"That's more like it." She turned back to him with a grin and enveloped his lips with her own, fervently pressing against him as he did the same. The kiss was powerful, and even after it ended, the two felt a certain lightheadedness coursing through them while they regained their bearings.

"Wow." Tai said in amazement. "That was…something."

"Whew." Jun fanned herself. "Tell me about it."

"Alright, so is it okay with you if we take on the lord of the Dark Ocean now?"

"By all means," Jun took a deep breath and looked down towards the battle going on below. "Let's do it."

Tai rolled into a dive.

_To be continued…_

* * *

Next up: **Tennozan** **Pt IV**: Where the hell are Hitachi and Davis, and Jade, for that matter? Will Gennai be able to turn the tide against the Assassin? Will Daemon finally meet his maker? I know you're wondering! Find out in the next chapter of Digital Knights!


	30. Tennozan Pt 4

Aaah! I'm late! My sincerest apologies to everyone that had gotten accustomed to my regular updating schedule. My job just decided to randomly change my work schedule, so I no longer have the weekend off over the next few weeks. Ugh... Anyway, I was able to squeeze in some time to edit (rushjob. forgive any remaining typos please) and have this chap ready to post today. (Also, check Post-notes for info on the next chapter(s) delay). As always those reviews are always appreciated (btw, my most faithful reviewers will definitely be getting a special thanks in the epilogue. You guys are awesome and your comments have meant more than you know towards keeping this story going). Enjoy.

* * *

**Tennozan** **Part IV**

Daemon was a nightmarish vision, throwing digimon left and right in an irritated rage. He'd shed the tunic and shroud of his more reserved form, instead opting to unveil the full rage of his true self with his wings flared out and fangs fully bared. The effects of the dark portal's opening was still influencing his opponents and he was taking full advantage of that fact. Dark energy liberally spilled forth from his eyes like fumes as he stood in the middle of the large downtown park, throwing attacks and bellowing his anger to all who could hear.

"You will not beat me!" He screamed in irrational fury as he flung attacks in random directions. "I WILL see the Dark God!"

WarGreymon and Garurumon tried a frontal assault upon him, but were rebuffed and easily knocked aside by a couple of Chaos Flare attacks. Many of the other Champion level digimon had devolved once the overhead portal had appeared, and were now being spurned on by their desperate partners to return to their champion forms. Two that had managed to maintain their evolved levels, Angemon and Angewomon, had just arrived from the overhead battle with Apocalymon and tried the tactic of throwing attacks at Daemon from a distance. This only enraged him further, and he uprooted a tree in the park as if picking a daisy from a garden and threw it at them with all the force he could muster. The streaking mass of leaves and branches caught Angemon in its path, knocking him to the ground and forcing Angewomon to abandon the fight in order to help him.

While Daemon was distracted, looking upon the fruits of his attack with a devilish grin, Pings snuck up from behind and leapt onto his back. He roared with exertion, trying in vain to force the powerful master of the Dark Ocean off of his feet. Instead, Daemon laughed maniacally as he reached back and grabbed the large Vikemon by his arms. He bent forward and used his leverage to easily throw his larger opponent clear across the park and through a glass storefront.

"Wow," said Rosa, who looked down on the battle from the vantage point of a nearby rooftop ledge alongside Terence and Curtis. "Big guy's pretty pissed. He just tossed your partner like a loaf of bread."

"Never mind that," said Terence, who, rather than looking down upon the battle, was immersed in what was going on overhead. "Have you looked up in the last five minutes? What the hell _is_ that?"

"It's a portal," said Curtis matter-of-factly.

"Oh, okay." Rosa acknowledged the statement with a simple nod and went back to observing the fight.

Terence, however, was a bit more skeptical. "Bro, how in the world do you know that's a portal?"

"Simple." Curtis glanced at his brother. "In the OPS center, we saw how it's created. It comes from several different points on the earth, the areas that Hitachi hit with nuclear strikes, actually, and when you look at the locations in context, they resemble a collection of strategically arranged starlets, which are-"

"Yeah, we know," interrupted Rosa. "They're the simplest digital constructs-"

"Which, when arranged in complex patterns, can form portals," finished Terence.

Curtis gave the two a look of surprise. "Um, yeah, actually."

Rosa shrugged. "We spend more time with you than anyone. It rubs off."

Terence continued staring upwards. "So then, that's a giant portal. To where?"

"After the effect that it just had on all of us, where do you think?"

"Oh. That is _not _good."

"Heads up!" Shouted someone from below. The three looked down just in time to see a stray attack from Daemon hurtling directly toward them.

"Curtis!" Rosa quickly grabbed his hand, then both took hold of one of Terence's arms and the trio disappeared just before the ledge they were standing on exploded into tiny bits of gravel. They reappeared on the ground level in the middle of the street, not far from the battle going on in the park. Terence stumbled forward after Rosa and Curtis released his arms and doubled over, clutching his stomach.

"You okay?" Asked Curtis. "Ms. Lee did say doing that made her a little queasy."

"A _little_?" Terence eyed his brother groggily. "Next time, just let me die."

Rosa rolled her eyes. "Quit whining and come on. All we have to do is defeat Daemon and, if Davis takes care of his part, this thing is over."

"Yeah, sure." Terence recovered his balance and looked up at the sky again. "Assuming Hitachi doesn't come back all Dark Godly and ready to kick ass."

A jet-sized bird flew over their heads, yellow and orange in color, with a metallic golden beak, and let out a hawk-like screech as it headed straight for the park.

"A Phoenixmon," said Curtis. "Must be Marta."

A pair of thumping noises behind them brought everyone's attention to the arrival of two newcomers; Clara and Krista.

The former released the latter once they were firmly on the ground.

"You're okay!" Clara said, rushing to Terence and wrapping her arms around him.

"Ah, easy now." He said, wincing as he returned the embrace. "Okay is a relative term."

Clara pulled back and slapped him across the shoulder. "I told you to stay in touch with me!"

"Ow! Sorry, I was a little busy taking out two Dark masters, thank you." The sound of a angrily clearing throat behind Terence gave him pause. "And I guess your cousin pitched in a little."

Rosa shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Daemon's still here," she informed the two newcomers, "and he aint going down easy."

The group turned their attention to the sounds of the nearby battle between the digimon and Daemon.

"He's the last one left?" Asked Krista.

Curtis nodded. "And he's definitely not too happy about it."

On cue, one of Daemon's stray attacks hit a nearby building and sent the fire escape assembly mounted on its side crashing to the ground with a loud metallic roar. Clara hastily threw up a shield that deflected the bits of debris from the crash that came flying in the group's direction.

"This has to end now," said Krista.

"Then let's end it!" The shout came from overhead and, as one, the group looked up to see Tai landing beside them with Jun in his arms. He let her down and both looked over towards the battle in the park.

"So, we gonna see a little J'ai action there?" asked Terence.

"Not necessarily," said Tai. "We need to regroup our forces. This fight should be a lot easier than we're making it."

"Agreed," said Krista. "Come on."

The group made its way to the perimeter of the grand battle; a line of piled up debris and vehicles around the rectangular park that had been constructed by Hatori and the ground forces to keep everyone out of range of the powerful combatants. Hatori himself came over to greet them.

"Great job with the Dark Masters," he said. "But looks like the toughest bastard is the one we have left. We had to make this perimeter around the park because frankly, we have enough to deal with with what's left of Hitachi's soldiers and mutants."

A blast of gunfire interrupted Hatori and they all turned to see a few mercenaries heading down the street towards them.

"I'll take 'em out," volunteered Rosa with a scowl, already raising her hands.

Hatori held up a hand to stop her. "Don't bother." He brought a digivice before him. "Jiro, B 22 and 23."

"Roger."

Two streams of bullets fired from the upper floor windows of a building beside the street, dropping two of the mercenaries on the spot and sending the rest scrambling for cover.

"Don't know how long they'll keep falling for that." Hatori muttered. "But as you can see, we do have our hands full."

"Wow, I'm certainly glad to see you guys!" shouted a man holding a camcorder who suddenly barged onto the scene, pointing the apparatus at each of the group, in turn. "Not that this isn't making for fantastic video, but I do hope you all can do something about that massive thing in the sky. I have a bad feeling about it. Call it 'reporter's instinct.'"

Tai looked at the newcomer curiously. "Mr. Ishida?"

"Damn it, Dad!" Matt ran over just then and came to a stop beside his father. "We told you to stay out of the way!" He turned to the others. "Sorry guys. You wouldn't believe all the people in this resistance force. It's a family reunion. There's a guy who says he's Kuri's brother, Yolei's sister, Joe's brother, our Dad. This is _not_ the kind of stress we need."

"You have to forgive us, Matt." Said Mr. Ishida, not taking his camera away from the action. "We did all think you were dead as little as an hour ago."

"Yeah, we know Dad, and the hugs you gave me and TK practically crushed what few bones we have left that weren't already bruised or broken, but you have to stay back from the park. That isn't our fight."

"Nonsense." Mr. Ishida waived his son off. "What happens tonight must be recorded for posterity. The world must know what we accomplished here."

"Ugh." Matt slapped his forehead, then cupped a hand to his mouth and shouted across the street. "TK!"

"Yeah?" Answered the younger blond man from where he was, helping to maintain a safe perimeter around the area alongside Sora and some of the resistance.

"Tell your insane father he needs to get out of here!"

"I did! That why he's over there now!"

Matt sighed in resignation and checked the ammunition in his rifle. "Dad, please don't get yourself killed."

"I'll be damned if you young people are going to be out here, risking your lives for the sake of the world, and no one is here to record your sacrifice."

At that, Tai began frantically looking around, scanning the ranks of digidestined and soldiers. Jun tapped him on the shoulder and pointed. He looked in the direction she indicated and saw Kari beside Joe in the back of one of the CADE vehicles, working to bandage a soldier that was bleeding profusely from his side.

"She's been fine for the most part." Hatori said. "Probably already saved quite a few lives tonight too. I've been keeping an eye on her."

Tai conveyed his thanks to the CADE general with a nod. "Have we lost anyone else?"

"Some of the resistance in the early plane attacks, but no one since then. A _lot_ of injuries. Our medics have been working like crazy, as you can tell."

Mr. Ishida bumped in between Rosa and Curtis to get Tai and Hatori's conversation in frame.

"Do you mind?" Rosa bristled, stepping away from him.

"Sorry, but as I said, everything must be documented. As soon as we get our satellites back, what happens here will be broadcast to the world. Everyone will know what you do tonight."

"Don't jinx us or anything." said Clara, crossing her arms and stepping to the side when Mr. Ishida tried to aim the camera at her.

"Isn't that just awesome, though?" Said Terence. "If we win tonight we'll be _famous_. I'm sure none of us knows what _that's_ like."

At that moment, there was a loud _crack_, followed by half a tree sailing through the air over the heads of the group, smoke trailing from its burning leaves. It crashed down in the middle of the street behind them and sat there, smoldering.

"Okay team," Said Jun. "I'm thinking it might be a bit more constructive to bring our attention back to the fight with Daemon now."

"Yeah, you might have a point there." Agreed Tai. He looked the others. "Okay everyone, we're taking him down once and for all. And we're going to make this as fast and as simple as possible."

"Alright." said Terence, clapping his hands together. "Well that got me excited. Preach on then, brother Kamiya."

Tai shook his head. "Okay, here's the plan."

* * *

**The Realm**

Willis looked up from his laptop to the circle of bright portals that now surrounded him, 36 in total. They were all spaced evenly around where he sat, in the large meadow immediately in front of the Academy, and created quite an image as the light from each glanced off of his form evenly. He bit his lip and went back to work on the keyboard, now finding himself faced with a much harder task than the portals' creation had proven to be.

"I hope this program actually works." He muttered to Terriermon and Lopmon, both silently standing to the side as he input volumes of information into several coding fields on the screen. "I'll have to trust it to find each one of them in time. This will wind up being the beta test that just may save the world."

He ended the sequence by pressing the enter key, then looking around himself hopefully. For a moment, it seemed that all of his efforts had been in vain. Nothing happened. No portals opened. No points of light originated anywhere.

"Damn it to hell." Willis looked back down at his computer, thinking, hoping even, that somewhere he had missed a line of code, or randomly mis-entered a command. Unfortunately, it didn't seem so. His work had been, as expected, flawless. "I don't understand. This should have worked. Why in the world would-"

His words were interrupted by a sudden popping noise as a rather bright construct appeared directly in front of him and warmed the area by several degrees. Willis looked up at the suddenly appearing portal in surprise, then desperation. "Please work." He intoned repeatedly. "Please."

A silhouette appeared in the white light of the portal, then was joined by another, and another. Mere moments passed before the four that stood there came through and their forms were fully illuminated.

It was two fully uniformed Knights, flanked by their partners. The one Willis was looking at had a shock of red hair and a familiar flair of curiosity in his eyes. He spied the awaiting tech wiz and gave a small smile.

"Willis mate! What's going on? Me and Nadia here were just doing patrols of our area and the digital band suddenly started going haywire! The thing just starts going nuts with reports of a battle in Japan and people are saying they can hear the voices of Tai and Jun and the others, which I don't have to tell you, seems quite a bit less that possible. Then the sky went completely dark, and the really bad headache hit me, both of us in fact, and all of a sudden, I see this giant portal appear right over us, taking up half of the sky-"

"Jonathan," Willis interrupted, forcing the Curious Knight to pause and take a breath. "You need to listen to me. This is important. Tai's group is currently in Tokyo, fighting Hitachi directly."

"They're alive?" Jonathan pumped a fist. "All right! And it's about time we made our move! Do you need us to help him, because-"

"Calm down Johnny." This time it was Nadia that interrupted him. "Why don't we let him tell us what he needs us to do."

Willis gave her a grateful nod. "Thank-you. Okay, here's what's going on..." He explained about Hitachi's earth sized portal and the 36 points of origination around the world that made the massive construct possible.

"Wow." Jonathan said, his hyperactive nature sobering a bit. "Serious business, that. So, what do you need us to do?"

Willis pointed to one of the portals in the large circle. "That portal leads to the Point of Origin spire in the Kuril Islands. You need to go through and destroy it as quickly as possible. Hopefully the other Knights will soon arrive and I'll be able to dispatch them to the other locations."

Jonathan nodded and pulled out his digivice. "We're on it. Do you think we'll meet up with any resistance along the way?"

"Some mercenaries and a few mutants, I imagine."

"Good," Razor bellowed after evolving to his Volcanomon form. "I could go for a little payback."

"So could I," said Nadia. She pulled out her digivice and evolved Rose to her ultimate level of Piximon. "Let's go."

"Good luck." Jonathan said with a nod as the four hurried off to their portal. Just as they disappeared through, someone else came through a portal directly in front of Willis. His form was tall and imposing, and his partner closely resembled a penguin surrounded by flames, or- as Willis remembered fondly, flare.

"What's going on?" Steve asked in his characteristic authoritative manner, arms folded across his broad chest.

As Willis started to explain once again, other Knights began arriving one-by-one through the rest of the portals, and a smile crossed his face. _This just might work._

* * *

**The Dark Dimension**

Hitachi felt perfectly at home here, walking amongst the twisting grey paths and walkways of the massively cold void that was the Dark Dimension. The aura of the place practically embraced him, caressed his soul in its infinite, unyielding grip. Being here, actually traversing this plane of legend, allowed him to understand why the God had commanded him to create the contingency portal that could pull the entire earth into this realm. Even after their joining, after Hitachi had all of the powers of a God, this was truly the only place he would ever feel at home.

"Magnificent."

His utterance reverberated throughout the empty space with a gradually fading echo, and was followed by a sudden clicking noise. It persisted, like a motor at low idle and gradually became louder and closer.

"What?" Hitachi turned toward the source of the sound quickly. "Who's there?"

More clicking joined the initial sound, this time coming from another direction, prompting Hitachi to turn again. "Show yourselves!" He raised his hands, building up an amount of dark energy between them. "Or face your end!"

What- or who- ever was making the noises did not seem to take this threat well, as the cadence of the clicks became much faster and higher pitched. Now they seemed to be coming at him from all directions and Hitachi could tell that whatever creatures were responsible for the noises were definitely honing in on him.

"I am the heir to the Dark God!" He shouted into the blackness, raising a fist. "Face me if you dare! I have no fear of what I do not see! I-"

Hitachi paused when one of the beings abruptly materialized right in front of him, out of thin air. It looked like nothing more than a disembodied cloak, floating in the ether. Hitachi peered into the raised hood of the tattered black robe as it drew closer and found only a blank darkness staring back at him.

"Quant." He chuckled. "I think you shall find that I do not fear the reaper, as well."

This clicking noise began emanating from the creature's hood, now much louder than before, and four other identical beings materialized around Hitachi, all making the same sounds as they encroached upon his space. He squinted at the invasiveness of the racket they were making and raised a hand. "I have had enough of this!"

A blast of energy issued forth from his fingertips, overtaking the nearest creature and knocking it backward. It began vibrating and convulsing, then fell limply down onto the pathway and started to disintegrate right on the spot. The others raised an ear-splitting cacophony at the loss of their comrade and formed a line across the path in front of Hitachi.

"Remove yourselves if you do not want to die like your friend there."

The arms of the four remaining cloaks raised, as if they were all joining hands. A glimmer of distortion passed over them, and together, the four unleashed beams of dark energy from their hoods. The beams joined together just before hitting Hitachi and their combined strength forced the demigod backwards and into a defensive crouch.

Hitachi placed a hand over his chest at the point of impact. It had been quite a while since he'd felt actual pain. So long, in fact, that he now found the sensation almost entirely foreign to him. "You will pay for that." he growled, rising back to his full height. "I will let you feel the true extent of my powers!"

He raised his hands.

"HALT!" The pure authoritative power of the command caused Hitachi and the creatures to stop their battle at once. Hitachi looked around. He couldn't pinpoint the source of the shout because it literally seemed to have come from everywhere.

"Sentinels, stand down!" The voice continued. "This man is an honored guest of our realm!"

The creatures backed away from Hitachi and he, in turn, lowered his hands. Just as they had arrived, the floating cloaks once again disappeared into nothingness.

The disembodied voice spoke again. "You will have to forgive the sentinels. They are appropriately protective of this realm and its master."

"I suppose that means you are who I think you are?"

"Yes. Myotis Hitachi, I am the Dark God."

The air around Hitachi began to agitate and swirl, turning black in color and coming together to form a vague humanoid shape in front of him. Hitachi recognized the phenomenon as the God shifting from his natural invisibility into a not quite corporeal state. It was as if he was between realities. He moved with the fluidity of air or steam, but was no more material than a shadow. His body was the most basic of human forms, with no distinguishable features, almost as if it had come straight out of an anatomy textbook.

Hitachi immediately dropped to a knee and bowed his head. "It is truly an honor, my Lord."

"The honor is mine as well, my vassal. I knew you would be the one to finally open the portal between our worlds. You were the only one truly capable of doing everything that it required."

"It would not have been possible without the power you were able to send me."

"Yes, through a connection initially the size of a pinhole. Now that you are here, just think of what we can do. Imagine the possibilities."

"I have. For a very long time."

The Dark God's shadow passed through Hitachi, pausing for a moment to drape over his shoulders. "Yes, I know. It has been a long struggle, hasn't it? I know how the world has shunned you. But I have not. I have kept my eye firmly trained upon you and watched you grow. I have always been a guardian of sorts for you, nurturing your development."

"Always?" Hitachi couldn't keep a hint of astonishment from his voice. A part of him had assumed their recent partnership was simply a matter of mutual opportunity and intersecting goals, nothing more.

"Of course. You first came to my attention upon your invention of the electric binary system. The creation of a world of duality, an essential ingredient of the free thinking mind, can open the doors to other dimensions, as you have already seen. And the vicious, deliciously ruthless experiments you used that system to help you perform...a work of art. I then watched the world around you crumble, as your country lost its war to a nation willing to go farther, to be even more ruthless. I saw them deny your existence, tell the world that you had perished, force you into hiding. The glorious advancements that you had given them were suddenly brushed aside under the cowardice of saving face and making amends.

"But you did not stay there long, did you? No, in a stroke of brilliance you waited, using the medical treatments you had discovered to maintain your youth, until the moment you murdered your own grandson and assumed his identity."

Hitachi nodded patiently. He was unsure why the Dark God was reciting information that he already knew, but after getting this far, he was more than willing to wait and see this through to its completion

"And from then on, you were working toward this moment. I aided you where necessary, of course, unleashing the Dark Masters to distract the digidestined away from you following Myotismon's predictable defeat, giving you time to cover your tracks. But you continued working towards this day, even going so far as to unleash your partner a second time, just to take attention away from your true machinations. Only you have shown that you are worthy of my presence. Only you are so driven. Not only were you able to discover the technology that would allow you to come here, but also took the millions of lives necessary to open the portal to its fullest extent."

The God drifted around the still kneeling Hitachi until he stood in front of him. He placed a cold immaterial hand on the kneeling man's forehead.

"And I know why you did it. They took your inventions, your ideas, your philosophies, and usurped them from your grip, denied your very existence. They've brought this upon themselves. The world turned its back on you. I understand. They believe themselves to be more than what they are, that they all aren't selfish at their core, that they don't truly desire nothing more than to conquer one another."

Hitachi nodded. "The farce stunts our development."

"Exactly! Oh, you understand, Hitachi. You know true strength." The Dark God left Hitachi's side and drifted away, hands folded behind his back. "You know that a world that piddles along, wallowing in its own hypocrisy, is one that will never change, one that will never grow stronger. They delay their potential for the sake of appearance instead of embracing their true nature. They should be continually culling one another until one is left, a supreme being worthy of wielding powers that rival that of a God's."

"I _am_ that man."

"Of course. Of course. And that is why you are here. You have earned your place and your reward. To the victor go the spoils, as they say. Their lives, their energy are yours to mold your own desire. I daresay they will certainly remember your name now, won't they?"

"_Yes._" Hitachi could not hide the true passion in his response.

The Dark God let out an echoing chuckle. "And the world that you created, the one that you rightfully own, it will be yours."

Hitachi accepted the words without any reaction. Within, the anxiety of the moment was almost overwhelming him. He was almost there. So tangibly _close. _He could scarcely control himself.

The Dark God continued to speak. "And because you, most of all, have stayed true to the principles and walked the path that I have set out before you, my force will now be yours to wield."

Hitachi looked up at this expectantly, but the God did not immediately begin to imbue him with power. Instead he looked down at him.

"I trust you have already set the other events into motion in your world, as I asked?"

Hitachi nodded. "As per our agreement, I did as you wished. Some of my subordinates had... reservations about the plan, and they were appropriately dealt with for it, but I must say, I'm not sure that i understand it myself. Is it not counterproductive to-"

"It is simply a precautionary measure in the event that anything should not go as planned tonight."

"I see."

"Now, Myotis Hitachi, stand." The Dark God reached out and placed a hand on his servant's head. Dark energy began to course through it. "Stand and receive the power that has always been rightfully yours."

Hitachi obeyed the command, finally rising from his kneeling position to stand at his full height. "I am ready."

The Dark God smiled, or the equivalent of such as a black crescent appeared across his shadowed face. "And so am I."

* * *

"Come on guys. It can't be much further." Davis continued to walk, pressing forward in confidence as the others followed behind him. He wasn't sure how he knew that this was the way to go, but he just knew. The path they walked was in no way discernibly different from the hundreds of others that branched out around them, but something was calling him in this direction and he was determined to see what it was.

"And you're sure about this?' Asked Kuri, looking around the maze-like dimension uncertainly.

"Positive. I can feel it. He has to be around here somwhe-"

"Well, would you look at this," interrupted a warm sounding voice from above. "The kids actually made it."

A figure enshrouded in golden light materialized over the path before them and began to drift down towards the four. Once the light faded enough to reveal a person, Kuri blinked several times and rubbed her eyes as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"Is that... Kentaro?"

Davis shook his head and smiled. "No, it's Miracles. He does that."

Veemon scratched his head. "He just transforms into other people? Why?"

"No clue. I think he just likes humans a lot and can't decide which one he wants to be."

Peko frowned. "That's... well, pretty weird. Are you sure he can help us?"

"I must say," said the Kentaro approximation after coming to a landing in front of them, "I am not really enjoying the way you're all talking about me as if I'm not standing right in front of you."

"Sorry," said Davis, reaching out and shaking the god's hand with a sheepish look. "So, as you can see, we made it. I know it's not as soon as you thought-"

"Not at all. Your visit tonight was expected. It is the 11th hour, after all, and you people do so love to procrastinate." Miracle's appearance shifted from Kentaro to looking like a spitting image of Jun.

It threw Davis off for a moment. "So, um," he said. "Then you know why we are here."

"Of course. My father is creating quite a ruckus in your world today. The cries of anguish from your dimension have been echoing through the ether like-"

"Wait, wait, wait." Kuri interrupted with a hand raised. "Did you say _father?"_

Miracles only nodded.

"Please tell me you are not talking about the Dark God here."

"Sorry, but yes, I am."

Kuri slapped the palm of her hand to her forehead. "You have to be kidding me."

"My mother is the Goddess of Light, if that helps."

"No, it doesn't. I mean, yes. I-I mean," Kuri took a breath to stop her flustered speech. "What the _hell_, man? Just how are they _both_ your parents?"

"They are Gods that live by the power of two extreme philosophies. In between those two extremes is a balance, which has a power all of its own. That power created me." Miracles shrugged as if it were a fact that they should have learned in grade school.

"Must be awkward around the dinner table." muttered Peko.

"Yes." Miracles chuckled. "I imagine it would be."

"So, what are these philosophies you're talking about?" Asked Veemon. "The ones the power comes from?"

"From what I've figured since the last time we talked," said Davis. "It's basically selfishness versus selflessness."

The God clapped his hands together and smiled. "Ah, someone's been studying, I see. Of course, it is all a bit more complicated than that, but yes, that's the gist of it. My mother feeds on the decisions people make for the benefit of others, with complete disregard for their own welfare, and my father draws power from the opposite. Dear Dad eats a lot more often, you can imagine."

Davis rubbed his chin. "But what I don't get is... what exactly makes you? What's the balance between that?"

Miracles shook his head, as if protecting a closely guarded secret. "You'll have to discover that on your own, Davis. If I just tell you, you won't truly have the knowledge necessary to access your full power."

"His full power?" Asked Kuri. "What do you mean by-"

Miracles held up a hand to stall her. "I'm sorry, but you don't have much time. I sense my father is already entering into your world and I will have to convey my power to you so that you can fight him. Please, step forward."

Davis was halfway through taking a step forward when Miracles stopped him with a shake of his head. "Not you, Davis." he said. "Her."

"What?" Kuri looked up in surprise. "Me? No, I'm not the chosen one here. Davis has your shield and everything."

"True, he does. But I need you to be the conduit in order to pass my powers on to him."

"Really? You _need_ me to be this... conduit? You can't just pass your powers straight to him?"

"Well, you two do work in conjunction, in case you haven't noticed."

Kuri's raised a brow at that. "That's another thing. Why _do_ we work in conjunction? I don't get how-"

"Dammit Kuri!" Shouted Peko. "Stop asking all these questions and just do what the God says. We don't have time to waste!"

"Fine." Kuri shot a glare at her partner, then stepped forward. "Okay Miracles, do what you have to do."

"Alright." The deity reached forward and pressed his fingers firmly against Kuri's forehead. "This may tickle."

A concentrated pulse of light ran down his arm to his hand, then disappeared into Kuri's head. Moments later her shield began to glow more brilliantly than it ever had before. A stream of purple energy shot out from it and connected directly to Davis's shield, which alternately began to give off a blinding gold light. The power of the transfer lifted the Miraculous Knight off of his feet and he levitated in the air. He looked around himself as the glow spread from his shield and slowly began to envelop his entire body, eventually covering him completely, from head to toe. The power washed over Veemon, as well, and the rookie digimon also began to levitate as he too took on a golden radiance. A minute passed before the transfer fully completed and Davis and Veemon lowered back to the ground, still glowing.

"So," Miracles stepped back, now resembling Ken. "How do you feel?"

"Good," Veemon answered first. "_Really _good."

Davis looked down at himself and marveled at the light his shield was giving off. "This, this is real power. I feel like... well, like a god."

"So you think you can fight the Dark God now?" Asked Peko.

"Yes. I think I can. No, I _know _I can. This is amazing."

"It should be," said Miracles. "The power comes from you and your people, and you all are nothing short of remarkable. As far as I'm concerned, I'm just giving back what's rightfully yours anyway."

"So, he really has the power now to put a stop to Hitachi, once and for all?" Kuri asked.

"I believe he does, or will, anyway. But your job is not done, Kuri. His power now flows through you, meaning you must stay alive for him to fight the Dark God."

Kuri nodded. "Yeah, got it. Don't die. Ironically, that was already pretty high on my priority list."

"Why are we just chatting here?" Asked Peko. "Don't we need to get back ASAP?"

"She's right," said Miracles. "Unfortunately, our time here has already run out. You all have to go. As I said, I sense that my father has moved into your realm and your people need you more than ever now."

"Then we will," said Davis. "Let's get moving, team." As Kuri and Peko hurriedly took off back the way they'd arrived, Davis paused and turned back to the Ken doppelganger solemnly watching them go. "Thank you, Miracles."

The god gave a small bow. "As I told you, I didn't do anything but give you access to what was already yours."

"Right." The Miraculous Knight wasn't sure he understood this, but there was no time left to ponder what it meant. "Well, I'll be leaving then."

"Davis," Miracles reached out and halted him with a hand on his shoulder. "Before you go, don't forget this. What the world needs right now is not a hero, or even someone with the power to fight Hitachi and the Dark God. What it needs right now is you. What will save your world today is not a miracle from me, but Davis Motomiya being himself."

Davis hardly found this information comforting. "That sounds familiar." He replied without turning back to the deity. "Have you been taking notes from my sister?"

Miracles smiled. "Your sister is incredibly wise for her age, and once you understand what we're talking about, you'll unlock your true potential."

"Well, I guess I'll find out." Davis frowned, unsure of when he would have time for any miraculous moment of self-discovery. "See you around, Miracles."

"Of course!" The god yelled in Ken's voice as Davis headed off. "And good luck!"

* * *

**Hitachi's Tower**

"So, what happens now?" asked Miko, staring up at the monitor bank and the last burst of pixels that had signaled Apocalymon's final demise. "Your friends have just about won. What do we do?"

"We keep working," said Izzy, not looking up from his computer. "Hitachi is still in that portal and we don't know if Davis has been able to stop him. The Assassin is still sending men down here after us. We need to get this shield down."

"Right." Miko returned to his work, but after a moment let out a grunt of surprise. "Well, would you look at that? Interesting."

Izzy looked up. "What is it?"

"The shield. Something is weakening the code integrity. At the rate it's degrading, it should take no time to take the entire thing down."

"Well that's a stroke of good luck, right?" Asked Mimi, looking over Izzy's shoulder.

"Well yes, but quite suspicious."

Away from the group, a human-form Cody stared down at the floor, barely taking in their words as thoughts he wished he could suppress began coming to the forefront of his mind. He'd promised himself that he would not allow his personal vendetta to interfere with the progress of the night's mission, but the more he thought about it, the more it began to eat away at him, began to dominate his suspicions. It made no sense. _Where was she?_

Cody flinched in surprise when he felt something on his shoulder. He turned to see that it was Noriko's hand. "Are you okay?" she asked, concern showing through eyes made weary by the combined effects of her dark spore and the two overhead portals. Not even that serum Willis had given her could completely negate them.

He nodded. "Yeah, I'm... fine."

"You're looking for her, aren't you? You're wondering where she is."

"Well, yes." He admitted, throwing his hands up. "It doesn't make sense. All of Hitachi's other people are here. Her master is up on the roof. Why hasn't she shown up yet?"

"Maybe she's not here."

Cody shook his head. "No way. If she knows I'm here, she must be around somewhere, planning something."

"Well, if she is, don't worry. We'll be ready."

A loud crash rang out from near the lab's entrance, grabbing their attention. "We've got another wave!" Kabuterimon yelled back to them.

"On our way!" Cody responded. He clenched his fists to return to his mutated form and with Noriko following behind him, ran to aid the others in repelling the latest invasion. Upon their arriving, they found themselves faced with a threat entirely different than those that had come before. This new wave of attacking mercenaries came with a different sense of purpose and precision than those that had preceded them. The mutants that accompanied them had gone right after the digimon, keeping them busy by overwhelming them with sheer numbers. Meanwhile, a group of six armed men rappelled into the room from the elevator and came directly after Cody and Noriko.

"Get back!" Cody commanded his partner, pulling his katana from its sheath. He lunged forward at the men, swinging his weapon in a wide arc. Three of them immediately leapt to the side to avoid the strike, while one took a glancing slash across his arm. The man cursed and placed a hand on the wound and immediately began to retreat back to the elevator. Cody engaged two of the men that had avoided his initial attack, and Noriko pulled out a couple of pistols and began firing at the other three. They scattered under the barrage and quickly went for cover.

"We finished our orders!" One of the men shouted to the others. "Fall back!"

The others did as he said, laying down fire and forcing Cody and Noriko to take cover behind a pair of columns as the group hurriedly ran back to the elevator. Cody thought it was strange, considering the way they had come barging in like gangbusters, that they so quickly seemed to have switched into full retreat. Did they have some type of ulterior motive?

"Boy!"

Cody spun on his heels when he heard the shout. He would've recognized that voice anywhere. _She was here._ He saw a lone soldier with a slender feminine shape hanging by a rope in the elevator shaft. Her face was covered by a black mask but there was no mistaking who she actually was. The men around her had holstered their weapons and formed a protective semicircle around the opening.

"Now that I have your attention." she said. "I believe I have something that you need to see." She threw a manila envelope into the room, which slid across the floor and came to a stop a few inches away from Cody's feet.

Cody picked up the envelope and kept a wary eye trained on the woman as he opened it. So the others _had_ been a distraction. A way of getting his attention. Cody considered throwing the package aside and just going after Jade, but she had not attacked him yet. Whatever was in there gave her a certain amount of confidence. She had something up her sleeve. He upturned the envelope and a piece of paper slid out. A picture. Cody examined the photograph and for a moment he stopped breathing. His eyes widened and his mind went blank. His grip on the small piece of paper went slack and it drifted back to the ground.

"Amusing. That reaction alone makes it all worth it." Jade tugged at the rope she was suspended from and was pulled back up into the shaft, her echoing laughter fading as she went up. The rest of the men leapt back in and immediately followed behind her.

For a moment Cody just stood there, completely dumbfounded. Then, gradually, his shock morphed into anger, and then from anger into pure rage. This was _it_. To hell with everything else. He would kill her, literally rip her apart piece by piece, if it was the last thing he did. With a scream of fury, Cody ran forward, leapt into the shaft, and immediately pursued his tormentor.

Noriko looked up upon hearing the fading cadence of booms as Cody leapt from side to side, ascending the elevator shaft.

"Cody? What th-? Where's he going?" Before following after him, she kneeled down and picked up the paper that he'd been holding moments earlier and turned it over, revealing an image on the other side. What she saw there made her heart jump into her throat.

"We got rid of the last of 'em," said Digmon, rumbling over. "That was a tough batch." He came to a stop just behind her. "Where did Cody go?"

Noriko didn't answer, her voice paralyzed by the horror of what she was seeing. Digmon leaned forward to look over her shoulder, then let out a gasp himself.

"Where did this come from?" He asked.

"Where do you think?" Tears of anger welled in Noriko's eyes as she looked at the photo of Cody's mother and grandfather, both bound and gagged, their faces dirty and bruised as they were held at the point of a gleaming katana and several guns. "And he just went up there after her."

"Then I'm going after him." Digmon rumbled. He began heading for the elevator shaft.

"Wait!" Noriko ran to her bag and pulled out a few ammunition clips, which she shoved into the pockets of her vest. "I'm coming with you."

""No, you have to stay here-"

"Yeah, right. Come on."

"You know we're walking right into a trap, right?"

Noriko nodded. "Better us than Cody by himself. Now let's quit wasting time and get going." She swung herself up onto Digmon's back and held on as he leapt into the shaft. He slammed his drill tipped hands into the wall to grab hold and quickly began climbing up.

* * *

**Rooftop**

"You're in over your head, little girl. Give up."

Keyan glared at her opponent, one eye open and one swollen and squinting. She clutched her pained shoulder and ignored the stream of blood trickling from her lip. "I will never give in to you."

The Assassin laughed. "You know what that means, don't you? That you'll die at the hands of the same man that strangled the last bit of life from your mother and father. I cannot imagine what it must feel like to know that. Annoying, at the very least."

"You will not kill me."

"Oh, how optimistic of you. But I think you've been ignoring the signs here, namely me beating the life out of you thus far without even breaking a sweat. Of course, if you need further lessons-" The Assassin lunged towards Keyan with a roundhouse kick that the young Avatar was just able to lean back and avoid. He followed up that strike by spinning into a Dragon punch, which caught Keyan full in the chest and sent her flying across the rooftop, where she slammed into the side of a stairwell shed and slumped to the ground with a groan. She struggled to find the strength to even pick up her head and look at her attacker.

The Assassin began to saunter towards her, a grin firmly planted on his face as he cracked his knuckles. "I suppose it's time I ended this game and performed the coup de grace. Normally I enjoy toying with my prey a bit longer before killing it, but my experience with Azulongmon's Avatars have shown them to be a bit more resilient than advertised."

Keyan raised a weak, trembling hand and sent a bolt of electricity in The Assassin's direction. He easily deflected the feeble attack with a flick of his hand and chuckled.

"Just give in to the odds girl. Look up there, in the sky beyond the tower's shield. Do you know what that is?"

Keyan briefly looked up at his words and was shocked by what she saw there. The entire sky was filled with a swirling pattern that looked just like the windswept portal seated atop the nearby platform.

"Impressive eh? What you see up there, Avatar, is fate. The ultimate fate of this entire world. That is a portal which will absorb this entire failure of a planet into the Dark dimension and bring perfection to a people that have fallen so woefully short of it."

As Keyan was looking up at the portal, she noticed the protective shield surrounding the tower suddenly began to waver. It flickered a few times, then without warning, simply disappeared. The lights of the city lost their muted glow and were suddenly vibrant once again.

"No!" The Assassin looked around the suddenly unprotected tower angrily. He snatched the radio from his belt and spoke into it. "What's going on down there? Haven't you all retaken the OPS center yet? What happened to the shield?"

"Who is this?" Answered a gruff voice.

The Assassin scowled at the radio. "Who is this?"

"None of your business. Are you the one that keeps sending these guys down here? If you are, I'd like to thank you for all the entertainment tonight. It's been fun."

"Taps," another voice interrupted in the background. "Stop playing around and put that thing down! We still have work to do getting rid of all these bodies."

"Yeah, yeah. Fine."

The connection went silent.

"Ignorant failures!" The Assassin threw the radio to the ground in anger and kicked out at the pieces that it immediately shattered into. He took a few deep breaths to steady his temper. "It's true what they say, I suppose. If you want something done right... I'll have to go down there and straighten things out." He turned his attention back to Keyan, lying on the ground, and began to charge energy around his hands. "But I suppose I'll need to tie up some loose ends here, first."

"Assassin!"

The voice was familiar, and prompted Keyan to pick up her head and squint as she tried to make out its source. It was a man shrouded in shadow, standing on the ledge on the other side of the roof.

"Get away from her you worthless son of a bitch." The figure jumped down from the ledge and stepped into the light.

The glow around The Assassin's hand disappeared as he recoiled and took a step back. "Gennai!"

"That's right."

"But-but I thought Ineg-"

"What you think has never had any relevance towards the truth." Gennai said the words in an even, quiet keel, and his glare was unflinching as he continued to walk towards them. To some, the visage may have seemed calm, but Keyan knew better. She had never seen her mentor so enraged.

"You couldn't kill Ineg," He continued. "And you'd better hope you're ready to face me, Assassin, because this ends tonight."

"Is that right?" The Assassin straightened his posture and quickly recovered his smirk of superiority. "Because, as I recall, you don't even have the ability to face me. What, did you delude yourself, 'old friend?' Did you convince yourself that just because you somehow re-bonded with Ineg, you didn't still have that power sapping dark spore within you? The spore whose implanting I, myself, orchestrated-"

Gennai interrupted The Assassin with a quick movement, almost faster than Keyan could perceive, and thrust his hands forward. They blasted forth a beam of intense white-hot energy, which slammed right into The Assassin's chest with a loud, reverberating clap and an explosion of power that sent the evil guardian flying through the air away from the rooftop. His path took him clear across the street, where he collided with the roof of the next building over with a resounding rumble and a cloud of dust.

Gennai rushed to Keyan's side and gently guided her to a seated position. "Are you alright?"

"Well," Keyan found herself unable to bravely ignore the numbness that had overtaken her face, nor the aching pain from various bruises that racked her body. "No, not really."

"Hold still. Let me look at you."

As Gennai began a hurried examination of her various injuries, Keyan took in his appearance. He looked exactly as when she'd first met him, with all of the hope, wisdom and expertise of his various aspects combined into one impressive being. Apparently he really had recombined with Ineg, and somehow, he'd recovered his powers as well.

"Are you really restored, Gennai?" She asked.

He gave her a smile and nodded. "Yes, it would seem so. I have my powers back in full, and even my data manipulation techniques are improved. As you've witnessed, I was even able to merge with the tower shield's programming in order to help the incursion team take it down."

"But how did you-?"

"Willis, with a bit of help from Curtis."

"Oh." The two names were all the answer Keyan needed. She'd already seen many of the seemingly miraculous feats her boyfriend could perform with a computer. Add Curtis to the equation and she was surprised Gennai didn't come back twenty feet tall and able to breathe fire.

"Now hold still." Gennai cautioned, cupping her face with his hands. "I'm going to do something to help with your injuries. It's an old technique I hope I haven't forgotten over the years."

A white glow began to emanate from his hands and illuminated the space between them. From the glow came a welcoming warmth that washed over Keyan as feeling returned to her lips and she noticed the pain of her various bruises ebbing away. The throbbing of her head stopped and her equilibrium and strength were restored, as well.

"That should just about do it," Gennai said, removing his hands and standing up once again. He wiped an arm across his forehead. "Whew, I'd forgotten how much doing that could take out of you."

Keyan's only response was to look over her newly healed body, then up at her mentor in surprise.

He smiled and offered her a hand. "As you can see, there is much more to being a guardian than possessing the ability to fight."

"I suppose that I still have a lot to learn then." She took the hand and pulled herself up.

"Well, _you're_ the Guardian Avatar, so actually, fighting is pretty much your forte."

"That is not encouraging, considering how I have fared, thus far."

"Consider what just happened to be the first round. The match isn't over yet." Gennai turned and glanced at the rooftop portal, now starting to bulge with power as it kept up its vigil, waiting for the occupants of the world beyond to finally return. "Not even close."

Keyan noticed an object emerge from the wreckage of the building across the street. It took to the air, tendrils of the still billowing dust marking its trajectory, came to a stop overhead, then began to dive directly towards them.

"Gennai-"

"I see him. On your guard."

The Assassin came to a violent landing in front of them, sending a shockwave of energy across the roof's surface and a few fissures streaking out from the point of impact.

"So, you truly _are_ back." He said, glaring at Gennai. "That makes things... interesting."

Gennai raised his hands in an attacking posture. "Assassin, I was always a better fighter than you. You know you can't beat me."

"No, Gennai. You were always a better fighter than KiAdjae. He's dead."

"Well," said Keyan with a furious scowl, "now we are about to send The Assassin to join him."

"Big talk, Avatar, now that daddy's come here to save you. But I think you forget that I still hold a rather potent trump card."

Keyan allowed a slight look of confusion to pierce her glare.

"Oh come on, don't you remember? I mean, you were right there when my powers were restored and I was given the weapons that ironically once belonged to your mother."

"My memories from Ineg are already fading," Gennai muttered to Keyan, "But from what I can recall, The Assassin gave his underling the sword..."

"Yes!" Keyan's eyes went wide as she remembered what had happened back at the shipping tower. "And he still has the armor! Gennai, we have to-"

"Too late!" The Assassin said with a grin, pulling a metal sphere from his pocket and tossing it into the air in front of him. The object burst into a mist of what looked like mercury and quickly began binding to his body. In seconds, he was completely covered in a layer of what could best be described as liquid metal.

"Bio-digizoid armor." The Assassin said, his voice now carrying an echoing metallic tone. "Reverse engineered from the biology of MetalEtemon and enhanced. Puts that stuff we gave the Dark Masters to shame. Remember when this was first created, Gennai? An impenetrable armor completely attuned to the owner's thoughts and movements on a molecular level. It was supposed to make the Guardian Avatar the ultimate weapon. Azulongmon's powers, no vulnerabilities. Honestly, the sword was just overkill, when you think about it."

"I'd expect you to resort to something like this," said Gennai with a glower. "So you're admitting that you cannot face us in true combat."

"Well, humility does have its benefits. I mean, pride _has_ been the downfall of many men, including her mother," The Assassin nodded at Keyan, "who, had she been wearing this armor, would not have been nearly so easy to kill."

Keyan's temper flared and she immediately struck out without thinking. The bolt of energy that came from her hands glanced harmlessly off of The Assassin's armor and into the air.

He looked up and watched it dissipate into the night sky, then back at Keyan with a grin. "This has to be the most infuriating night of your life."

"We'll make it yours!" Gennai came at The Assassin with a sweeping uppercut that caught him right on the jaw. It propelled him across the roof surface and he flipped end over end a couple of times before sliding to a stop in a three point stance.

"Hmm, didn't hurt." He said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin before rising back to his feet. "Though you were still able to knock me back. I suppose there's no accounting for inertia. That's bothersome. We'll have to do something about that."

He thrust a fist forward and a sphere of light shot out. Keyan and Gennai dove in opposite directions and the attack hit the ground between them, blasting away a portion of the roof surface and exposing the steel mesh of the building frame underneath.

An indulgent grin crossed The Assassin's face. "Ha! Look at you two scurry like rats! Azulongmon's powerful Avatar, and Gennai, the last Guardian, both at my mercy. _This_ will be fun!" He raised his arms to throw another attack, but stopped abruptly and turned to look in the direction of the portal. Immediately, his eyes grew wide.

Keyan followed his stare and quickly saw what had such an effect of him. The bulge in the portal had grown even larger and was now protruding outwards as if something was trying to break through it. Suddenly, a hand punched through and rotated in a wide circle, creating a hole large enough for the rest of the body it was attached to to come through, as well. As he portal receded once again, what was revealed standing there was a tall, dark-gray figure with a toned male physique and no distinguishing features, save for a pair of coal black eyes, a small slit that was its mouth, and a hundreds of long braids that descended halfway down its back.

"My lord." The Assassin breathed, immediately dropping down and completely prostrating himself on the ground. "I am honored to be in your presence at last. What would you have of me?"

The being looked over at the three combatants impassively, then turned to The Assassin. "They need to be killed. Make sure that it is done. I sense that I have others to be rid of... apparently."

With that, the being disappeared right on the spot in a swirl of black energy. As soon as he was gone, Keyan flew over to the portal and closely examined the area where he had been standing.

"Was that Hitachi?" She asked.

"I suspect so," said Gennai.

"Then we should stop him!"

"No, that is Davis' role. We need to secure this building and this portal."

"In case you have not noticed, Davis is not here at the moment."

"He probably already perished," said The Assassin, who rose back to his feet with the power of pending attacks already accruing around his hands. "Killed by the Dark God before he even left his dimension. A fitting fate for such a pitiful effort. Why don't you two just give up, as well? This battle is obviously over. Your world is being pulled into Darkness and as we speak, the Dark god is killing your champions. This war has ended and the night is ours."

No sooner had The Assassin finished the words than did the portal begin bulging and pulsating once again. Someone else was coming through.

* * *

**Hana** **Park**

Daemon pursued WarGreymon through what little was left of the downtown park. Most of the grass was charred or dug up. Many of the various trees had been upturned, benches destroyed. WarGreymon had originally led the powerful digimon to this relatively unpopulated area in order to prevent him from putting any of the human resistance in danger from their exchange of attacks. It was a good decision, but when the other digimon had joined in his battle to help, one at a time, it had played right into Daemon hands. His strength had incrementally increased beyond what any of them thought was possible as the circumstances had become more and more dire. They could not beat him one on one, or even three on one, for that matter.

WarGreymon ducked and let an Evil Inferno attack sail over his head. It hit a nearby tree and almost instantly reduced it to ash.

"Stop running and face me with honor!" Daemon yelled, pursuing him through the heavily wooded area, right towards the very center of the park. "Make your death a dignified one!"

"You should probably be telling yourself that!" WarGreymon yelled back. "Haven't you noticed that I'm the only one still fighting you here?"

"Because all of your allies are cowards, like you!"

"No." WarGreymon shook his head as they burst into the wide clearing in the middle of the park. He came to a sudden stop beside a small koi pond and turned to face his pursuer. "Just remember, you brought this on yourself."

Daemon didn't immediately launch an assault, instead giving his opponent a slight look of confusion. "What-"

WarGreymon began to lift off from the ground, prompting Daemon to abandon his curiosity and raise a hand to attack, but at the last moment, he saw what the Mega level digimon had been referring to. Standing on the tops of the low-lying apartment buildings lining the sides of the park were all of the Knights, digidestined, and digimon, all with their hands or weapons raised and ready to strike. He allowed his own hand to fall, his own sense of self-assurance suddenly failing him in the most crucial of moments. He could stand up to any of them, but not their combined force altogether. His eyes flared with anger. "No! You Can't!"

Tai stepped up onto the ledge of the building he was standing on, his arm shaking with the power of holding a full Terra Force attack, and allowed himself a small grin. _Oh yes we can. _"Alright everyone!' He yelled. "NOW!"

The entire park was suddenly illuminated by the light of literally hundreds of digital attacks, gunfire, and exploding RPGs, all converging on one spot on the ground below. The area literally began to shudder with the force of the sustained attack and Daemon disappeared underneath the unending assault without a sound. They were now throwing everything they had at him, from Solar Flames and Celestial Arrows, to Hands of Fate and Danger Thorns. There was no way he could survive.

After a moment more of continuing the attack, Tai raised a hand. "Okay, stop!"

Everyone did so, save for Rosa, who must have thought it particularly prudent to launch one last volley of Danger Thorns.

She shrugged when Tai looked at her. "Better safe than sorry."

The smoke and dust caused by the assault began to lift, gradually revealing a large crater in the ground where Daemon had been.

"What happened to him?" Asked Sparks.

"Let's find out." Tai leapt down from the rooftops with the other Knights and ran into the midst of the park. They all came to a stop and formed a large circle around the dirt depression. In the middle of it was Daemon, who lay on the charred ground wheezing, his tattered wings already floating into the air in a stream of rapidly dissipating particles. It was now apparent that not even a formidable digimon like him could take the combined force of nine mega-level attacks, seven champion and ultimate, and a virtual artillery barrage of weapons fire. The Knights all stood there, watching him impassively, as the other digimon arrived along with the rest of the digidestined and some of the resistance.

Daemon turned his head to look at them, one eye open as he took them all in. "This- this isn't the last you've seen of me." He said, his whisper of a voice carrying far over the quiet air. "The Dark God is coming and there is nothing you can do to stop him. He _will_ resurrect me." Daemon paused and wheezed in another breath before continuing. "But not until he is done with you. You all cannot begin to comprehend his power. Your world is done. Your blood will be the foundation of his empire and everything that you know will come to an end."

"Okay, okay, we get it." Terence interrupted with an exasperated sigh. "We're screwed. God, what are you looking for, an Emmy? Just die already."

Daemon obliged him, allowing his head to drop back to the ground with a final exhalation, and his body burst into a shower of particles that floated away on the wind into nothingness.

"And that ends that," said Clara. "So now all of the Dark Masters are gone, along with Apocalymon and Daemon. Hitachi's soldiers are pretty much defeated. The last thing left is-"

"Hitachi himself." Tai finished.

Curtis frowned. "Which is really pretty much the _only_ thing."

"And he's in the other dimension with Davis and Kuri. So it seems there's not much we can do, at this point-" Tai stopped talking when he noticed a sudden swirling of black smoke about twenty feet directly above the spot where Daemon had been.

The smoke gathered and coalesced into a shape, a human shape, which became solid and looked down upon the area with coal black eyes. After scanning the conglomeration of Knights, digidestined, and freedom fighters, the being rose higher over them all and looked down at the indention in the ground where Daemon had been. A small frown crossed its otherwise nondescript face.

"He was a devoted subject." He said, his voice surprisingly smooth and even keeled. There was a strong sense of power behind it. "You all had no right to do this. Accordingly, you will die for it."

Rosa took a step forward. "Yeah, um, no offense or anything, but just who the hell are you and why should we care?"

"I am the one who has come to punish you, and this world, for your sins," the being responded, then paused and displayed the faintest hint of a smile. "But I think not without the help of another."

The being raised an arm into the air and a beam of dark energy shot from it, streaking high into the heavens and not stopping until it merged into the portal in the sky above. Something happened when the two forces met one another, and the section of the massive overhead construct around the point of impact began to agitate and swirl even faster than the rest of it. A rumble echoed over the air and the ground beneath everyone's feet began to quake and vibrate.

Terence turned to the others. "Call me crazy, but I don't think we should let whoever that is do whatever it is he's doing."

"Yeah." Tai grabbed a hold of Jun's hand. "I think we've waited long enough."

"Right," she agreed. "Let's do it." The two were enveloped by an evolutionary light and moments later, what had been two became one being. Nearby, WarGreymon and Sparks also fused together into SaberGreymon. Taking the hint, Curtis and Rosa activated their beacons to call their partners away from the unshielded tower.

"This is it, isn't it?" said Clara. "That thing there. It's Hitachi."

"Or it was," said Curtis. "I don't know. This being acts so much different."

"You might have a point," said Rosa. "Because wouldn't Hitachi have vaporized us by now? This guy, he's acting like we all barely matter. Look at him. He wasn't even surprised to see us alive, and now he's going about his business like we're not even here."

She was right. The dark being was only concentrating on the beam of energy he was projecting into the sky and didn't give the rest of them even the briefest of glances.

"The kind of power he has now has probably changed his perspective," said J'ai. "He acts like we don't matter because now, because we really don't matter to him." The dual voice being looked up into the sky. "The real question is, where is Davis? If he wasn't able to stop Hitachi while in the portal, why hasn't he come out?"

Clara gasped, hand to her chest. "You don't think he-?"

"You know," interrupted Terence. "When I said we should stop him, I didn't exactly mean by standing around and talking about it."

"Right." J'ai looked around their group and then turned to the others behind them. "Only the Knights are to fight this being! The rest of you, do NOT engage him! Understand?"

"We hear ya," said Matt, looking none too happy about this arrangement, but dutifully beginning to help Hatori and Krista gather the other digidestined and civilians together anyway. Ken and Yolei pulled up beside the park in Bertha and many of them began piling into the back of the van.

Satisfied that they were clearing the area, Jai turned back to the other Knights. "Okay, we're moving on him now. Rosa and Curtis, take the flanks. Terence and Taps, the rear. Clara, you and Marta attack from above. We and SaberGreymon will take him head on. Let's go!"

The others hurriedly took up their assigned positions and as one, the group charged, firing attacks and shouting battle cries as they rushed forward. Their attacks simply bounced off of the target, not fazing him in the least. At most, they might have gotten within ten feet of the being before he finally noticed their charge and casually uttered, "away."

A ring of highly charged dark energy came forth from his eyes, formed an encasing bubble around his body, then shot outwards in all directions. It hit every single one of the oncoming Knights and digimon, knocking them backward with a force the likes of which none of them had ever felt. J'ai flipped and tumbled through the air, completely out of control, then slammed into a tree before falling to the ground. Terence crashed into the ground next to him in much the same fashion and rolled to a stop. He lay there a moment, then rose to his hands and knees and began coughing, spattering the ground with a few red spots.

"That really hurt." He said, the normal hint of humor in his voice replaced by a note of fear as he took in the sight of his own blood. "He- he probably could have killed us easy if he wasn't distracted with whatever he's doing."

"Probably." J'ai took a moment to catch his breath, then got back to his feet and helped Terence up, as well. "But we knew our lives were on the line when we got into this. At least we didn't devolve. Where are the others?'

"I-" Terence grimaced as he still clutched his abdomen. "I don't know."

They both scanned the area and quickly found their teammates, all in similar states of disarray in a wide circle around the powerful hovering being. All were getting back to their feet and didn't seem irrevocably harmed, but their enemy still didn't even acknowledge them, instead keeping his attention focused upwards on the beam of energy that he was casting into the heavens.

"Any other plans?" Terence asked.

J'ai looked up into the sky and noticed that the beam had created a bright incursion into the portal overhead. From the opened area emerged a large glowing object, which came flying down towards them at high speed, like a flaming meteor.

"Man," gasped Terence, "what the hell is that?"

J'ai sighed, exasperated at the arrival of yet another problem. "I don't know. But it can't be good."

Both shielded their eyes as the object came crashing to the earth with a blinding flash of light on the other side of the apartments lining the park. The whole area shook violently with the aftershocks of the impact, shattering the windows of all the buildings in the vicinity, and as the wall of energy passed by them, Terence had to catch himself before falling back to the ground.

"Now that's power." He observed after regaining his footing. "A few more of those and he can level the whole city."

"Maybe there's still some fraction of him left that can be reasoned with."

Terence frowned and looked at J'ai skeptically. "That's definitely the Jun half of you talking, isn't it?"

J'ai ignored him and walked forward, cupping his hands around his mouth. "Hitachi!" He yelled. "Stop this! You have the power you always wanted! No one can oppose you! There's no need to destroy everything! You've won!"

"Do not insult me." The dark being looked down at him and his eyes narrowed with disgust. "This vessel is Hitachi no longer. I am The Dark God!" With that, he lifted up from the ground and took off, towards the area where whatever he'd brought down from the sky had crashed to the ground.

"You know," observed Terence, "that actually went a lot better than I expected."

Clara arrived at their side, looking relatively none the worse for wear, and landed. She cast a worried glance at Terence, who was still wincing a bit. "Are you okay?"

Terence nodded to her as the others joined them, all nursing areas of pain as they formed a semicircle. "But you look like you took it a lot better than the rest of us."

"I was able to shield myself and Marta at the last second," said Clara with a slight shrug. "It didn't hold, but it deflected most of the attack. So, what do we do now?"

"We go after him," said J'ai. "Come on." He took off into the air and the others hurried to follow.

J'ai flew over the tops of the line of apartment buildings beside the park and came to a landing on a rooftop ledge on the other side. From this vantage point, he could see what had become of the giant projectile that the Dark God had summoned.

Whatever it was had crashed landed hard, creating a massive crater and embedding itself in the street on the opposite side of the building. The large round object was so big that it spanned across the entire eight lane avenue. The Dark God, who looked positively tiny in comparison to the massive gray rock, stood in the street in front of it and raised a hand. He closed it into a fist and glowing cracks suddenly appeared across the surface of the meteor. It began to stretch and pop, launching car sized chunks of stone away from its main body, and as it did so, the parting magma gradually began to reveal something inside.

J'ai watched intently as the other Knights and their partners began to land or climb up onto the roof and lined up on the ledge beside him, now with Rosemon and Taps added to their ranks. The other digimon congregated behind them.

"Ugh." said Rosa, staring down into the street. "What is that? It looks gross."

"We don't know," answered J'ai. "Some type of creature, we wager."

"And a huge one, at that," added Curtis. "When he shot that beam into the sky, he said he was summoning something down to help him punish us. Initially, I thought he was just planning to destroy the area with a meteor shower, but it looks like he has something else in mind."

Terence frowned. "Don't think this is much better."

SaberGreymon landed on the roof behind them and kneeled, allowing Krista and Hatori to leap down from his arms.

J'ai gave the large fusion-evolved digimon a questioning look.

"They made me bring them." He said apologetically.

"You should not be here," said J'ai. "It's too dangerous."

"We need to take inventory of the situation," said Hatori, walking forward to peer down at the street, as well. "And our lives are worth no more than yours. We all must make sacrifices."

"Yes, but you are supposed to be watching over our sister-"

"Look!"

The creature within the massive meteor was finally able to free itself of its stone encasing and was now unfurling. A pair of gargantuan, bat-shaped, wings sprung free from the rest of it's kneeling body, crashing into the buildings on either side of the street as they did and knocking huge chunks of stone and steel to the ground. Revealed underneath the wings was a beast easily a thousand times larger than the Dark God, covered at every joint with razor-sharp spikes and wearing with a tight fitting garb of reinforced armor plating. He planted a massive booted foot and rose from the ground, revealing a pale white human-like face with a pair of glowing red eyes and a set of long gleaming fangs descending from his mouth. He began to take steps forward and the entire area shook with each of the massive digimon's footsteps. The tops of nearby buildings were sheared off by the spikes jutting from his shoulders as he moved through the midst of the city.

"I believe that's Myotismon." Said J'ai. "In a more evolved form."

"I think you're right," said Curtis, his eyes filled with awe. "But he was already past mega the last time you fought him. How many times can he evolve?"

The creature stretched and unfurled his wings, letting out an ear splitting roar that felt like a stiff wind and sounded like a freight train. Chunks of debris, still loosely connected to their structures, went crashing to the ground following the outburst.

"Doesn't get much more evolved than that," said Marta. "I hope."

"My most loyal servant has returned!" The Dark God yelled down below. He rose into the air and continued to climb until he could look his incredibly tall partner in the face.

"My-" began the new version of Myotismon. He paused with a confused look on his face, as if he were searching for the proper words. "My Lord…?"

"That's right. It is me, your god. I have just reformatted you and brought you back from oblivion, that you may enjoy the glory of victory at my side, as OmegaMyotismon."

The giant digimon bowed his head, as if to convey his gratitude.

"Your mission," said the God, "is simple. You are to kill every single person you can. Every single man woman and child. Every digidestined. Punish all those that would oppose me until this world is extinguished. I will take the pleasure of killing the Knights, myself."

"Yes, my lord. I will- ugh." OmegaMyotismon turned and scratched at a small object that had impaled itself in his eye. He reached up with one of his limbs, knocking over a couple of billboards in his clumsy haste, and pulled the object loose. With a grunt he dropped it to the ground, where J'ai could just make out what it was. A glowing purple arrow.

He looked up. "Kuri?"

OmegaMyotismon let out a roar as something slammed into him from behind, causing him to a stumble forward. He turned and swung out with a slow strike that his attacker, Peko, was easily able to dodge. The Valkyrimon flew in a wide arc around his massive body and came to a stop between he and the Dark God, both of whom glared at her with contempt.

"Okay." She said, looking between the two of them. "I did _not_ think this through."

"You dare attack my partner with such cowardly tactics?" Bellowed the Dark God. "Then you will die first."

He lifted a hand to attack, but was distracted when another purple arrow bounced harmlessly off of his chest. He looked up in time to see Kuri dive down in from of him and take a defensive position between him and her partner. She looked up to the others on the ledge and scowled. "What are you guys waiting for? A written invitation?"

J'ai shook his head, as both the aspects of Jun and Tai squelched their sense of awe at what they were seeing. "Knights, take the Dark God! All digimon, fight OmegaMyotismon! Everyone else, secure the civilians! Clear the area ASAP! Go!"

The group went to their assigned tasks without question. All of the Knights and digimon dove or leapt down into the streets and Hatori and Krista ran back to join the resistance and other digidestined. For the first few moments the street was filled with chaos, as the digimon and Knights practically ran over each other to get to their respective targets.

For his part, J'ai remained airborne and fired an attack with his Sais at the Dark God. The beam of energy was joined by several other attacks at the point of impact, all of which harmlessly glanced off of the ethereal being or disintegrated right on the spot. He simply remained there, hovering and seemingly ignoring all that was going on around him, arms crossed, his stare firmly trained on his massive partner.

J'ai diverted his gaze to what the God was looking at and saw that OmegaMyotismon was just standing there, a wide series of attacks glancing off of him. Some of the massive digimon's attackers had even grabbed onto him and were busily punching or kicking at his armor, to no avail. Every now and then he would fling an appendage, effortlessly launching a few attackers away from his body.

"You have toyed with them for long enough," said the Dark God. "Now show them your true power."

"Yes, my lord."

OmegaMyotismon raised one of his arms and shook Rosemon and Taps free of it, then pointed a hand glowing with crimson energy directly at Pings, who was still struggling to his feet after being flung to the ground earlier. Without thinking, J'ai dove, a burst of light marking his increased velocity. He crashed into Pings and knocked him aside just before a glowing red laser came forth from the palm of OmegaMyotismon's hand and went through the spot where the Vikemon had just been standing. The beam of light connected with the side of a low-rise building instead, and for a moment, the entire structure glowed as bright as the beam of intense light itself. Then, with a burst of force that sent everyone in the street flying in different directions, the entire structure blasted apart amid a deafening explosion of noise and light.

J'ai looked up after recovering his senses and saw that the building was no longer there. It had been completely and utterly obliterated, reduced to nothing but a pile of smoking ash.

The red glow surrounding OmegaMyotismon's hands disappeared and he looked around at all of his enemies, most of whom were lying semi-conscious in the street. The tones of the Dark God's laugh filled the air

"I daresay that got their attention, eh?"

J'ai looked up at the two, an unfamiliar sense of fear now emanating from the two halves of his whole. _How could they possibly fight such a powerful enemy?_

"Hitachi!" Shouted an authoritative voice from above. "This has gone far enough!" A golden blaze washed over the area, so bright that it lit up the street with the hue of a summer's evening.

J'ai looked up at the source of the shout and saw Davis hovering above, his body surrounded by an intense golden radiance almost too brilliant to directly look upon. Beside him was Imperialdramon, who also emanated the same luminous glow. Both looked like gods in their own right, prompting a new sense of hope and pride to well up within J'ai. Their brother had done it. Davis had found Miracles. And now, the real battle would begin.

The Dark God looked up at Davis, and for the first time that night, actually wore an expression that was something less than content.

"I see that my son is interfering in matters beyond him," He said with a distasteful frown. "This is just like him, foolishly taking it upon himself to designate a champion that will only uselessly die at my feet."

Davis looked down at his enemy with a scowl of contempt. "You're the one that's interfering with things that are none of your business. We want you out of our world, and we want you out NOW!"

The God ascended to Davis's altitude and kept his arms crossed. He chuckled. "Make me."

Just as before, the sinister being accrued dark energy via his eyes. J'ai tried to shout a warning to Davis, but before he could, the Dark God unleashed the force in a powerful wave. A warning proved unnecessary, however, as the Miraculous Knight cut through the rapidly approaching wave of energy by making a slicing motion with his hand, separating the band into two halves that passed on either side of he and Imperialdramon harmlessly. The Dark God wore a look of surprise after watching his attack be neutralized so easily.

"Fine, have it your way." Davis immediately darted forward and slammed right into his powerful opponent, driving them both through the side of an adjacent tower with a loud crash.

Meanwhile, Imperialdramon took advantage of the distraction that this clash of Gods was serving as and hit OmegaMyotismon in the side with a golden enhanced blast from his positron laser.

The much larger digimon stumbled sideways from the blow and braced himself against the side of a tower, knocking tons of debris to the ground. "I-I remember you!" He bellowed. His eyes began to give off a crimson glow and his massive wings flared out as he took in the rest of the group. He searched through them, his gaze settling on Imperialdramon, Angewomon, Stingmon, Aquilamon, and Angemon in particular. "I remember you! You, you killed me! You will die! You will ALL DIE!"

He raised both of his arms and shot twin beams of red light into the midst of the group, scattering those that were in the street just before the attacks connected with a pair of bright flashes and obliterated a good 10 feet of concrete and earth, leaving two smoking gorges behind.

J'ai shook the remaining cobwebs from his head and took to the air again. If they were going to stop the Dark God or OmegaMyotismon, it was now or never.

"Everyone!" he shouted, diving at the near-omnipotent digimon with his sais pointing forward. "ATTACK!"

_To be continued…_

* * *

Next up: **Tennozan** **Pt V**. The final battle has begun. Can the Knights defeat the Dark God and OmegaMyotismon and destroy the Dark Portal in time to save the world? Find out in the next chapter(s) of Digital Knights!


	31. Tennozan Pt 5

Okay, so it's been a little while, not that you guys aren't used to this, after all. Haha. Anyway, the final chapters are coming finally! Sorry, but I had another project to devote my time to, not to mention my new work schedule, and with all the last second adjustments I'm fond of making, I knew this would have to be delayed for a while before posting. Anyway, here it the next installment.

* * *

**Tennozan** **Part V**

Noriko leapt down from Digmon's back after they exited onto the 110th floor of Hitachi's tower. She looked around at the maze of nondescript hallways and doors, indiscernible from the rest of the building, save of course for the elaborately decorated OPS center, and frowned. There was no one here and no sign that anyone had been in the area recently.

"Are you sure this is the right floor?" She asked.

"Those were the only other elevator doors that were already pried open in the entire shaft. They have to be on this floor."

"Hmm." Noriko looked at a large window at the far end of the hall. The lights from the battle outside briefly illuminated the cityscape enough that she could tell how high they were. "We're almost at the top floor of the building. If they got off here, there aren't many places they could've gone. Come on, let's hurry up and search the place."

At that moment, a couple of doors about halfway down the corridor suddenly blew free of their hinges with a series of loud bangs. Armor clad men rushed into the hall from the rooms, immediately trained their weapons on the duo, and began firing.

"Get down!" Digmon yelled, forcing Noriko behind him. The wall of bullets that came flying at them all ricocheted off of his golden shell, giving Noriko enough time to gather her wits and start shooting back. She could barely tell what she was doing, with all the debris being kicked up in the action filled hallway, but a few anguished screams and shouted curses told her that at least some of her shots had found their targets. Digmon followed up her initial salvo by unleashing a volley of Gold Rush missiles. The men quickly cleared the hall once again, allowing the projectiles to speed by and crash through the window at the end of the hall.

"They'll be back." Noriko said, swiftly reloading her guns.

She'd barely finished the words before the men reappeared, this time joined by a group of lightning-quick green mutants. Noriko and Digmon began unloading at them once again and this time the men stayed back, shielding themselves in the doorways while their reptilian counterparts rushed forward, hissing as they did a series of acrobatic flips and easily dodged all of the shots flying back and forth in the hall.

"It's no good!" Digmon shouted, "Noriko, get back to the elevator!"

"No! I'm not going anywhere!" She peeked around Digmon's body and continued firing at their enemies, now just a few feet away. "I'm not leaving you or Cody!"

Just before the fast moving mutants reached the two, a nearby door was thrown from its hinges. Something really large and orange burst through, overtook the group of oncoming mutants, and the entire mass crashed through the wall on the other side of the hall.

The mercenaries in the doorways stopped firing, surprised at this turn of events, and gave Digmon enough opening to send another group of missiles their way. This time the projectiles detonated in the middle of the hall rather than continuing out of the window, and the resulting explosion caught all of the men in its concussive wake. Any of them fortunate enough to survive the blast were rendered unconscious.

"That takes care of them." Digmon said, looking around as he loaded another set of missiles into his chambers. "Now where did those others get to?"

On cue, a large orange creature walked back out of the big hole in the wall to their left, carrying one of the swift green creatures in his arm. He turned to face Digmon and Noriko, both of whom trained their weapons on him.

"Relax." He rumbled, "I'm on your side." He dropped the mutant's limp body to the ground. "Ugh, always hated these little green ones."

"Sato?" Noriko asked, stepping free of Digmon's protection. "Are you Sato Kobe?"

The mutant nodded his large, dinosaur-like head. "Yeah. You're Cody's friend, right? Th' girl he went t' save back at th' shipping building?"

Noriko gave a nod and lowered her guns with a sigh of relief. "He told us about you. We know you're working with us."

"Good to know. Wasn't quite sure how I was gonna introduce myself, actually."

"Well, I'm Cody's partner." Digmon added, giving the mutated former convict a nod.

Sato looked the armor digimon up and down and smirked in approval. "Good, you look like you can hold more'n your own. Speaking of which, we need to hurry. From what I gathered from them before y'all came bustin in, that evil bitch Jade is upstairs holdin' his family hostage, tryin' to bait him into a trap."

"Yeah," Noriko said. "We know. We're trying to stop her before he walks into it. But we're not doing a great job of finding them so far."

"Hmm," Sato looked at Digmon for a moment and scratched his scaled chin. "Might not need to find them, exactly. I got a better idea. Faster too. Come on."

* * *

Cody made the last turn up the stairwell, leaping most of the steps in his fervor to reach her. He could detect Jade's scent in his mutated form and had followed her path up the empty shaft, through the hall below, into the stairwell, and now- Cody burst through a heavy locked door that read "120th floor" and drew his weapons. He looked both ways down the wide hallway he'd exited into and inhaled deeply through his nostrils. _That way._ Cody broke into a run after Jade's scent, driven by rage and guided by fury. She would have to die. There was no other way. This had gone on for long enough, and tonight it would have to end, once and for- He came to a sudden stop beside a set of double doors and sniffed the air again. _There. She was in there._ Wasting no time, he drove his shoulder into the doors, knocking them both free, and leapt through, unleashing a primal scream.

What he saw on the other side surprised him. Jade was simply standing there in the middle of the wide room, calm, weapons sheathed and hands folded behind her back.

Cody didn't let it faze him. He kept both his sword and kendo stick raised and glared at her. "I hope you're ready to die."

"You know, had you exhibited this side the last time we met, we might not be here today." Jade raised a hand before her and casually checked her nails. "Of course, I don't doubt that your new mutation affords you a certain level of unwarranted confidence."

"Enough talk. Where are they?"

She just stood there, smiling blankly at him. It gave Cody pause, causing him to wonder if the picture he had seen below had actually been some type of doctored photograph. No. He knew Jade too well. She lacked the imagination to come up with a scheme like that, not when actually kidnapping his family was a viable option. He repeated the question, his expression even sterner, if that were possible.

She poked out her bottom lip as if pouting. "Oh come now. You're taking all of the fun out of this."

"You want fun? I'll give you 'fun." Cody took a couple of steps towards Jade, but paused when her grin grew even wider.

"No." She said. "Allow me." The wall on the far side of the room behind her suddenly began to rise with a mechanical whirring noise.

As the partition lifted, it revealed four armed men surrounding a couple of people, bound and gagged back to back and seated on the floor. Cody recognized them immediately and his eyes went wide with shock at the sight.

"Oh wait," said Jade. "That's not fun. That's traumatizing." She shrugged. "My mistake."

"LET THEM GO!"

"Sure, we'll do anything you want if you just say it really loudly." She rolled her eyes. "Honestly kid, let them go or what? Really, what will you do? I have four men standing by, ready to put a bullet through your dear grandfather and mother's heads at a moment's notice. Isn't that right, Taru?"

"Damn straight!" Said one of the men. He whooped and fired his rifle up into the ceiling, causing Cody to flinch.

Jade gave a dry chuckle. "Look at you Hida. You're a bundle of nerves. Relax. The men are a bit overeager, but they're trained. They won't do anything without my signal, and _what_ I signal depends entirely on you. You know there's only one choice to make here. So make it."

Cody just stared at Jade, brimming with useless power and rage. There was nothing he could do. He'd walked right into this trap without a second thought.

"Now put down your sword, revert your mutation, kneel before me, and take your death like a man."

He narrowed his gaze. She couldn't possibly think it would be that easy. "So what happened to the great warrior Jade? This is what you resort to because you can't beat me in combat?"

"Please. This is just a whole lot easier. I do enjoy a good fight, but a nice kill is so much more satisfying. Now stop stalling. Come to me and kneel."

"No."

"Don't you realize what you're risking, boy? Taru!"

The man from earlier cocked his weapon, then pressed it roughly against Kotomi's temple, eliciting a whimper from her as she was forced to lean to the side.

Cody reached a hand out. "No! Please!"

"You can end this, you know. So stop stalling, it's only prolonging the inevitable. I left an ambush below for any cavalry you may think is coming. No one's going to save you, Hida. Just like no one saved your father."

"You-" Cody's eyes flared and he turned his attention back to Jade.

"Oh stop it." She said. "The feigned rage isn't going to get you anywhere. If you want your family to live, come and kneel before me."

Cody could see the desperate expressions in his mother and grandfather's eyes, begging him to do anything but what the woman was asking. "And you just expect me to believe that if I do that, you'll just let them go?"

"Hida... Cody." Jade smiled at him, as if using his first name made them friends. "Come on. You know that my grudge is against you, not them."

Cody scowled. There was no possible way Jade wouldn't just kill all of them, given the opportunity. "You lie."

"Hmm, maybe. But if you don't do what I say, they _will _die. Right in front of your eyes. Is that what you want?"

He just stood there, weapons clenched, searching in vain for some type of reply.

"Okay," Jade sighed. "This is getting irritating. Taru, do the old man first!"

"Sure thing boss." Taru took his weapon, pointed it at Chikara, and his finger started to squeeze the trigger.

"Okay! Okay!" Cody shouted, dropping his weapons to the ground. "I'll do what you want. Just… just don't."

"Fine then. We won't. Just come to me and kneel."

Cody began to walk forward and saw his mother desperately shaking her head at the action, tears streaming from her eyes. Taru roughly drove the butt of his rifle into the woman's stomach and she bent over. Cody stopped, his heart wrenching at the sight.

"Cooodyyy." called Jade mockingly. "Let's stay focused here!" The shout brought his attention back to the woman who now stood just inches in front of him, scowling as she pointed to her own face. "I'm the one you need to be concerned with here. Now, devolve."

Cody stared at the woman for a moment. He was so close, so tempted. He could easily snap her neck in one move.

"Don't even think about it, boy." She said, reading his thoughts. "Try it and they die. Now, do as I said. Devolve."

Cody glanced at his mother and grandfather one last time and gave in, allowing his armored form to fade away and reverting back to his regular human shape. For the first time, he could feel the chill on the air coming from the two dark portals.

"Hmm," Jade mused with a smile, looking over his shirtless body like a particularly interesting piece of meat. "You're actually decently built. Shame." Her gaze traveled down. "Ah, the standard issue black CADE courtesy pants that stretch to maintain even the largest mutant's decency." A couple of the men chuckled. "We dropped that useless bit of technology as soon as we took over their operations. I see they're still putting it to some use."

"I did what you wanted. Now let them go."

"You've haven't done anything yet. Now, kneel." Jade reached out and slapped her palm to his forehead, then began to press down on him. For a moment Cody resisted, but he soon gave in and allowed himself to fall to his knees.

"Much better." Jade gave him a condescending pat on his head, then slapped him hard across the face, forcing him to turn to the side. "I'm sure they will appreciate your sacrifice."

As she slowly pulled her katana from its sheath, Cody turned back and kept a firm glare trained on the woman, ignoring the reddened welt building on his cheek. He'd never felt such an intense concentration of loathing and hatred in his life. He wanted no more than to kill her, to physically strangle her and watch the life slowly drain from her eyes. But there was nothing he could do. He'd tried stalling as much as he could, in hopes that there was someone coming to help. But he had to face facts. He'd left the ops center in such a hurry that no one would have immediately noticed his exit, much less known where he'd gone. He was alone.

The gleaming shine from Jade's sword passed over Cody, grabbing his attention just as she laid the blade on his shoulder, next to his neck.

She smiled and gazed up at the ceiling with a reflective expression. "His mother and grandfather can watch him die, or he can watch them. This was a win-win from the start. I outdid myself tonight." She looked back down at Cody, as if rediscovering something she'd forgotten. "Oh, how rude of me. Any last words?"

Just as Cody was reviewing the most vitriol filled replies he could think of, the entire room started to vibrate and quake. Jade looked back at her men. "What's that? What's going on?"

All four of them looked at her and shrugged. "It ain't us."

Jade looked down in surprise as the floor beneath them began to rock and undulate violently and cracks started to race across it. The sound of mechanical drilling drifted up to them. "It's someone trying to save him! Kill them!"

"No!" Cody's eyes went wide at the command and he knocked Jade's sword away from him. He saw the men pointing their weapons at his family, moments away from firing... and at that precise moment, the entire floor disappeared from beneath all of them.

They fell the ten feet or so down to the next floor, amid a loud cacophony of noise and mounds of drywall and plaster, and Cody felt a jab of pain as he hit the ground. A billowing cloud of dust overtook them, obscuring everything from view.

"What's going on?" He heard Jade shout. "Men, where are you?"

Cody quickly got to his feet and swung out at the source of the voice. He connected solidly and heard Jade grunt before _thump_ of her falling to the floor. Resisting the urge to pounce on her, Cody looked in the direction he figured his mother and grandfather would have fallen and tried to squint to see though the dust.

"Nice job Digmon," someone said. _Noriko._ "The guards?"

"Took out three of 'em," replied a gruff voice. _Sato? _"The other one bolted."

"Where's Cody?" _Digmon_.

Cody didn't respond, not wanting to give his location away to Jade if she was still nearby.

"Can't tell," said Sato. "Noriko, open a window."

There were three gunshots, accompanied by the sound of breaking glass, and a cold breeze flowed into the room. The dust quickly began to dissipate and Cody could make out the forms of his girlfriend, his partner, and Sato Kobe standing across the room. Noriko, who had her gun raised and pointed in his direction, lowered it with a relieved sigh and ran to him. "You're okay?" She said, wrapping her arms around him.

"Yes." Cody looked around the clearing room for Jade, but saw no sign of her. "I'm okay. My family?"

"They're okay too," said Sato. He was kneeling beside his mother and grandfather, both of whom were now lying on the floor. The large mutant gently sat them upright, used his claws to cut the ropes binding them, and removed their gags.

"Thank-you," said Kotomi, hugging Sato without a moment's hesitation. "Thank-you so much."

Cody rushed over to them and kneeled between the two, pulling them both into a strong embrace, which they returned equally. After a long moment, he pulled back and took in their bruised and battered states. "I'm so sorry," he said, tears welling to his eyes.

"Nonsense." replied his Grandfather. "You have nothing to be sorry about. I've never been so proud of you."

"But I-"

"Hush," commanded Kotomi. "You're the best son any mother could hope for. And if you weren't who you are, you wouldn't have so many people that cared about you," She looked around at Noriko, Digmon, and Sato. "And we wouldn't be here."

"I-I..." She pulled him into her arms again and Cody bowed his head, allowing himself a moment to bask in the maternal comfort of her hug. "Well, thank-you."

"No, thank you, dear." said his mother, she pulled back and looked him over. "And aren't you cold? It's freezing in here and you don't even have a shirt."

"I'm okay mom." Cody smiled, amazed that she was worried about him catching a cold just moments after almost witnessing his decapitation, and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "I promise."

"So," Said Sato. "Jade. She took off?"

Cody nodded. "That's her way."

"I can track her."

"So can I." Cody stood up and tensed, triggering his mutation once again. "We should go before the trail gets cold."

Kotomi was visibly unsettled by this. "Cody. You're going after that woman?"

"I have to mom. Did she tell you what she did?"

"That she killed…" His mother nodded, unable to finish the sentence. "Still, she's very dangerous, not to mention completely insane."

"And that's precisely why we have to stop her."

"I'm coming with you." Noriko said. She began reloading her guns.

Cody shook his head. "No, you're not."

"Oh, come on! Don't you trust me? I just helped saved your life!" She crossed her arms and glared at him, fuming.

Cody walked over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "I know sweetheart. And believe me, I'll be thanking you for the rest of my life for it. But right now I need you and Digmon to help them get back to the safety of the OPS center."

Cody glanced at his partner for a moment, and saw that the armor digimon was already getting ready to protest. "Yes Digmon, you too. I know I can count on you to do this for me, right?"

"Okay," Digmon gave in with a sigh. "Of course you can."

Cody then turned his attention back to Noriko. "Please. I have no one else to turn to."

Noriko frowned and pouted for a moment, but finally acquiesced. "Sweetheart, huh?" She said, wearing a slight smirk. "I have to admit, I like it. And I guess you _are_ trusting me with the safety of your parents."

"I am."

"Fine. I'll do it. But you be careful. That chick is crazy."

"Of course. It just has to be done."

"I understand." Noriko placed a hand on his chest. "You and your sense of duty. I love you for it, you know."

"I know. I love you too." Cody leaned forward and after sharing a brief, tender, kiss, rested his forehead against hers. For just a moment they stood there, managing to lose the craziness of the night in each other's eyes.

Kotomi smiled broadly, now understanding what, and who, it was that so strongly motivated her son to stay in Japan instead of evacuating.

"Hate t' interrupt ya kids." Sato picked up Cody's sword and kendo stick from the debris strewn floor and brought them over to him. "But like you said, maybe we should get goin before the trail gets cold."

Cody reluctantly broke from the lock. "Right," Noriko stepped back and he took the weapons from Sato, finding the moment reminiscent of their earlier meeting at the shipping tower. "Let's get going."

As the two began to depart, Chikara called after them. "Remember your training, son! This isn't about her or you!"

"I will!" Cody yelled back. "I promise we'll be back soon!"

He ran out of the room, right on Sato's heels, and both began heading down the hall in the direction that they'd detected Jade's faint scent.

"Tell me this," Said Cody as they turned a corner and ran down another corridor, "What's to keep you from attacking me if Jade orders you to?"

"Me." It was a simpler explanation than Cody expected. "Earlier, she ordered me to ambush your girlfriend and partner along with th' others. Instead I joined 'em. Looks like if my will is strong I can resist her commands now. Been practicin' for a while but I woulda never tried if I wasn't forced to t'night."

"Well, thank-you. I don't imagine it was easy."

"Nothin' worth doin' ever is."

"You said it."

"Wait." Sato held out an arm, halting Cody. He sniffed the air.

"What? Her trail continues that way, doesn't it?"

"Not her trail, somethin' else... Get down!"

Sato forced Cody aside just as a door further down burst open and high-powered gunfire raked the wall beside them, blasting several large holes into it. Both ducked into doorways on opposite sides of the hall.

"You orange mutie traitor!" Yelled their attacker from the middle of the hallway. "Get out here and take what's comin' to ya!"

Sato grimaced. "Taru, you inbred bastard!" He yelled back. "What the hell do you think you're gonna do here? You know I'm gonna snap your neck for this!"

There was another blast of gunfire and part of the doorframe beside Sato burst into a shower of wood splinters.

"Keep him busy." He hissed across the hall at Cody.

"What?" Cody looked up at the mutant, only to find that he had already disappeared from his doorway and into the room beyond. "Okay, keep him busy..." Cody racked his brain for something to say to hold Taru's attention. He'd never been the taunting type, but maybe he could try a different route.

"Um, Taru right? Have you thought about what you're doing here tonight? You're helping evil people try to kill the world. _Your _world."

"Screw you! This ain't my world!" There was another burst of gunfire and Cody was forced to duck back. "My world ain't full of pussies or run by a bunch of kids with their goddamn pets and souped-up calculators!"

"You keep this up and there won't be any world at all!"

"Fine by me! I'll just keep doin' what I do best right up until the end!"

Cody crouched low and raised his sword. With every moment this went on, Jade was getting further away. He wasn't sure what Sato had in mind, but he couldn't afford to let this continue much longer.

"Okay Taru!" He shouted. "Just know that the choice was yours and so are the consequences!"

"Whatever! Bring it on, little man- Aaaah!" A loud crash accompanied Taru's scream and Cody jumped into the hallway to see Sato holding the mercenary up like a ragdoll. There was a gaping hole in the wall behind the hulking mutant.

"Taru, you dumbass," said Sato, lifting the man up further with a hand around his throat. "Didn't even think I might just come right through th' wall, didja?"

"Let me go you big crocodile son of a bitch!" Taru reached into a pocket on his jacket and pulled out a pistol, but before he could point and fire the weapon, a loud snap echoed over the hall. Sato dropped the suddenly quiet man to the ground and his limp body just lay there, never to move again.

"I'm a man of my word." Sato muttered. When he looked up and saw Cody approaching from the end of the hall, he turned to face him and shrugged his shoulders. "I gave him a chance."

"You don't owe me an explanation. If you hadn't done it, I was planning to cut his head off."

Sato chuckled. "Guess they finally pushed us both over th' edge-"

His words suddenly cut mid-sentence, and a sick gurgling noise came up from his throat. His eyes bulged.

"Sato! What wrong?" Cody's shout of concern was answered when the tip of a sword suddenly burst from Sato's chest. The blade twisted, causing blood to gush from the open wound. Cody began to run towards him, but knew it was already too late.

"First I ruined your life," said a familiar voice from behind the paralyzed mutant as he gasped and futilely tried to reach back at his attacker. "And now I'll take it!" The sword turned white with energy, Sato's eyes went even wider as he let out a pained scream, and then an abrupt explosion of power ripped through him, right on the spot, scattering microscopic particles of his body in every direction. The walls and floor turned red as his blood settled over them like a fine mist. For a moment, Cody couldn't speak. After Sato's disintegration, he could now see the powerful mutant's killer, standing with her sword still outstretched and glowing. She looked at him and a smile slowly crept across her face.

Cody's gaze narrowed and his teeth gnashed together. "You- you-"

"Oh, I bet you're _really_ mad now, aren't you?" Jade winked at him and darted out of the hall into an adjacent room.

Never had more inadequate words been spoken. Cody ran into the room after her, and found her patiently awaiting him in the expansive space, only a silhouette against the ten foot tall windows lining the entire wall behind her that let in flashes of the battle outside. He raised his weapons and took a few deep breaths to try to bring his unimaginable fury under some semblance of control. "You are going to die if it's the last thing I do."

"It very well might be."

Cody was ready to charge, but paused in his attack when he felt an abrupt wave of dizziness overtake him, as if something was draining the power from his very bones. He placed a hand against the wall to steady himself.

"Aw," said Jade, "You don't look so good."

Cody quickly noticed the source of the energy drain, a faint stream of light extending from his body to her sword. She was using the weapon's abilities to absorb the digital powers of his mutated state. He couldn't fight her like this. Faced with no other choice, Cody returned to his normal form. His nausea and dulled senses disappeared almost instantly.

"Smart boy." Jade said. To his surprise she placed her digital sword into its scabbard and instead drew her katana. "Now we can have some fun." She extended a hand towards him and gave a beckoning gesture. "Come on. Let's do this."

Cody yelled as he ran at her and their swords clashed together with a loud clang and a shower of sparks.

* * *

High above the city, two Gods continued in their epic battle for the fate of the world. Davis screamed as he drove another punch right into his opponent's jaw, then watched despondently as the Dark God took the attack with barely a flinch and came at him once again. Davis frowned. He had believed that the power he'd received from Miracles would be more than enough to win this fight, but belief and reality were rapidly turning out to be two very different things. He now found himself confronted with a relentless enemy, not intimidated or affected by his new abilities, capable of power beyond anything he'd ever seen or imagined... and he was unprepared.

The Dark God slammed into him, arms wrapped around his waist, and drove him through the side of another tower. Davis felt the repetitive bumps of smashing through several walls in the building, a final jolt, then the cold sensation of exiting out the other side. He felt the Dark God release him, felt his body falling… falling... then the bone jarring impact of slamming into the street below. Davis allowed himself only a few seconds to recover. He sat up, shook his head, braced himself, and blasted into the air once again. The Dark God dove directly for him as he sped upwards, and the two smashed together, sending a shockwave of energy out over the entire city. The impact knocked Davis for a loop, confusing his equilibrium as he grappled with the ethereal being. The two began to spin around one another, their haphazard flight trajectory taking them into several buildings and toppling a few of the smaller structures completely over.

Out of the corner of his eye, Davis could see the damage their battle was causing. The falling debris could be threatening to bury some of the resistance or the other digidestined. Somehow, he needed to take this fight out of the city. He struggled unsuccessfully to gain the upper hand and redirect their flight path.

The Dark God laughed at this. "It would seem that you are finally starting to realize just how weak you truly are!"

Davis ignored him, instead concentrating on freeing his arms from the being's vice-like grip.

"Miracles?" The Dark God continued. "The ability to hope for the impossible? What kind of power is that when compared to the indomitable influence of Darkness? I will have to thank my 'son' for this diversion later. Destroying a world should never be boring, after all!"

Davis had heard enough. Maybe he still wasn't quite as powerful as the Dark God, but he didn't need to be. He'd beaten enemies that were stronger than him before. What he needed was for this guy to shut the hell up. He reared back, then drove his forehead right into the God's nose, creating a bright splash of light and causing dark being to lose his grip. Davis quickly pressed the advantage by raising his legs and kicking off of his enemy's chest, then blasting away with a burst of gold energy. As he'd hoped, the God followed him, keeping up a hot pursuit as both streaked away from Tokyo and out over the ocean. Davis went low, skimming inches above the surface, and his pursuer imitated the maneuver. The waters beneath them kicked up into two giant V-shaped wakes, 20 foot tall waves disturbed by the powerful velocity of their flight, and Davis found his lead in front of the Dark God fading quickly.

The other being was not only stronger than him, but apparently he was significantly faster, as well. A brief flush of frustration passed over Davis. What was the point of contacting Miracles if the Dark God still had every advantage? It took only a few more seconds for the more powerful being to catch up to him and grab him by the ankles, throwing both of their trajectories off kilter. They flipped over each other, losing altitude until together they slammed into the surface of the water, then started skidding over the expanse like a pair of stones. Davis recovered from the tailspin first, but as soon as he tried to head in another direction, the Dark God grabbed him once again. This time it sent them careening upwards and both began climbing up into the air at fantastic speed.

At first Davis instinctively tried to fight against the rapid ascension, but once he realized just how fast they were creating distance between themselves and the others, he gave into it, driving them upwards with even more force. The two spun around each other, hands at one another's throats, as they blasted ever upwards through the rapidly thinning atmosphere, faster than Davis would have ever imagined he was capable of, even with his new powers. It was at this point that he realized that the Dark God was not fighting against their climb, but was adding his power to drive them higher. Somehow, he must have figured that this new development gave him some type of advantage.

Abruptly, Davis felt the sensation of the air rushing past them cease. They began to slow down, and he could then make out the curvature of the earth below, a sight that surprised him and gave him pause. He'd flown high enough to see it before, but not to such a degree that the bright blue hue of the earth showed is such stark contrast against the blackness beyond. They were practically in space.

"I figured you could use a closer look at the inevitability of my victory and the futility of your struggle," said the Dark God. He released Davis, allowing the Miraculous Knight to drift free in the zero-gravity environment.

Davis immediately registered that he could somehow breathe, despite being outside of the planet's atmosphere, and attributed the ability to the powers Miracles had bestowed upon him.

"What are you talking about?" He said- or tried to say anyway. His lips had moved, but no sound had come forth. Davis glowered at the more powerful being as he realized that his words could not carry over an airless environment. He then understood that the Dark God had transmitted his words as thought, and he would have to do the same. He mentally posed the question again.

"Not the most aware of your surroundings, are you?" His opponent responded. "Why don't you take a look above and tell me what you see?"

Davis had reservations about doing anything the dark being directed him to, but something about the confident nature in his voice caused him to take a look up, as he'd commanded. Above, he saw the massive portal set in outer space, ever so gradually growing in size as the earth's orbit brought the planet closer, and from the portal extended several beams of dark energy, all of which reached down to various points of origin on the surface of the earth. Each of them seemed to be providing the giant vortex with a source of power to sustain itself.

"Look at it. Look at its sheer size. Do you really think there is anything you can do to stop something that massive, that indomitable? This is much bigger than you, boy. You're out of your league."

"Yeah, I've heard this all before." Davis planted a foot into the chest of the God in order to separate them, flipped, then blasted a bright stream of positron energy at him. His opponent dodged the laser so quickly that he literally disappeared for a moment with a whirl of his dark aura, reappearing moments later with a burst of force somewhere to Davis' right. Davis turned quickly towards the sensation and fired another blast, but once again the Dark God dodged the attack as if it were nothing.

He reappeared behind Davis this time and chuckled, causing the miraculous Knight to turn around quickly with an angry expression.

"Ooh, now he's mad. Delightful."

"Stop playing games, Hitachi. Fight me."

"I am not Hitachi. Do not refer to me by that name."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Davis smiled as he realized that the words had hit some kind of chord with the powerful being. "It's just that I fail to see the difference, if there really is one."

"You will regret your words, boy."  
"Will I? You could've fooled me with this hide-and-seek routine-"

The Dark God disappeared before Davis could finish the sentence, causing him to raise his guard. He looked around in various directions, waiting tensely for the being to reappear.

"Show yourself!" He mentally shouted. "Stop being a coward!" The demand was met with complete silence, made all the more deafening by the vacuum of space.

The burst came again, this time right in front of Davis, and he felt a cold hand immediately reach out and enclose around his neck. Before he could free himself of the icy grip, he briefly spied a fist speeding for his face. It smashed into him, numbing his world and causing his vision to burst with all the colors of the spectrum of pain unleashed upon him. Davis gave up all pretense of fighting back, and simply concentrated on trying to recover his senses.

The Dark God allowed his grip to slacken slightly. "Don't you realize by now that you can't face me? You are a pretender. You have the powers of Miracles, but you have not earned them. Hitachi gave his entire life to attaining true darkness, to understanding what it truly meant. You made no effort. You were dragged on ignorantly by a lesser god into a conflict that you could never understand. You are as poorly chosen an avatar at that worthless little girl that Light selected. Even Azulongmon, a mere digimon god of a lower dimension, did a better job."

The fist came forward again, dealing a crushing blow to an already reeling Davis and violently snapping his head back.

"It is time I put this to an end. I have no more time for these games."

Davis could feel the warming sensation of the blood trickling from his nose. It seemed even Miracles' powers could not protect from such an unbridled onslaught. He had no means of escape.

The Dark God drew his energy enhanced fist back once again, but before delivering another blow, he paused. His gaze shifted up, away from Davis, and his expression dropped. Davis took the opportunity to regain his some of his senses and turned his head to follow the Dark God's intense stare. He immediately saw what had so raptly grabbed his opponent's attention. Some of the beams of energy extending from the earth's surface to the portal had begun to flicker and slowly were beginning to disappear, one-by-one. Accordingly, the portal started to shrink in size with the loss of each power source. At the rate it was losing mass, Davis gathered that it wouldn't be long before it ceased to exist altogether.

"It looks like your plan isn't quite working out like you had hoped." He gave a taunting smile. "I guess you forgot that I happen to have a few friends."

"Damn you." The Dark God continued to stare down at the earth's surface, finally losing the last vestiges of what had been an emotionless expression. "That old Guardian has thwarted me for the last time."

"Don't lay blame. This is your fault. You're the one that underestimated us."

The Dark God turned his narrowed gaze of anger on Davis. "Your arrogance is misplaced, boy. I am this world's destined ruler, and as such, my plans are much too multifaceted for your simplistic efforts to overcome. I always have another option."

Davis wanted to maintain his confident facade, but there was a truth is the way that the Dark God said the words that he just couldn't deny.

"Of course," he continued, "I will not allow you to live to see it. I have no time to toy with yet another one of Miracle's failed efforts. Enjoy oblivion."

The Dark God's looked directly at the Miraculous Knight and his eyes quickly filled with energy. Davis knew that he no longer had the power to block the oncoming attack like before and instead struggled to free himself from the more powerful being's grip. With a chuckle, the God sent an excruciating wave of energy directly into the young digidestined, causing him to scream out as every part of his body was suddenly filled with excruciating pain. The sensation completely overloaded Davis's nervous system, to the point that he lost all sense whatsoever and everything that he knew gave way to complete nothingness.

The God smiled as he released Davis and watched the bright spectacle of his body starting to burn upon reentering the earth's atmosphere. That was one problem down. He then looked over the planet surface and frowned. The amount of beams providing power to the orbital portal had been reduced by more than half. _One more problem to go._ Wasting no time, he immediately dove down once again and headed straight back for Japan.

* * *

Far below the great void lurking in orbit, OmegaMyotismon was giving the rest of the Knights and their allies absolutely all they could handle, and more. Though he held an obvious seething anger at the various digidestined and digimon he was pitted against, he was still following his master's orders with fervent devotion. Just as instructed, the massive creature was ignoring their onslaught of ineffective attacks, opting instead to rumble aimlessly through the streets, flushing out groups of civilians wherever he could and sending his signature blasts of destructive red energy at the fleeing people, disintegrating several of them right on the spot.

Since the giant's armor made him nearly immune to ranged attacks, the Knights' mega level digimon partners did their best to slow him down with physical combat, though this had little more effect than to make him more determined in his quest to kill as many as possible. In fact, the only one that could even manage to get the leviathan's attention was Imperialdramon, and that was only with blasts from his enhanced positron cannon. Meanwhile, the Knights and the rest of the digimon did their best to evacuate as many out of OmegaMyotismon's path as they could.

Clara, who was using her powers to shield the retreat of a group of citizens, cried out upon seeing a couple of straggling resistance fighters across the street get caught in the one of the red beams, be reduced to ash on the spot, and drift away on the wind. She let down her guard and threw a volley of Crimson Flame at the hulking beast, only to watch the bright wave of energy wash over him with no effect, as if it were only water. She grunted and threw another useless attack at him in frustration, then screamed, "How can we stop him?!"

The shout was met by the sounds of several energy attacks from other digimon streaking over the air and colliding with the colossal target, who simply laughed and shook them off with the temperament of an elephant swatting at a few annoying flies. Clara cursed and took to the air, already littered with dozens of Knights and digimon flying in every direction. There was an alarming lack of order and direction in the way the battle was being conducted, as if the sheer power that OmegaMyotismon wielded had caused everyone to lose their perspective. They had begun to perform damage control rather than actually fighting.

Jai flew over, came to a stop beside Clara, and seemed to echo her sentiments with a frown. "We're not getting anywhere in this fight." He observed.

"Of course not!" Clara exclaimed, annoyed by the statement of the obvious. "The Dark God told him to kill everyone for a reason. How can we attack him when we're so busy trying to protect everyone else?"

"That's why I told Hatori to evacuate our ground forces from the area." J'ai looked down at the street and saw several resistance fighters in the mix, firing useless shots up at the roaring hulk before them, then scrambling like mad when he retaliated. "But they obviously had other ideas."

"So, what's our plan then? How do we beat him?"

"We don't."

"What?"

"We just need to contain him. We did everything necessary to get Davis to Miracles. Now that he has the power to fight the Dark God, the best we can do give him enough time to defeat him. Once that's done, OmegaMyotismon should fall as well."

"If you say so, but I think-" Clara paused and looked down.

"What is it?"

She pointed down to a low level rooftop. "Curtis is down there waiving us over. Come on."

She went into a dive and J'ai followed her down. The Meditative Knight greeted them with a nod as they landed. "The good news," he said, "is that the portal is shrinking."

Clara looked up to confirm this while J'ai responded with a shrug. "We noticed. It helps, but OmegaMyotismon is still a big problem."

"Yes, and I think I have a plan for that."

"Well don't keep us waiting," J'ai said, glancing over his shoulder at the battle with the unstoppable digimon. "What is it?"

"I know none of us have really been able to hurt him so far, but have you noticed that Imperialdramon's more powerful positron blasts seem to do some amount of damage?"

Clara nodded. "Yeah, sometimes they blast holes in his armor around his stomach area."

J'ai shrugged. "But what does it matter? They still heal closed almost instantly, and it doesn't even slow him down at all."

"True, but we could still use it to our advantage. It's all just a matter of timing. Look, if we get Imperialdramon to shoot him, then-"

"NOOOO!" The scream was blood curdling and caught all of their attention immediately. Something came streaking down from the air and slammed hard onto the rooftop just a few feet away from the group, crashing through it with a cloud of dust. They rushed over to the hole the impact had created and looked down.

Clara peered into it with a frown. "What in the world was that?"

Before anyone could offer a guess, something emerged from the cloud, forcing them back, and rose into the air. It hovered over them, making a series of panicked noises.

As the dust drifted away, Curtis recognized who it was. "Kuri?"

"He's gone!" She exclaimed "He's gone! GONE!"

"Kuri!" yelled Clara. "Calm down! What's wrong?"

"Davis! I can't feel him! At all!"

"Well," said Curtis, "he's capable of supersonic speeds now. Maybe he took his fight with the Dark God a long distance away-"

"NO! He could _never _go this far away. I can always feel him, no matter what! He, he's-" Tears streamed down her face as she looked around, anxiously scanning the landscape for any sign of her love. "Oh my god, he's gone!"

J'ai took to the air and flew up beside her. "Kuri, it can't be that- it can't. He has to be alive. The portal is shrinking, the Dark God isn't here. There must be another explanat-"

"There isn't! It's like he's missing, like he's not even in this world anymore! And he-" Kuri's expression suddenly went cold and she stared into the distance. "_He's_ back."

For just a moment, a wave of relief washed over Clara. So Davis was okay. Kuri had just overreacted. But as she took note of the lack of joy or relief on the girl's face and saw instead a welling of anger, she realized Kuri hadn't been referring to the Miraculous Knight at all.

Kuri stared back across downtown, towards Hitachi's tower, with a steely glare. "He'll pay."

"Kuri, what are y-"

J'ai words were cut off by a burst of energy as Kuri struck out at top speed towards the distant building. Just after she took off, Terence vaulted over a ledge onto the rooftop.

"Wish y'all would've told me we were having a little powwow up here." He muttered as he approached the others. "You know, since I appreciate a break from getting my ass kicked as much as the next person." He squinted at the departing girl as he massaged a bruise on his wrist. "And where the hell is she going? This here wasn't enough to hold her attention?"

"Something's wrong." J'ai observed. "Something is very wrong."

A sudden disturbance appeared in the air above Hitachi's tower, causing the area to waver as if superheated. Clara narrowed her gaze at the phenomenon. Something very powerful had just arrived there. "It's the Dark God. He's back."

Terence frowned. "And where's Davis?"

"He's..." Rosa's eyes scanned the area desperately. "He's not there."

"So then-"

"Then nothing," J'ai interrupted harshly. "Right now Kuri is blindly heading right to her death. It's not the time for talk. Come on."

"Okay. And OmegaMyo-"

"Damn it, our partners will just have to handle him, now _come on_!"

J'ai was gone in a flash, leaving Clara looking after his departing form with a worried expression.

"I've never seen them _both_ like-"

"Yeah," said Terence. "I know." He reached out and took her hand. "Come on, let's move. Can't leave 'em hanging."

As they took to the air, Rosa turned to Curtis. With the apparent loss of Davis and the return of the Dark God, the battle with OmegaMyotismon seemed suddenly miniscule by comparison. She reached out and grasped his hand and he allowed a slight frown to cross his face, feeling motivations beyond utility behind the gesture. He followed her lead though, not daring to put their ominous thoughts into words.

"So," he said, "the long way or the short way?"

Rosa stared over the expanse between them and the new conflict rapidly developing near the epicenter of the night's battle. "Short."

"Okay." Curtis tightened his grip, and with a rush of air, the world around them disappeared, replaced in mere seconds by the midair chaos over Hitachi's tower. An assault of bright lights and deafening blasts greeted their arrival and Rosa faltered for a moment, almost losing her hold on Curtis as a couple of attacks sailed past them. In the few moments he had to gain his bearings, Curtis was able to spot Keyan and Gennai below, fighting and struggling to hold their own on the tower rooftop against the newly armored Assassin. Directly overhead, he could hear the deep bellow of the Dark God laughing, but Rosa's erratic flight path prevented him from getting a look at the powerful being.

"Hang on!" she shouted down to him. "I'm getting out of the line of fire!" She accelerated, causing everything to blur momentarily, and brought them to a landing on a lower building opposite the tower. Once safely down, Curtis turned and looked up to decipher what he couldn't make out earlier.

He could now see Kuri high above, launching a furious volley of attacks, none of which seemed to have the slightest effect on the Dark God, who completely ignored her onslaught. He had taken a hold of the incredibly tall spire that rose from the top of Hitachi's tower with one hand, while generating a shield around himself with the other. Curtis noted that, unlike before, the omnipotent being wasn't taunting them or flaunting his invincibility. Instead, he seemed to genuinely be preoccupied with whatever it was he was doing. And there was no way that could possibly be a good thing.

"So this is how you two choose to fight?" said a voice above Rosa and Curtis. They both looked up and saw J'ai hovering above them. "By standing and watching?"

"We're just trying to figure out where to go from here." said Rosa. "Attacking him head-on isn't working."

"A coward's excuse."

"But-"

"But nothing! If you were really the Willful Knight, you wouldn't be just standing there, watching others fight! Not after all we've given, all we've sacrificed!" Rosa flinched and shrank away, the first time Curtis had ever seen her react in such a manner. Not that he could blame her. A joint scolding from Jun and Tai was almost like being reprimanded by their parents. But he wouldn't stand for it.

"Hey, newsflash!" He shouted. He pointed to Kuri, still furiously laying into The God with a bevy of arrows, to no avail. "That's not working! Now I know you're upset about Davis, we all are, but we only have moments before he finishes whatever the hell he's doing, and after that, if we don't have a plan, he's going to kill us! I don't know about you, but I didn't get into this so we could just forget all the training that got us here, not when we need it the most!"

J'ai crossed his arms and gave the younger Knight a fierce glare. "Make your plans if you want to. Just stay out of our way." With that, he left, heading towards Kuri and the Dark God, who still had a strong grip on the tower spire as he continued to deflect her attacks.

Rosa took a breath and she watched J'ai depart. "I never thought..."

"It's understandable. But we don't have time to worry about it. What we have to do is figure out how we can stop him."

"Tell me you have something in mind."

"No, but I will."

The Dark God spun around with a flourish. "Stop!" He commanded, his booming voice accompanied by a wave of force that pushed everyone back. At their distance, Curtis and Rosa only stumbled backwards before regaining their footing. The closer range J'ai and Kuri, however, were sent careening and crashed through the sides of a couple of nearby buildings.

"This battle is over!" The Dark God declared. "Your champion is dead, and I-" The metal spire behind him started to tremble and quake, causing a low humming vibration to ring out over the air. It began to visibly fill with power, then with a loud blast of energy, shot a beam into the sky. The beam streaked up and collided with the portal, which immediately began to grow once again in size and strength. "I am your end!"

"He's bringing it back," said Curtis with a scowl. "Damn it.".

The air began to whip into high speed winds, stirred by the growing portal's powerful pull. It was now much closer than it had been before.

Rosa clenched her fists and stepped forward. "We have to stop him."

"But we can't-"

"Look Curtis, you do what you do and I'll do what I do. We'll beat him."

"Rosa, you-"

"No time to argue." She took to the air, headed straight for the tower apex. "Just, you know, do what you do really fast!"

Curtis watched her ascend towards the Dark God and punched a wall beside him in frustration. There _had_ to be a way to beat him. He just needed to think.

* * *

Kuri launched a slab of rubble from atop her body with a scream of rage. She couldn't remember the last time she felt so useless, so frightened, so alone. Davis... was gone. The utterly impossible had happened, and now everything seemed incomprehensible. As if the world couldn't possibly go on. Tears stained her cheeks as she looked around the tattered remains of the apartment building she'd crashed through. It was now hard to believe that there was actually a point to any of this. Sure, there was a world to save, but somehow she felt that it just wasn't hers anymore.

She brought herself to her feet, if only because there was no alternative. This, this battle, was all she had left, and if it killed her, so be it. Either she would go, or the Dark God would. She could discern no other purpose to it all. Kuri crouched and took off, barely flinching as she crashed through countless walls and floors before breaching the outer wall of the building and once again coming face to face with her enemy. It infuriated her, the way he acknowledged her arrival with only an arrogant smirk.

"I must say," he began, his booming voice carrying evenly over the whipping winds, "your steady determination to meet your own deaths has made what was already a glorious night that much more entertaining."

"I will kill you." She replied. There wasn't much more to be said.

The statement elicited a chuckle from the Dark god. "Ah, the conviction of a lover left behind, filled with rage that cannot possibly recover what I have taken from her. I think that I will make you the first to fall at my hand... no, forgive me, second actually."

Kuri pulled her glowing energy sword from its scabbard and prepared to make a blind charge, but paused when the Dark God casually turned away from her, as if she were utterly inconsequential, and grabbed a hold of the spire once again.

"But, not just yet," he continued, generating a shield around himself as his back faced her. "First, I will need to continue undoing the damage your allies have wrought upon my orbital portal. Don't worry, I'll allow a few allies of my own to entertain you in the meantime."

He stretched out a hand down towards the tower roof top and emitted a pulsating line of dark energy. The beam connected with the small portal down there, causing the vortex to warp and stretch and begin to bulge outwards. Gennai, who was nearby, tried to fire an attack to interrupt the pulsing connection, but was stopped when a sphere of energy from The Assassin slammed into his back. He was sent tumbling away and violently crashed into the railing lining the building. Keyan tried stepping up in her mentor's place, but was dispatched in the same manner. The Assassin laughed heartily and took up a protective position beside the portal. As time passed, his opponents were growing progressively weaker, while he remained undamaged due to his protective armor. Kuri briefly considered flying down to aid in the fight, but found her vengeful anger was too great to allow her to abandon her battle with The Dark God.

"Well done, Assassin," said the amused ethereal being. "Truly an exalted position awaits you in our new empire!"

Kuri felt J'ai and Rosa approach and come to hovering stops on either side of her.

"Do we take him now?" Asked Rosa. The question was almost pointless, judging by the bloodthirsty expressions on her companions' faces.

"No!" The reply came from Clara, who approached their position from below. "Look! Something's coming out."

"Something" proved to be a woefully inadequate description for the torrent that suddenly came bursting forth from the rooftop portal. It was a fast moving, seemingly endless, mass of hundreds of hideous looking hooded beings in tattered black robes. As they emerged, they began to fly in tight spirals around the tower and up the length of the spire, forming a living barrier around the entire construct.

Rosa sneered in disgust. "What the hell are those?"

"They are my most loyal servants," said the Dark God. "Attuned to their master in ways you cannot even comprehend. They are living extensions of my very will. And right now, I will you to die!"

A cluster of the creatures broke away from their tight formation and headed for the group, emitting a series of ear-splitting clicking noises at a fever pitch. Rays of fast moving dark energy came bursting forth from within their hoods, forcing Clara to react quickly by throwing up a shield and deflecting the oncoming attacks in a multitude of directions, where they smashed through the surrounding buildings and structures as if they were made of papier-mâché. A couple of the shorter towers collapsed in upon themselves, finally succumbing to a night-long battering. The drain of upholding a barrier against such powerful attacks caused Clara to double over and falter, almost dropping from the air. She caught herself, but was unable to maintain the shield, which blinked a few times, then disappeared. The four Knights were left completely exposed to the oncoming horde of the Dark God's sentinels. The direness of the situation seemed to finally bring J'ai from his anger fueled rage.

"Scatter!" He shouted.

The four split apart, just before the next wave of high powered beams shot through their midst and the sentinels followed close behind. The dark beings easily split formation, forming several groups to pursue each one of the fleeing Knights. Two of them gave chase after Kuri and she quickly dived down towards the street in an attempt to shake them. She zigzagged, closely hugging the corners of passing buildings and flying beneath several low clearance bridges and crosswalks. The creatures stayed right on her heels, not falling behind in the slightest, and continued firing attacks at her, marking their path through the city with a trail of indiscriminate damage.

Kuri let out a frustrated sigh. These damn things were keeping her away from the Dark God and she'd have to rid herself of them as quickly as possible. She did a quick twist, orienting her flight path directly towards the side of a glass office building. She accelerated and at the last second lifted up, speeding as fast as a bullet, inches away from the mirrored façade. She glanced back and saw that her pursuers had perfectly replicated the maneuver and were rapidly gaining on her.

"Damn it!" Kuri accelerated as fast as she could. She needed to shake at least one of them before stopping to fight. From what she'd seen, the power of their dark energy attacks was not something she could go 2 on 1 against. She pulled out her crossbow and in one deft move, took an arrow from her quiver, loaded it, and fired back. The Sentinels dodged the glowing projectile with only the barest of flinches, allowing it to fly between them harmlessly.

"Son of a bitch!" Kuri readied another arrow, but paused when the two suddenly broke off their pursuit and flew away, back into the maze of buildings. Kuri watched their departing forms curiously, wondering what could have possibly caused them to give up so abruptly. Her inattention to where she was going resulted in her slamming into something very heavy and hard at almost full speed. The force of the impact caused her to black out for a moment, and she began spiraling back to the ground, out of control. At the last moment, she managed to regain her senses and stop her descent, just a few feet above the street. Kuri looked up to see what she'd run into, and witnessed a sight that she readily welcomed; the Dark God descending down towards her, arms crossed as he chuckled derisively.

"You will have to forgive my Sentinels. They can be a bit overzealous. They weren't aware that when I ordered their attack, I wanted them to save you for myself."

Kuri wasted no time in readying her sword again. "I wasn't lying." She said. "I will kill you."

"Perhaps. Or, infinitely more likely, you'll die at my hands. But at this point, it really doesn't matter to you, does it? After all, I've already taken away your reason for living."

Kuri gripped her weapon tightly and began looking for any openings to attack.

"I will give you the opportunity, however, to go in a much more respectable manner than he did." He laughed in a slow and methodical manner, watching her expression intently. "How ironic, such a pathetic death for someone who was supposed to be your savior-"

Kuri screamed, anger overriding her better judgment, and charged forward, sword held high.

The Dark God watched her come, unflinching, with a casual smirk. This would be fun.

* * *

Curtis ran though the streets, avoiding a constant stream of dark energy beams from a Sentinel that had found him particularly interesting. He had no idea what the beings from the Dark dimension were, but there was no questioning their power. They far outstripped any soldiers he'd fought before, from the control spire hybrids to the mercenaries and mutants, and seemed to be able to obey their master's will without having to be issued any verbal commands. It really was as if they were simply an extension of the Dark God. Curtis ducked a beam as he rounded a corner and came to a stop. He pulled out his energy axe and waited for the sentinel to come barreling around the corner after him. When it did so, he swung for the fences, splitting the fast moving creature in two and causing it to emit a blood-curdling shriek before its body disintegrated in a puff of black smoke. Some of its nearby allies were alerted by the noise and gave chase, forcing Curtis to take off running again.

Curtis ordered his thoughts as he ran. _The Dark God_. He couldn't forget that that was the real priority tonight, not his flunkies. Without Davis, they had no real means of fighting him. How could any of them stand up to the most powerful being in the world? There was no way they could match his strength, not without the help of the Light- wait a second. _The Light_. An idea suddenly occurred to Curtis. He pulled out his digivice and made a call to Izzy.

"Hi Curtis." A feminine voice answered.

"Mimi?"

"Yeah, Izzy's busy. He and Miko are trying to take down all of Hitachi's communications blockers."

"No, you have to stop!" Curtis flinched when a beam hit the wall beside him. "You do that and damn near every nuclear missile in the world will be headed for this spot once the militaries get control of their weapons back."

"Hate to break it to you, but right now that might not be such a bad thing."

"Yes it would be. A nuclear blast probably won't destroy the Dark God, but it will kill everyone here that has a chance of stopping him. His orbital portal is getting closer by the minute."

"Yes, we noticed." Mimi responded. "Do you have an idea?"

"I do. Maybe we can't close the portal, but can we change it somehow, right? Alter its code?" He jumped to the side as another of the pursuing sentinels sent a beam of energy at him, chewing through the concrete of the street like butter.

"Miko says it might be possible, but he has no idea what to even change the code to."

"Well, I was thinking we could open a portal to the dimension of Light." There was no response. "Hello? Hello?"

"Sorry Curtis." Mimi sounded a bit flustered. "Noriko and Digmon just came back...with Cody's mom and grandpa."

Curtis raised a brow. Okay, that made no sense at all. "What?"

"I don't know, but they're in bad shape and I have to treat them. I'm handing you to Izzy."

There was a rustling sound, then Izzy's voice came through. "Hello?"

"Yeah, what's going on there?"

"I have no idea. Tonight is just..." there was a sigh. "Anyway, Miko heard what you said about the portal and he says that's impossible."

"Well I disagree."

"Okay, care to explain why?"

Curtis rounded another corner, quickly ducked into a small alley, and took refuge behind a dumpster there. He took advantage of the respite to catch his breath and figured that he maybe had a minute before the sentinels would find him. "Alright," he said into the digivice, "The rooftop portal is self sustaining, meaning we can't cut the power to close it, right?"

"Right."

"But we can manipulate it. We can change the _type_ of portal it is."

"It would take weeks to figure out the programming to alter a portal like that-"

"I know, but hear me out. I assume that the dimension of Light is just the exact opposite of the one of Darkness. Meaning we just have to reverse the current coding."

"Curtis, that sounds like a good idea, but it's also impossible. How can we recreate a portal just by 'reversing the code?' That sounds like something out of a cartoon."

"I was thinking, all of this started because Hitachi created the first real computer. Or rather, he created the first binary data system. That's how we first opened up inter-dimensional travel. So, wouldn't it make sense that the coding would be closely tied to this? And if it was, that would mean that reversing the code-"

"Would require," said Miko in the background, "a process of replacing a bunch of zeroes and ones, with ones and zeroes."

"Bingo. And it's not like you're changing the coding of an entire program. It's just a direction, a guide telling the portal where to open. Instead of trillions of bits, it's probably thousands."

"Okay," said Izzy. "So that actually makes some sense. But that's still a lot of ones and zeroes and we don't have much time."

Curtis frowned. "Yeah, I know."

"No, Curtis, you don't. Our latest estimates give the planet maybe half an hour before it goes through that portal. _Maybe_."

"Then gentlemen, I suggest you turn on your number locks and start typing. Fast."

"Fine. We're on it. But even if we're able to pull this off, someone's going to have to trigger the change from the rooftop control panel. Right now The Assassin is up there, along with all those, those whatever-they-ares, flying around."

"I know. We'll just have to make it work."

"Easier said..."

"Yeah. Just have Mimi keep an eye on the surveillance when she gets a chance. Keep the connection open and as soon as you see an opening up there you radio me. I'm going to find Rosa so that we can teleport in."

"Roger. You'll hear from me the moment it's free."

Curtis clipped the digivice and went back to the mouth of the alley. He looked out into the street and could easily pick out his previous path by the canyon of destruction left in its wake. Maybe if he backtracked that way, he could buy some more time. Some rapid clicking came from above and Curtis looked up to see two sentinels diving down towards him. He sped up to avoid the deadly beams they launched and grimaced as sweat beaded on his forehead. Izzy wasn't lying. _Easier said._ It was the theme of the night.

* * *

Nestled into a waterfront alcove, equidistant from the two ongoing battles, were the rest of the digidestined. They listened to the loud shouts and explosions, reverberating around the area like dangerous echoes, and kept tightly to one another, weapons ever at the ready for any potential oncoming threat. Every now and then, a few freedom fighters would approach, usually carrying a badly wounded comrade between them. To treat them, the CADE vehicle had been set up as more of a stationary medical unit, with Kari bandaging men in the open tailgate, Joe administering aid to those who were lying on several cots set up on the ground around the van, and Kentaro transporting patients and supplies between the two. Krista and Hatori helped them, but they seemed to be less invested, pausing every few seconds to listen intently to the sounds of the nearby battles.

"This sucks," muttered Matt. "I can't believe we're doing this, sitting here hiding while our friends are out there risking their lives."

"Yeah." Agreed Yolei, leaning against Bertha's hood with a petulant frown, "but what can we do? The Dark God and OmegaMyotismon are a little above our pay grade."

"I know, but still..." Matt sighed. "This sucks."

"I don't get it," said Jiro. "We have Bertha here." He patted the van's reinforced hull for emphasis. "We could help a bit couldn't we?"

"Are you kidding?" Scoffed Kin. "Against what's out there, this van would be nothing but our tomb on wheels."

"Still, I feel like we could be doing something more."

Sora moved up beside Matt and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "I know, but we just have to trust them to come through, like we always have. In the meantime, we have people here that we need to stay here and protect."

"Well, you wouldn't have to stay here if you guys would just let us go fight." The statement came from a brown haired girl who leaned against the back of the van with her arms crossed and a scowl.

Yolei rounded on her quickly. "Momoe, you're not going anywhere. You have no business being here at all, and mom and dad would completely lose it if they knew I let you die out there."

A slight guy standing beside Momoe then stepped forward. "Well at least let me go."

"Are you serious?" Yolei shook her head. "We let _you _go and Kuri will kill all of us. No, you just get comfortable there, prettyboy. You're not going anywhere either."

Kyoji sighed and leaned back against the van. "I can't believe this," he muttered. "You let the old man leave."

"What?" Matt turned around and looked at him in surprise. "What are you talking about? My dad left?"

Momoe nodded. "Yeah. He took off with his camera, saying something about this all needing to be preserved for posterity. I thought you knew since your brother went after him."

"TK's gone?" Matt quickly looked around the area, then slapped a hand to his forehead. "How could I miss this?"

"You've had a lot to keep track of," said Ken. "Don't worry, we'll go find him."

Matt raised a hand. "No. He's my brother. I'll find him. You guys stay here."

"Matt-"

"Ken, I'm serious. Stay here. I may not be coming back. That's not a risk I'm willing to pass on to any of you."

"I'm coming with you," said Sora. She adjusted her armor vest and checked her weapons.

"Sora, you-"

"Matt..." The warning tone of her voice was meant to finalize the matter.

Matt groaned, but decided against fighting her on it. They were wasting time as it was. "Fine, _we're_ going. And _just _us. The rest of you stay here. Ken and Yolei, everything's in your hands. Keep them safe."

Ken frowned and seemed to be ready to argue it further, but gave in with a curt nod. "Fine. Just hurry back."

Matt and Sora rushed out of the alley and back towards the streets. They proceeded in a staggered pattern, watching each other's back as they quickly moved through the shadows and the sounds of the great battles gradually became louder. Eventually, the small side alleys they traversed opened up into wide streets, dotted by piles of rubble, burning cars, and flickering street lamps. Some of the buildings lining the street were missing entire walls and sections, torn from their structures by powerful attacks. Fortunately, whatever fight had taken place in the area had since moved elsewhere.

"My god," Sora whispered, taking a deep breath as she looked around. "I hope they're okay."

"They'd better be. Both of them should have more sense than to run out into the middle of something like this, especially Dad."

"I see something." Sora pointed forward, and Matt squinted in the direction, where he saw a familiar form slinking across the street.

"That's him." He said. "Definitely TK." He started to jog forward. "Come on, we can't just yell at him and draw someone's attention."

Sora followed his lead and broke into a run beside him, careful to make as little noise as possible. They drew no attention, but TK wasn't as fortunate. As he ran across the street a bizarre looking creature descended down on him from above. If Matt didn't know any better, he would have said it was the Grim Reaper. It wore a robe of tattered black fabric and a hood with no visible face beneath it. It had no legs and just hovered in the air like a ghost. TK came to a sudden halt and stared up at it, as if transfixed.

"Damn it!" Matt hissed. "What is he doing? Why isn't he running?"

Sora cupped her hands to her mouth "TK! Run!"

Both TK and the creature looked up at she and Matt in surprise.

"Do it TK!" Matt reiterated. "Run!"

After a quick shake of his head, as if recovering his senses, TK turned and began to run frantically. At first it seemed that Matt and Sora's abrupt appearance would serve as enough of a distraction for him to escape, but the creature quickly recovered from its initial surprise as well, and immediately pursued the closer prey. It dove straight for the running boy while making a rapid series of harsh sounding clicking noises.

"TK hurry!" Shouted Sora.

Both she and Matt aimed their weapons and began firing at the creature as it bore down on him, and it barely seemed to notice the rounds of gunfire glancing off of its body. It fired an attack, a dark stream of energy that came forth from its hood, but TK stumbled just before it could hit him. The beam of energy passed over him and hit an iron railing lining the sidewalk, blasting it apart and sending shards of shrapnel flying across the street. Matt and Sora quickly dropped to the ground as the barrage passed overhead and hit the building behind them, leaving its concrete outer wall looking like swiss cheese. When the debris had cleared and they got back to their feet, they saw that TK was still lying in the street and the creature had taken up position between him and them. Matt fired a few more shots at the thing, but it only responded by becoming more agitated, making more of the clicking noises.

Sora lowered her weapon slightly, but Matt wasn't intimidated in the least. "Get the hell away from my brother!" he shouted, firing even more rounds into the creature's robes. It began to hiss along with the persistent clicking and pointed its hood directly towards them.

"Matt, stop. I think he's going to fire at us now."

"I don't care, so long as he stays away from TK!"

The creature reared back slightly, as if readying to shoot, but then disappeared from the street in an abrupt flash of white energy. There was a distant sound of a crash and Clara suddenly appeared overhead, energy still flowing from her hands after throwing the attack. She landed beside the spot where the creature had been hovering and gave Matt and Sora a harsh glare. "What are you two doing here trying to fight a sentinel?" she demanded. "We told you to stay-"

"Yeah, we know. We were looking for my dad and TK."

"TK?" Clara noticed the person lying on the ground behind her. "He-"

A screeching noise interrupted the conversation as the creature she'd knocked away came flying back at them with a vengeance.

"I'll draw it away! Get TK out of here!"

Matt nodded and Clara took off. The creature, or "sentinel," as she'd called it, gave chase after her and ignored them. Soon enough, both disappeared over the distant rooftops. Matt then rushed to TK's side and dropped to his knees while Sora covered them.

"TK, are you alright?"

The face-down boy mumbled a barely audible response and Matt gently turned him over. "TK what's wrong? What-" He paused and his eyes widened in horror. Blood was gushing from his brother's abdomen, where a piece of iron debris had impaled itself. The bit of railing jutted out and moved slightly with each haggard breath the wounded digidestined took. "Oh god TK. Don't move! Don't-"

Sora cupped a hand over her mouth and her eyes glistened as she took in the sight.

TK took in their reactions through glazed eyes. "What- What's wrong?" He tried to look down at himself but Matt tilted his head away so he couldn't see.

"Don't worry. You're going to be alright. We just need to get you back to Joe, okay?"

"That's right," Sora said, trying to convey as much optimism as possible. She kneeled down at TK's side and grabbed one of his hands. "We just need to get you out of here."

She glanced up at the sky just in time to see a couple of sentinels flying over, pursuing a white being that looked like J'ai. Transporting TK would be nearly impossible, especially with all those things flying around.

"Matt, how-?"

"I don't know." He said, frustration in his voice. "But I think we need to put pressure on it. Slow down the bleeding, right? Right?"

She grimaced and looked at the pool of blood building around the younger digidestined. "I-I don't know. If we do anything and that bar comes out, the bleeding might get worse."

"Well we have to do something! Go ahead and call for help. We can't just let him die here."

Sora nodded and pulled out her digivice, but before she could even place a communication, there was the sound of gunfire and bullets began to pock the street around them.

Matt hovered protectively over his brother. "More mercenaries?"

"Yeah! Probably were hiding until those sentinel things showed up! I guess they feel like they have the upper hand now!"

Sora dropped the digivice and began firing back in the direction the shots had come from, but it was no use. She could see the dark shapes of the men approaching not from just one direction, but several alleys all around them. Their laughter filled the air as they fired off rounds of gunfire, each one hitting closer than the last. Matt started to fire back and Sora tried to reload her gun after emptying her clip, but a shot that ricocheted just inches away from her leg threw off her concentration, causing her to drop the weapon. She frantically picked it back up, fumbling with it now that it was covered with TK's blood, knowing all the while that she would likely be dead before getting the opportunity to get another shot off.

A loud screeching noise rang out over the street, followed by several loud booms that sounded like cannons firing. They heard an engine revving up and then a set of bright halogen lights illuminated the area. Many of the men in the street immediately began to run away, while the few that decided to stay and fight were mowed down rather easily by several streams of machine gun fire.

'What-?"

Before Matt could even pose the question, an armored white van came to a halt a few feet away and Krista Lee jumped down from its rooftop, where she'd been manning a gun turret.

"What the hell were you all thinking," she demanded, "running off like that? If it weren't for Ken here telling me," she pointed to him, sitting in the driver's seat, "you'd all be dead right now! What could have possibly been going through your-" Krista paused once she saw TK and her voice and demeanor took on a decidedly different tone. "Damn it." She knelt down and checked his pulse. "He's weak, may be going into shock. We have to get him back to base."

"Yeah we know," said Matt. "And by the way, he's my brother. I didn't have a choice. If we hadn't come after him, he'd already be dead."

Krista gave a nod of understanding. "He won't be much better if we don't hurry. Kin, Jiro! Bring a stretcher from the back! We have to get him back to the medics!"

The two jumped out of the van with a metal slab suspended between them and ran over, while Yolei, Kyoji, and Momoe kept vigil, guns pointed out of the windows. Carefully, the group loaded TK onto the stretcher and transported him to the back of van. Matt climbed in and took position behind him, gently holding his brother's head in his lap while Krista kept pressure on the wound and did her best to stop the loss of blood.

The van did a quick u-turn and took off, bouncing along roughly as Ken tried his hardest to avoid the various piles of rubble in the street. TK mumbled unintelligibly while drifting in and out and Matt patted him roughly on the cheek every time he appeared to be losing consciousness. Sora bit her lip to hold back tears as she continued to tightly grip TK's hand. She'd accepted that death was something they would all be facing tonight, but to actually see it before her like this... For the first time, she began to seriously consider the possibility that they would lose this battle.

* * *

**Somewhere Far Away**

He awoke with a startled jump and a sharp intake of breath. What had happened? Where was he? He opened his eyes and squinted as his dilated pupils were assaulted. Gradually, they adjusted to the light and he found himself looking up at a peculiar sky. It was half red, as if bathed in the light of a setting sun, and half black...a starless black expanse that was gradually growing larger with each passing second. He looked around himself and saw that he was surrounded by a giant bowl-shaped depression of burning earth. Steams of smoke rose from the rim of the crater and dissipated into the sky. He groaned in anguish as he sat up, remembering the last thing that had happened before he lost consciousness.

Davis had to resign himself to the fact that he was now stuck in the worst position possible, powerless and alone, with no recourse left in order to help his friends. He had failed them. He had failed the world. And now, billions would die because when the moment had come, he wasn't strong enough to counter the greatest threat their world had ever faced. All of the confidence he had felt before, the spoken bravado, it all seemed so futile and monumentally stupid now. So useless... The last of Miracles' power was gone, used to protect his descent back to earth...to keep him alive for no discernible reason. Davis allowed his head to drop and buried it in his hands, finding the position to be the closest thing to refuge that he could get. Yet he remained that way for only a moment. It just wasn't in him to wallow in his own failure. One way or another, he had to find his way out of this.

With a grunt of pain, Davis finally made the effort to get to his feet, slowly climbed out of the large crater, and took in his surroundings. He found himself standing in the middle of a tall grassland area, peppered here and there by small squat trees. The expanse of uniform swaying grasses seemed to stretch on into forever before reaching a range of moderately sized mountains faintly seen on the distant horizon. Davis discerned that the environment looked as if it were oriented towards being cold the majority of the time, but beyond that he had no idea where he was. For all he knew, he could have been in Canada, Siberia, South America, Europe... With the earth-sized portal blotting out most of the sun and any of the celestial markers he'd been trained to use, there was no way he could tell for sure.

He checked himself for any injuries and found nothing besides a few scrapes and bruises. His shield and uniform were still intact as well, but all of the energy that had been coursing though him earlier had completely gone away. He had to wonder how that was even possible. Had the God abandoned him? No. He shook his head. Impossible. There was no one to blame for what had happened but himself, and he was the only one that could make it right. _But how?_ Miracles had said that if he reflected on what made him so special, he would be able to reach his full potential. What that meant exactly, Davis had no idea, but there had to be an answer to his current predicament in it. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been worth mentioning.

At best, he figured he was supposed think about where the power of Miracles came from. Yet as far as he knew, he hadn't exactly become miraculous until his shield had connected with Kuri's. Maybe that was it? Their love for one another?

He shook his head. No, love couldn't just be the answer. Love was good, yes. Love was the ultimate expression of a person's feelings for another, but love could motivate evil just as much as it could good. A person's love for another could drive them to do terrible things, could drive them to obsession. The greatest pain Davis had ever felt in his life was the result of two of his best friends being in love. Love was powerful, but it could be selfish. In a roundabout way, it could be a manifestation of darkness. After all, it was Hitachi's love of power that had set all of these events in motion.

Davis began to pace. To be good, love had to be universal... and it had to be tempered by something. Something that tied it to the balance, to the ability for people to care for the welfare of others just as much as themselves, the ability for them to find their own fulfillment in the fulfillment of others... Davis paused and gaped as the answer hit him like a ton of bricks, and then felt like an absolute idiot for not realizing it sooner. _Compassion._

_That's_ why she was the conduit. _That's_ why Miracles insisted that she was necessary. Just like Hope led people to embrace the Light, it was Compassion that led mankind to Miracles. Or maybe _that _was the miraculous part, that despite all the temptations towards selfishness, all the reason men had to hate one another, to step on one another to achieve their own goals, and to embrace Darkness in its ability to attain their own ends, they were still capable of caring for one another, for being compassionate-

Davis continued to pace, a hand to his chin, as all sorts or realizations began to flow through his mind. _Compassion._ It was the actual definition of people emerging from within themselves to understand and feel the needs of others. Ultimately, good wasn't to be found in Darkness or Light, in selfishness or selflessness. Good was in them both, and through kindness and compassion, human beings had found a way to uniquely embrace this balance. That _was_ the miracle. That people that had every right and inclination to look out for themselves didn't.

_Kindness and Compassion._ Kuri's digimental and shield. Davis had to shake his head. And all this time he thought he was teaching _her _something. No wonder Miracles had come seeking her out in the Realm. It was planned from the start. Somehow, it was always fated that she was going to come to the Academy with him. Thinking of Kuri also brought Davis to ponder what made _him _unique and why their connection had made _him_ the Miraculous Knight. After all, she was the one with the shield of Compassion. What made him worthy? Was it because he was the one that had believed in Kuri, despite what others had said and her own protests? Was it because he was also the one that had believed in Ken's reformation back when everyone only wanted to punish him for being the Digimon Emperor? Because he had forgiven TK and Kari even back when the latter had first broken his heart? Perhaps even because he willingly went into the trap Hitachi had set at the Rainbow Bridge without a second thought, driven by the desire to stop him from hurting anyone else? He had always believed in others, no matter how things appeared, and he had always sacrificed of himself for what was best for them.

On the surface, the actions seemed completely selfless, like a function of the Light, but Davis now knew better. He understood. He sacrificed because he wanted to. Nothing satisfied him quite like contributing to the happiness and well-being of others. And this gave him the ability to be both selfless and selfish at the same time. Davis didn't know when he had become this way. He supposed that the transformation had been triggered around the time that he had become a digidestined, just like when Jun had gotten Sparks and changed from being an infatuated, flighty, teenager to a thoughtful, loving, woman. Something about those remarkable creatures from another dimension seemed to bring out everyone's best qualities. And it just so happened that his best qualities best suited a certain, people-loving god named Miracles.

The sound of approaching footsteps through the grasses grabbed Davis's attention and he turned around to see two people walking towards him. One was an older man who held a long wooden staff and wore a variety of heavy robes. His skin was dark and he sported a long salt and pepper beard. Beside him was a much younger girl with caramel skin and striking hazel eyes. Both came to a stop and looked at Davis curiously.

"Who are you?" asked the older man suspiciously, raising his staff in a defensive posture. "Because if you're trying to steal from my flock-"

"Grandpa," interrupted the girl in an admonishing tone. "I don't think he came here because he wanted to." She pointed to the large crater nearby, still smoking from Davis' inglorious arrival. "That doesn't look like it was a happy landing."

The elder man only responded with a grunt.

"Sir, you're one of those Knights from the television, right?" the girl asked. "Your uniform. It looks like theirs."

Davis nodded. "Yeah, I am."

She turned to her grandfather. "See? I told you."

The man seemed hardly relieved. "Well, we saw that explosion earlier, and now with this really bright light he's givin' off, you cannot blame me for -"

"Bright light?" Davis looked down at his shield and was surprised to see that it was shining brilliantly, and once again the glow was surrounding his entire body. This time, however, the influx of energy didn't just imbue him with the feeling that he had the ability to fight the Dark God. He now knew that he had the power to defeat him. "I see now, Miracles." He said, under his breath. "I really did have to discover it for myself."

"Were you fighting that evil man?" The girl asked. "The one that said he was taking our world from us and did that to the sky?"

Davis looked up at her. "Yeah, actually. I was involved in a big fight going on right now. I kind of got knocked out of it."

"I didn't hear any sounds of battle," said the old man, stroking his beard as he peered closely at Davis.

"I think that's because it's going on halfway around the world."

The old man gave him an incredulous look.

Davis rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Yeah, I guess I took a pretty good punch, huh?"

"Do you need help finding your way back?" Asked the girl. "Not that we could really be much help, but perhaps a map or something-"

Davis felt a familiar sensation building within him, pulling him in a certain direction, and suddenly he realized that his path back to the battle couldn't have been any clearer. "Thanks, but I think I'll be fine. I'm sure I know which way to go now."

"I hope so." The old man looked up into the sky for a moment and took a deep breath as he eyed the portal up there with an expression of dread. "You seem sure enough of yourself though. It would seem then, that your path is set before you."

"I think it is." Davis followed the elder's gaze upwards and smiled, filled with a brand of self-confidence that dwarfed any amount of power anyone could give him. "And don't worry." He pointed to the portal. "I'm going to put a stop to that. Right now."

He began to rise from the ground and turned in the direction in which he felt himself being pulled, his jaw set and his countenance overtaken by a determined glare.

_I'm coming Kuri. Hold on._

The restored Miraculous Knight lifted higher into the air, then, with a thunderous boom and a magnificent burst of golden energy, he accelerated forward, causing the mountains and grass around him to all come together in a terrific blur. As Davis left the sound barrier far in his wake, a wave of determination overtook him. He now knew the truth. He knew that he would beat Hitachi and the Dark God, not because he had to, not because he believed it, but because there was no way he could lose. Not as long as he fought for the desires of others as if they were his own, not as long as he understood the true power of the Balance, and not as long the Knights were together and Kuri was by his side. Destiny was beckoning him, and the renewed Miraculous Knight absolutely could not wait to meet it.

_To be continued..._

* * *

Next up: **Tennozan** **Part VI **The finale of the great battle for the fate of the world. Will the earth be destroyed, pulled into the Dark Dimension? Or will the Knights find a way to prevail? Find out in two weeks in the next chapter!


	32. Tennozan Pt 6

New chap! New chap! Well, due to an emergency family illness I've been out of town for a couple months guys, so... you know, best laid plans and all... Anyway, here is Tennozan part 6. Only one more chapter left in the concluding Tennozan arc!

* * *

**Tennozan** **Part VI**

Kuri picked herself up from the ground, yet again, and placed a hand over her ribs. She flinched in pain at the touch. They had definitely been bruised, if not cracked. This development alarmed her- she'd never been seriously injured while in uniform- and she found her resolve fading. For all her fury and rage, all her posturing and determination, she had to come to terms with the realization that she was just being toyed with. The Dark God could and should have easily killed her by now, but he seemed to have found much more amusement in just knocking her around. They were playing an almost literal game of cat and mouse that he would soon tire of. Kuri pushed the thought away, wiped a trickle of blood away from her chin, and set in a fighting stance. He watched her the whole while, waiting casually for their "fight" to recommence.

"Are you sure you are ready to fight again?" He taunted. "You don't need time to catch your breath? Perhaps ponder what little you've accomplished in your life before I end it?"

Kuri steeled her nerves. Anger still coursed through her, but she knew that acting on that emotion would result in nothing more than her quick and ignominious death, once he finally got tired of playing with her. At the very least, she had to draw the Dark God's attention and stall him for a longer period of time- if only to give the others a chance of reaching that portal generating spire atop his tower.

"Was that supposed to scare me?" She spat blood onto the ground. "You're nothing. You're a fool that missed his opportunity. You'll regret not killing me when you had the chance."

"Really now? I thought your dearly departed boyfriend was the one with all the power. Taking advantage of my opportunity to kill him wasn't enough?"

"You bastard!" Kuri ran forward at him with another scream of rage, and just like before, he nonchalantly waited for her to make the first move- to throw an attack that most certainly would not affect him in the slightest. She had something else in mind. Instead of striking him, Kuri peeled off at the last possible second and lifted up into the air. She registered a brief look of surprise on the god's face just after pulling off the maneuver, and continued to climb into the air as fast as she possibly could. It wasn't long, however, before the futility of even this tactic was made apparent.

Kuri gasped when she saw the Dark God suddenly appear right in front of her, seemingly materializing out of thin air, and she hurtled towards him, too fast to come to a complete stop.

"Cute trick." He rumbled. "This one's better." His eyes flashed and a wave of power slammed into her, head-on. The force of the attack sent her flying backwards through the air, completely out of control, until she collided with the metal post of a roof-mounted billboard. With a yell of pain, she dropped like a stone down to the roof surface and the entire structure collapsed on top of her.

A binding pain flashed through Kuri, and then she was covered in darkness. For a moment she believed that she had lost consciousness, or had died even, but after considering the paradoxical nature of simply being _able_ to have such a thought, she realized that her impaired vision was due to the slabs of the billboard lying on top of her. The Dark God had hit her hard, but just hard enough to keep her around. The bastard was still toying with her.

With a grunt of frustration, she knocked aside the plywood slabs, bringing back the lights and sounds of countless battles, and revealing the sight of the Dark God descending down towards her from the sky.

"Why don't you just give up? Don't you want to be reunited with your lover? Though, I suppose that depends on your beliefs..." He came to a landing in front of her. "Honestly, what is the point of this? You could multiply yourself by a thousand and yet still would not be a match for me."

"If that was true, then why am I still alive?"

"Because, frankly, I'm bored. My sentinels are taking care of your allies and guarding my tower, OmegaMyotismon is providing your digimon with all they can handle, and in minutes my portal will engulf this world. What is there left for me to do besides torture you? I must amuse myself somehow. And ridding you of your unearned confidence before I take your life fits the bill nicely."

Kuri forced herself not to react to the words. If this beating was what she had to take in order to hold his attention and keep him from harming the others, she was willing to bear it. Frustrating as it was, she just couldn't bring herself to concentrate on avenging the loss of Davis. In truth, it simply wasn't in her nature to place her own vengeance above caring for her friends, no matter how much she currently wished it was. She would continue on, continue to fight and hold out as long as she could, never giving the Dark God the submission he so desired, right up until the moment he would be forced to finally take her life-

Kuri's thoughts came to an abrupt stop just then, interrupted as she felt a familiar sensation, a pang that caused her heart to skip a beat. She looked down and let out a small gasp as something there caught her attention. With quick reflexes she reached out and grabbed a piece of debris, a jagged sheet of metal, and held it in front of herself.

"You're the one with the unearned confidence," she said, wielding the metal plate before her like a Spartan shield. "You really have no idea."

The Dark God chuckled and began to advance on her. "Oh, is that right?"

"You're not taking this as seriously as you need to," she said, backing up. "You know what they say about playing with fire."

"And _you_, I suppose, are going to burn me?"

"What do you think?"

"What I think is that you've reached a point where you're desperate enough to try shielding yourself from an all-powerful entity with a piece of sheet metal."

"Desperate to you. I think it could work."

"Really now?"

"Sure, it just depends on what I'm trying to block." Kuri allowed the metal plating to drop to the ground and enjoyed the look on The Dark God's face as his inky black eyes went wide. "You're right, this is much better."

The Dark God could now see what she had been hiding from him. Her shield was glowing brilliantly, and that could only mean...

She fixed him with an intense glare. "That's right, my boyfriend's _back_."

"What?" He shook his head. "Impossible! I watched him die myself-"

At that very second, a loud hissing noise permeated the air, akin to a missile speeding over land, and the Dark God's gaze shifted up. He had but a split second to comprehend what was happening before the entire area was abruptly illuminated by a blazing gold light, as if the sun had just risen and cast the light of day over never ending darkness. For a moment, just a millisecond perhaps, Kuri saw a hint of fear cross the omnipotent being's face. It caused her to smile as she dodged to the side, moving out of the way just before a streak of golden light, traveling faster that the speed of sound, slammed right into The Dark God, and with a thunderous boom and flash of light, took him careening clear across downtown Tokyo.

Kuri hurried back to her feet and rushed to the edge of the roof in time to see the tops of several buildings in the distance suddenly drop below the skyline in billowing clouds of dust, their destruction marking the path of the two supernatural beings. The distant rumbling as the structures fell was like music to her ears and caused her to break into a broad grin.

_That's right, Davis. Kick. His. Ass._

Moments later, J'ai came to an ungainly landing beside the Compassionate Knight, his white ninja garb tattered and burns marking his body in several areas. He looked her up and down and seemed to be a bit nonplussed by her smiling expression.

"We saw that the Dark God was after you and came to help as soon as we could. Are you okay?"

"Yeah. More than that." Tears of happiness stung the corners of Kuri's eyes as she contemplated what had just happened. "Davis is back."

J'ai didn't immediately respond- not in words, anyway. His features dropped slightly, as if an enormous burden had been lifted, and for a moment Kuri felt as it were only Jun there standing before her. A moment passed between them, a special bond only the two of them could share, and J'ai slowly nodded as he observed the glowing golden aura in the distance.

"He's okay..." The dual being's voice held a slight tremble and he let out a relieved sigh. "Thank God. Then we have a chance again."

Kuri smirked at the statement, an emotional mixture of Jun just being happy for her brother's return and Tai's renewed commitment to the battle.

"But," J'ai continued, "we still have serious problems. Those sentinels are powerful, and they outnumber us by a wide margin. Somehow, we have to get through them to that spire."

"Okay." A grin remained plastered on Kuri's face. Sentinels were nothing. Now that Davis was back, she felt like she could take on all of the black-robed creatures by herself. "Got a plan?"

"Curtis is working on something. I don't know what, but he thinks we can beat the Dark God once and for all with it. All of the digimon are busy with OmegaMyotismon. As far as the sentinels go, they're giving our forces all we can handle. We're not sure what we can really do to take on so many of them."

Kuri rubbed her chin, her euphoria fading slightly in the face of the continuing direness of their situation. "If we can't beat them, then we won't be able to shut down that portal. And if we can't do that, then it won't really matter what happens between Davis and the Dark God. The entire earth with be gone in minutes. We need-" She paused, noticing a bright rotating circle of light that abruptly appeared on top of one of the buildings directly across from them. "Damn it, _now_ what?"

From within the portal came two people, both wearing black uniforms and badges suspended by gleaming silver chains. Following behind them were a couple of humongous ultimate-level digimon.

"Are those _our_ people?" Asked J'ai, squinting.

Another portal opened up on an adjacent roof top, then another behind it, and another, until there were hundreds of the glowing constructs teeming across the skyline, each one delivering at least one Knight and digimon partner into the battle.

"Yes!" Kuri pumped a fist. "J'ai, I think the cavalry has arrived."

"Then let's welcome them."

They took to the air, and landed in the middle of a wide intersection below. The other Knights immediately began to gather around them.

J'ai stalled their enthusiastic greetings by raising a hand as he looked around the growing group. "Steve, Didi, Jonathan, Jason, Naji, Helga, Nadia, damn good to see you all, but we have to get to work immediately. First thing, all of your partners need to help the other digimon fight OmegaMyotismon."

"Done and done, mate." Jonathan said, gesturing to the digimon that were already heading down the street, departing for the battle. "Willis told us before we came over."

"Right," added Ahmed as he joined them. "Now what do _we_ need to do?"

"Our objective is the spire on top of Hitachi's tower. It's where the orbital portal is generating from. But the only way to get to it is to go through all of those creatures." J'ai pointed to a formation of hooded beings streaking overhead. "The Dark God calls them sentinels."

"Dark God?" Asked Nadia.

"Hitachi. Or what used to be him."

"Sentinels, huh?" Said Shard, who'd just arrived alongside his twin brother, Flint. Both made a show of cracking their knuckles. "Well I call 'em dead. Let's trash 'em."

"Now _that's_ what I'm talking about!" Kuri clapped her hands together. "Feels good to hear the Academy spirit again."

J'ai nodded his agreement. "You heard him, guys. We don't have much time. Let's get to it."

With J'ai and Kuri in the lead, the flyers among the group took to the air, slicing through whipping headwinds as they headed straight for the mass of sentinels circling around the shaft of dark energy that was shooting up from the top of Htachi's tower. A few of the creatures noticed the arrival of the newcomers and immediately broke off to engage them. Kuri grinned eagerly as she dodged one of their dark beams and pulled out her energy sword. It was time for some payback.

* * *

"You have no chance of stopping me, digidestined! Give in now! Give in to the Dark God!"

OmegaMyotismon's guttural roar boomed over the area like a roll of thunder as he continued to stomp forward through the streets, stopping periodically to fire pulverizing beams of red energy at anything that moved. The digimon were doing a better job of clearing his path of any pedestrians, but still had made no progress in stopping the beast's continuing rampage.

SaberGreymon landed atop a low-lying rooftop and fired several Terra Crusher attacks at the hulk. The fluctuating balls of magenta energy all collided square on with OmegaMyotismon's chest, and, as usual, he didn't react in the slightest. Instead, the plodding giant continued in his methodical onslaught, trying to head further away from midtown and towards areas where there were sure to be more civilians. He fired his beams of concentrated energy and all the ground based digimon who attacked him from below had to scramble to get out of the way each time.

His deep voice rumbled as he laughed at their futile struggle. "Feel my vengeance and wrath! Know your ruler!"

Marta came to a hasty landing beside SaberGreymon. "It's no use." The Phoenixmon shook her head. "We might as well not even be here. Nothing we do can even come close to penetrating his armor and hurting him."

SaberGreymon nodded grimly. "I know. The only one of us that had any kind of effect was Imperialdramon. Is he still out of commission?"

"Last I saw, yeah. He's a couple of blocks back and still pretty weak. Angewomon was watching over him. Won't leave his side for anything. You-you don't think him being like that means that Davis-"

"Maybe. I don't know. We shouldn't speculate."

"Hey!" The shout came from above, and both digimon looked up to see Rosemon diving down towards them. He landed in a kneel and took a moment to catch his breath before standing again.

"Are you alright?"

"Fine. Look, I came here to tell you that this is about to get really bad.'

"_About _to?"

"Those other things, the ones in the robes that are flying around-"

"Yeah, I've seen them. Haven't really worried about them since they're not attacking us."

"They're not attacking us because they're helping OmegaMyotismon."

"They're trying to kill people too?"

Rosemon shook his head. "No, they're _herding_ them."

"What?'

"We've been clearing people out of all of the buildings that are in OmegaMyotismon's path, but those hooded things have taken flanking positions on our evacuation route, forcing us to move all of the evacuees in one direction."

"That's okay though, right?" Asked Marta. "The people are still getting away?"

"No." SaberGreymon answered, now understanding what Rosemon was saying. "They're heading right to a dead end. Continuing in this direction goes straight to the harbor."

Rosemon nodded. "There're already at least a thousand people on the shoreline right now, and more keep coming. Peko, Pings, Taps and the others are doing their best to protect them, but we can't fight off all those flying things. They're forcing the people to gather there, waiting for OmegaMyotismon to arrive and kill them all in one shot."

All three looked up at the giant beast as he slowly progressed through the street, laughing maniacally and firing destructive rays of energy in every direction.

Marta was the first to pose the obvious question. "So, what the hell do we do?"

SaberGreymon looked into the distance and observed the receding skyline, which abruptly ended near the waterfront, only a few blocks away. They didn't have long. "We have to find a way to stop him."

"I'm open to ideas."

"So am I," SaberGreymon said with resignation as he took to the air. "Wish we had time to think of one."

Rosemon and Marta followed on his heels, and together the three took up midair positions right in OmegaMyotismon's path. Each began firing their signature attacks at the hulk, who just continued forward, unaffected.

"Um, you do realize this isn't working?" Rosemon shouted. "This never works!"

"Yeah," Marta added. "We're not even annoying him!"

SaberGreymon scowled and continued firing. "Look, it's either this or just standing there talking while he gets closer to all those people!"

Marta sighed. "No offense, but with the effect we're having on him right now, we might as well be doing the standing and talking bit!"

OmegaMyotismon raised a glowing red hand and pointed it right at the three mega-digimon, a broad smile crossing his bleached, vampiric countenance. SaberGreymon didn't flinch.

"Um," Rosemon raised a tentative hand while continuing fire Danger Thorns with the other, "Small problem, SaberGreymon. Not sure if you realize this, but if we don't move soon we're probably going to die."

A blast of golden light from above suddenly pierced right through the massive dark digimon's abdomen, causing his grin to disappear, his impending attack to dissipate, and forcing him to come to a stop. The wound left behind by the blast fully healed in mere seconds and OmegaMyotismon looked around for the source of the attack, then let out a roar of frustration as hundreds of smaller blasts attacks began to pepper his body.

"What's going on?" Asked Rosemon.

"I dunno," said Marta. "But I'd recognize that first attack anywhere!"

"So would I," said SaberGreymon. "Imperialdramon must be back!"

The three looked up in time to see the large, mega-level, digimon bearing down on them, his positron cannon still smoking. The golden aura emanating from him was even more intense than it had been before.

"All right!" shouted Rosemon, jutting a celebratory fist into the air. "But where did those other attacks come from?'

Marta pointed. "Them!"

Following up behind Imperialdramon were Angewomon and a host of other digimon, each flying or running along the streets. SaberGreymon recognized all of them from the Academy. So the other Knights had apparently joined in the fight.

"Came to join the party!" yelled a Volcanomon that SaberGreymon immediately recognized as Jonathan's partner, Razor. "Can't let you lot have all the fun!"

"Ha!" Marta grinned, her spirits lifted by the arrival of their old friends as reinforcements. "You're late, as usual!"

"Fashionably! Don't know any other way!"

"Come on," said Rosemon, departing to join the growing throng of attacking digimon. "Let's finish this!"

Marta nodded eagerly and followed behind him. SaberGreymon watched them both go, but didn't follow. The arrival of others may have helped restore everyone's resolve, but from what he'd already seen of OmegaMyotismon, he knew their side hadn't gained any real tactical advantage. This fight still wouldn't be easy.

Imperialdramon flew down and took a flanking position beside the dual digimon. "I'm guessing you're thinking what I'm thinking," he said grimly.

SaberGreymon didn't turn to face him, instead watching with a frown as all the other digimon begin an ineffective assault on the Dark God's invulnerable partner. "And that would be?"

"We're still basically screwed."

"That's… succinct."

"But I'm starting to wonder if we might not be. I may have an idea."

SaberGreymon turned to look at the glowing golden digimon. "Well don't hold out on me. God knows I don't have one."

"SaberLeomon's Holy Crusher attack, can you still do it?"

SaberGreymon nodded. "Of course. It's my most powerful attack. In this form it's called God's Fury.

"Gaudy."

"Thanks, I thought so. Where is this going?"

"Well, have you noticed how when I hit him with a powerful enough positron blast, it leaves behind a hole that takes a moment to heal?"

"Oh no."

"What? You haven't seen that?'

"No, I've seen it. I just realized where this is going." SaberGreymon slapped a paw to his forehead. "Why are we always trying things that only work in movies?"

"This _could_ work!"

"Or it could not. In fact, odds are it probably won't."

"Look, you got any better ideas?"

"Nope." SaberGreymon winced when OmegaMyotismon kicked out at a few attackers, sending the various Ultimate level digimon flying in different directions. Taking the giant on straight up was definitely not going to work. They had to try _something _else. "Screw it. Let's go for it."

"Now that's what I'm talking about!" Imperialdramon raised his arm, leveling his cannon at the armored giant and taking aim while SaberGreymon got ready to make a charge. "Okay. I have a shot. On three. One…"

"THREE!" SaberGreymon rushed forward.

"Hey! Wha-" Imperialdramon quickly got over his surprise, and sent a golden blast of light streaking past his charging partner. The blast hit OmegaMyotismon in the stomach, once again opening a small hole there that immediately began to heal. SaberGreymon put on a burst of speed, barely clearing through the gap before it closed once again, and found himself successfully within the void that was OmegaMyotismon's body. Before he could even think about using an attack, however, he found himself paralyzed by a constricting coldness and blinded by total darkness. He couldn't move even an inch and was completely helpless, unable to even make a sound. The plan most definitely had not worked.

* * *

Imperialdramon frowned as the explosion that he was expecting never came.

"You thought that would work?" Yelled OmegaMyotismon. The massive digimon laughed derisively and looked down at Imperialdramon. "I should thank you! Now that he is within my body, with only sustained concentration, I will be able to absorb his power and make myself even stronger!"

"Damn it!' Imperialdramon grimaced. How could he have been so convinced that such a stupid plan would have a chance of working?

Marta and Birdramon quickly zoomed over and hovered on either side of him, causing him to curse again. They were the last two digimon he wanted to see at that moment. He knew what was coming.

"What happened?" yelled Marta. "Did I really just see SaberGreymon just get pulled into OmegaMyotismon's body?"

Imperialdramon cringed. Even his new powers couldn't negate the harshness of the Phoenixmon's shouts.

"No, he wasn't pulled in," said Birdramon. "It looked like he did that on purpose." She looked accusingly at the large golden digimon beside her. "Did you guys actually _plan_ that?"

"Well…"

Birdramon groaned. "You can't be serious."

"Imperialdramon," Marta growled. "If you just got them killed-"

"Ladies, ladies! Calm down. They're perfectly fine, for now…I think. Either way, we still have to stop OmegaMyotismon. Both to free SaberGreymon and save the thousands of lives that are on the line."

As if to emphasize the point, the evil giant unleashed a great roar and swung one of his massive arms, knocking at least a dozen digimon aside and toppling a couple of buildings. He began stomping forward once again, shaking the ground with every step. "You cannot stop me from doing my master's bidding! Everyone will DIE!"

OmegaMyotismon raised a hand and sent a flood of red energy at Imperialdramon, who quickly grabbed Marta and Birdramon and lifted them all out of the way just before the attack destroyed a building behind them. From their new vantage point high above, the three watched as the massive being began marching forward once again, largely ignoring the hundreds of digimon doing everything they could to stop him.

"What do we do now?" Marta asked in a tone of desperation.

"Everything we can," Imperialdramon said, frowning. He quickly dove down to take on the rampaging beast once more.

* * *

The two warriors' swords clashed yet again, sending an array of sparks flying in multiple directions. Jade smiled at Cody, giving him a look that was almost seductive as he struggled to gain an advantage.

"You've been waiting for this for a long time, haven't you?" She spun out of their lock and threw a quick leg sweep that he was easily able to clear. "Is it as good as you always hoped it would be?"

Cody ignored her and thrust his sword forward. She leaned back, ducking the strike by inches, then cartwheeled out of the way when he followed it with a swing of his kendo stick.

"Oh come now, don't be that way." Jade smiled tauntingly as they began to circle each other. "As you can see, I'm not using my enhanced sword. I'm doing you a favor."

"Do you want to talk or fight?" Cody lunged at her again and she parried the strike, spinning into a roundhouse that he blocked with his off arm. There was a sudden flash of light from outside that briefly illuminated the room through its giant, floor-to-ceiling windows, and impaired Cody's vision. Jade pressed the advantage, giving him a high kick to the chest, and the blow sent him stumbling backwards to the ground. He recovered nicely, somersaulting to a kneeling position and raising his sword just in time to block the downward strike she followed up with. Jade tried to deliver another kick, but Cody was just able to dodge it by leaning to the side. He caught her leg in the crook of his arm and twisted it as hard as he could.

She rolled with the move, spinning through the air and landing a few feet away, and chuckled. "Unlike your father and dear Sato, you certainly never disappoint."

"Shut-up!" Cody leapt at her, swinging his blade for her neck. She countered by easily knocking the sword away with her own and delivering a lightning quick punch to his jaw. The force of the sudden blow stunned Cody and he leapt back to avoid the follow up swing of her blade.

They began to circle once again, and Jade continued to observe him with a grin. "Not used to playing for keeps, are you? At least not with humans, anyway. Amusingly, it seems you can only take someone's life if their DNA has been spliced-"

Cody lashed out at her again, this time maintaining control. He came with multiple, quick strikes in rapid succession, all of which Jade was able to block or avoid in a flurry of impressive reflexes. She then went on the offensive, forcing Cody to utilize every bit of training he'd ever had to parry the array of retaliatory attacks. He countered the woman's pure speed with instinct, unable to perceive even his own movements as anything but a blur as the sparks from their clashing weapons and the bursts of light from the battles outside continually threw their dueling shadows against the walls in sharp relief.

Cody found a small opening in Jade's stance when one of the flashes from outside briefly blinded her. He used the reversal of fortune to strike her wrist with his kendo stick, knocking her katana free from her hand, and sending the gleaming blade clattering across the room. Her shock at the sudden loss gave him another opening and he followed with a kick directly to her chest. Jade rolled with the blow, doing a quick backflip to lessen its force, but Cody did not let up. He shouted and ran forward, his sword raised for a killing stab. She surprised him by charging at him as well, utilizing a small movement to avoid the point of his sword by mere millimeters. His blade zinged by her ear, close enough to cut a few strands of hair, but she wasn't even fazed.

Jade quickly grabbed both of his wrists to hold his weapons at bay and planted a foot in his chest, forcing him back as she kick flipped high into the air and drew her enhanced sword, mid-flight. She swung down at him before landing, sending a massive wave of glowing energy in his direction. The attack roared along the ground, chewing up floorboards and carpet as it came for Cody, and was too high for him to jump. He turned and ran, barely staying ahead of the wave of destruction, until he reached the end of the room, took a few steps up the side of the wall there, and kicked off. He was just able to clear the attack, landing as it slammed through the wall behind him and exploded, sending debris flying in every direction.

Cody ran back at Jade even as the destruction continued behind him and she responded by simply smiling and swinging the weapon again.

This time the attack came a bit higher and Cody was able to drop to the floor and slide underneath it. His reward for the slick maneuver, however, was the woman running forward and stomping down on his leading leg with a gleeful shout. There was a sharp _crack_ and Cody let out an involuntary yell of pain. He quickly retaliated with a sweep of his other leg and caught her behind the knee, sending her falling onto her back. Both back got to their feet quickly, though Cody found himself heavily favoring his right leg. He cursed under his breath. That crazy bitch had definitely broken it.

Jade took in his off-balance stance with an eager smile. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?'

The taunting was unnecessary, as Cody had already gone well beyond his anger's boiling point. He leveled his weapons and did his best to mentally block out the pain, but struggled to hold himself steady.

Jade clucked and shook her head. "This is truly pitiful. Such a proud warrior, and yet he faces inevitability like a fool."

Cody grimaced and blinked several times as beads of sweat threatened to blur his vision. "I'm not here for the conversation. Shut-up and fight."

"Typical, shallow male." She narrowed her gaze at him. "Your mind only concentrates on one thing."

She lunged forward, bringing the enhanced weapon down at him, and he quickly reacted by crossing his weapons over his head, blocking the swing. The energy released by her sword was redirected upwards and crashed through the ceiling.

Jade frowned and pressed down harder. "You just don't know when to quit!"

Cody tried to brace himself and meet her with equal force, but found the pressure on his injured leg to be too much. He faltered and dropped into a kneeling position, and as Jade continued to press upon him, her sword once again began to give off a strong glow.

"Now _this _I like from you," she said, slowly running her tongue over her lips, her countenance bathed by the light. "Submission. To be honest, I think I may be getting a little turned on." She pressed even harder, further strengthened by the power coursing through her weapon. "Too bad you have to die."

Cody's arms shook violently as he struggled to hold her off.

"Go on" she said. "Accept it. Accept your fate."

His wooden kendo stick cracked and shattered under the strain, splintering into hundreds of pieces that rained all around them. Reduced to just his father's katana, he barely had the strength to hold her off any longer and realized that he would soon be forced to give in.

At that precise moment, the room's doorway burst apart, along with most of the wall surrounding it. Something very large came rumbling through, and Jade leapt back from Cody just as two missiles streaked through the spot where she had been standing. They crashed through the windows, allowing a flood of cold air to rush into the room amid a tornado of broken glass. Jade ignored the whirling shards as she turned her attention to the rampaging digimon that was heading right for her.

"Get away from him!" Digmon shouted, running with his arms raised and missile gauntlets pointed at her. He unleashed another Gold Rush volley and Cody spied a faint smile cross Jade's face as she calmly watched the armor digimon charge towards her.

"Digmon, no!" He yelled. "Stop!"

The warning came too late. Jade ran at her oncoming attacker, deftly slicing through each one of his speeding projectiles and absorbing every bit of their destructive power into her glowing sword.

"That's enough of your interference!' she shouted, jumping high into the air and swinging the weapon. It unleashed a massive stream of raw energy, much more powerful than anything she'd attacked Cody with, that slammed right into the armored digimon, devolving him almost immediately. He smashed into the ground as Upamon, rolled a few times, and came to a stop right at her feet.

"Well, you certainly never learn." Jade stamped a foot down on top of the unconscious in-training digimon's head.

Cody rushed to his feet and tried to run forward, but stumbled on his leg and fell back to the ground. Jade gave him a cursory glance and chuckled.

"Well this is a serendipitous turn. Looks like I'll still get the pleasure of making you watch someone you love die."

"No!" Cody reached out a hand uselessly as Jade pointed her sword down at his partner's head.

She looked back at him and winked. "Don't worry. It'll be your turn next."

Cody struggled to get back to his feet as she returned her attention to the task at hand, and realized that he would likely never reach her in time. He dropped his sword to the ground and found himself truly regretting his long standing stance against the use of guns. The thought caused him to remember something. _The mini-crossbow! _With a speed that surprised even him, he pulled the weapon from his belt pouch, opened it, spared a split second to aim, and unleashed its full clip of arrows at Jade in rapid succession.

Just before they could reach her, however, the well-trained assassin twisted to the side, allowing each one of the arrows to sail past, save for the last, which she reached up and caught mid-flight in her hand.

"Oh, now this is amusing," she said, glancing at Cody as she snapped the arrow and allowed the pieces to fall to the ground. "You're breaking all your little rules tonight, aren't you?"

She walked over to him- sauntered really- and stopped a few feet away, looking down at the now useless weapon in his hand. "I remember this. Classic. Simple design. Six arrow clip, which you wasted all at once. Don't seem to have a reload either. Shame."

Cody reared up onto his knees and dropped the crossbow. He tried to go for his sword, but Jade was quicker, kicking the weapon out of his reach.

"Now," she said with a sneer, "learn to wait your turn!" She delivered a vicious kick to his side that sent him sprawling onto his back. Cody grimaced as the sharp pain, made more acute by her tapered combat boots, coursed through him.

Jade took a breath to compose herself. "As I said, I'll be with you in a moment. Just be patient." She turned her attention back to the unconscious Upamon and walked over to him. "Trust me, Cody, tonight you _will_ watch someone you love die at my hands. That's a promise."

Cody coughed and placed a hand on his side with a grimace. He could still fight her, though at an obvious disadvantage, but with his leg broken he would never be able to reach the woman in time to stop her from killing his partner. He rolled himself over slowly and his free hand slipped on a few splinters of his shattered kendo stick. His katana lay out of reach, about halfway between him and the psychotic mercenary standing over his partner. The crossbow was right next to him, but was useless without ammunition. Taking full inventory of the situation, he realized that he only had one option, one chance, to save Upamon.

"Jade!" He shouted, a palpable desperation in his voice. "Please don't do this!"

She looked at him out of the corner of her eye and smiled. "Now that's what I like to hear. Plead me. Beg me," she raised her sword. "And realize how futile it all really is."

Cody frowned. It was now or never. He struck out and grabbed the unloaded crossbow, raised it, and stood up on his good leg. A smirk crossed Jade's face. She knew the weapon had no ammunition. Her mistake. Cody pulled the trigger and Jade jerked back when a projectile buried itself in her shoulder. _For my mother and grandfather_.

She looked up in surprise as blood began to spurt from the area, but Cody wasted no time in loading another large splinter of his kendo stick into the crossbow and firing again, this time nailing her in the abdomen. _For Sato_.

He reloaded again while blood gushed from her wound, and Jade's expression registered shock for a moment before she turned and raised her sword. Cody knew that the delayed reaction would be her undoing. He launched himself towards her off of his good foot just before she swung, dove under the resulting wave of energy, performed a quick roll on the ground while grabbing his sword, and fired another splinter from the crossbow as he came back up. Jade flinched to avoid it, moving right in the direction he wanted her to. He leapt at her, katana poised to swing, and for just a moment, a smile crossed his face.

In that instant, Jade knew that only a split second remained to her life. She'd been careless, enjoying herself far too much and allowing him to cultivate the element of surprise. He'd feigned that his leg injury was worse than it was, and she had fallen for it. She realized too late that his last shot was never meant to hit her, but was only intended to get her to move into range, using the trained mercenary's own instincts to open herself up to a lethal stroke. The gambit had worked magnificently. Jade noticed the slightest bit of hesitation in the way his blade came for her neck. Not enough to let her dodge the strike, but enough to give her time to fully realize that she'd lost. Impudent little bastard. An image of The Assassin crossed her mind, and she was overcome with regret at failing him. There was one final flash of steel and then...nothing more.

Jade's body crumpled to the ground as Cody landed and he looked over his shoulder at her remains with a disgusted sneer. He swung his sword, flinging her blood from the blade.

"And that was for my father." As adrenaline drained from his body, the throbbing pain in his leg suddenly came back full force. He dropped down to his knees beside Upamon, breathing heavily.

The action caused the little digimon to stir into consciousness. He blinked several times before looking around the room and spotting his laboring partner kneeling next to him. "Cody! Are you all right?"

"I'm okay." Cody grimaced as he nodded and gingerly moved himself into a seated position. "My leg's broken, but I'll be alright. What about you?"

"Doing better than you. Don't worry about me. I get hurt bad and I just devolve, but you-" The digimon stopped when he saw Jade lying a few feet away in an expanding pool of blood. "You beat her!"

"Yeah." Cody looked at Jade's body and allowed a frown to cross his face, finding the moment far less satisfying than he'd always thought he would.

Upamon noticed this. "What's wrong?" He asked. "You finally beat her. You're not happy?"

"Yeah, I beat her. But what did it help anyone? There's much more at stake tonight than me settling an old score. I got so caught up in my own vendetta that I don't even know what's going on with the battle outside. I went back on my own values."

"We still have time, Cody." Said Upamon, looking at all of the bursts of light outside the room's shattered windows. "The fight's not over. You can still help."

Cody doubted the words as he looked at his badly bruising leg, but he pulled out his digivice anyway. At the very least, he could check in with the others. As soon as he opened the communication, an ongoing conversation cut through.

"We finished the coding, you have to trigger it!" The voice belonged to Izzy.

"I can't," came the reply. It sounded like Curtis. "We're trying to get up there, but The Assassin is too strong! He's beating Gennai and Keyan, and if he sees us anywhere near that console, he's going to destroy it! Then we'll have no chance of stopping the Dark God!"

"We don't have much time. You have to find some way to get past the Assassin."

"He has the powers of a Guardian and impenetrable digizoid armor. If you have any ideas-"

Cody cut the communication and looked over to where Jade lay. He had an idea of how to help them, but it would require his getting to the rooftop. Two flights of stairs on a broken leg was an iffy prospect, and Upamon couldn't really help either, not in his condition-

"Well damn, it looks like I'm not needed here."

Cody looked up at the exclamation and smiled. Noriko. The girl walked into the room, holstered her guns, and spared a long glance at Jade before rushing to his side.

"I thought I told you to stay in the OPS center," he admonished as she kneeled and wrapped her arms around him.

"You told me to take your parents there. I must have missed the part about staying."

"Just like Upamon here." Cody allowed himself a moment to enjoy the comfort of her embrace.

"Yeah." Noriko glanced over at Cody's devolved partner as they broke apart. "Looks like it was rough, but you guys beat her. Where's Sato?"

"He…" Cody sighed, thinking for the first time of the family the framed convict would never get to see. "He didn't survive."

"No-" Noriko bowed her head in mourning. "Cody, I'm so sorry. I know you wanted to save him."

"I didn't have to. In the end, he saved himself." The realization washed Cody in a new wave of determination. With Noriko's aid, he began to get to his feet. "And he will be honored. I promise you that. For now, we still have a war to fight, and I need your help."

* * *

Keyan slammed up against the metal railing lining the rooftop of Hitachi's tower for what had to be the hundredth time. She winced as the pain of the iron bar digging into her back coursed through yet again, then took a deep breath to quell it while forcing herself back into a standing position. After a shake of her head to regain her senses, she glared across the rooftop to where Gennai and the Assassin were dueling, sending fully realized Guardian attacks at one another with blinding speed.

Angry arcs of electricity crackled around her hands. The Assassin was ignoring her, only paying her presence any mind when he deemed her to be 'interfering" in his battle with Gennai. Each time she tried to fight him, he simply knocked her aside, as if she were an afterthought. A couple of times, he'd even sent her sailing over the edge of the roof, forcing her to recover halfway through her fall and fly back up.

It didn't help that Gennai shared the fallen Guardian's obsession with vengeance against his former brother. Both were singularly focused on one another, as if Keyan wasn't there, and in truth, considering what her abilities were when compared to theirs, she might as well have not been. The prevailing truth over all of this, of course, was that throughout the battle, and even now, Gennai too was at a severe disadvantage. Every one of his opponent's attacks had to be dodged, while all of his attacks simply glanced off of The Assassin's impressive armor.

Hatred coursed through Keyan as she looked at the ruthlessly mirthful visage of her parents' killer. He knew that they could not harm him, and was enjoying every moment of this battle. If only they could take this fight to the sky, where she had the advantage, where she could negate his armor by at least being able to send him tumbling through the air... It was wishful thinking. He insisted on staying on this rooftop, following the Dark God's orders to the letter, protecting the rooftop portal while the horde of sentinels continued to come forth from it and headed directly upwards to the spire jutting hundreds of feet overhead.

Keyan briefly looked up at the swirling mass of creatures, spinning protectively around the Dark God's portal-generating construct, and noticed that several had broken formation. Some unseen force seemed to be attacking them, drawing their attention. She squinted in order to get a closer glance and realized that several new Knights, led by J'ai and Kuri, had entered into the battle and were now engaging the menacing swarm. They were reinforcements, probably sent by Willis. It was a fortunate turn of events that briefly buoyed Keyan's spirits, but she knew it would mean nothing if The Dark God's army kept pouring into the battle in a seemingly infinite stream. If the Knights were going to win, they would have to close this small rooftop portal in order to have any chance of shutting down its much larger counterpart. And they wouldn't be able to do that until the Assassin was eliminated.

Summoning her strength, the young guardian took to the air and headed back for the fight. This was much bigger than her own vengeance. For the sake of the world, The Assassin had to die. Halfway through her approach, she noticed Gennai falter while throwing an attack, stumbling and sending the sphere of energy in his hand harmlessly into the air. He was growing progressively weaker as the effect of Willis's serum seemed to finally be wearing off. The Assassin took advantage of the opportunity by charging forward and driving a hard uppercut into Gennai's gut, then followed that up with a spinning kick to his temple. Gennai took the blow full on and practically flew through the air before smashing head-first into the brick wall surrounding the rooftop's stairwell exit.

The Assassin cracked his knuckles and approached the spot where his former friend crumpled to the ground. "This ends now Gennai." He said, standing over the prone guardian and raising a hand that quickly began to glow with power.

Keyan hurriedly fired a bolt of lightning, which hit The Assassin on the arm and caused his blast of power to sail wide. Completely unharmed by the attack, he turned to face the girl as she came to a landing a few feet away.

"This does not concern you, girl," he growled. "How many times must I punish you for your interference?"

Keyan set in a fighting stance after sparing a concerned glance at her slowly recovering mentor. "You will have to kill me."

"Very well. I suppose it's about time that I did."

Before either could throw an attack, the stairwell door behind Gennai burst open and Cody, supported by Noriko, came stumbling through. The two digidestined's sudden appearance certainly surprised Keyan, but even more astonishing was what Cody held in his hand.

The Assassin must have noticed this as well, because he immediately shouted, "Where is Jade?! Why do you have her sword?! What did you do to her?!"

"She's dead!" Noriko replied, emphasizing the statement with a pointed glare. "And you're about to join her!"

Cody shifted the energy sword in his hand and looked at Keyan. "Remember how they said it works!"

He threw the weapon through the air to Keyan, but halfway through its flight, The Assassin rammed her with a hard shoulder that sent her flying and reached out for it instead. "That isn't yours!"

"No!" Gennai fired an attack from the ground, which hit the sword and sent it hurtling back through the air, just out of The Assassin's reach. Mustering all the strength he had, he leapt up from his position and snatched the weapon in midair, just before the Assassin could grasp it, and fell back to the ground in a roll before getting back to his feet. The Assassin let out an enraged scream and went after Gennai. "What's mine is mine!"

"Then take what's yours!" Just as The Assassin pounced on him, Gennai thrust the weapon forward. There was a brief flash as the identical metals of the sword and The Assassin's armor came into contact, then something between a gasp and a strained groan escaped The Assassin's throat. He pulled away from Gennai, his mouth hanging open, and looked down at himself. The sword had penetrated right through his chest and its glowing tip was protruding from his back. He stumbled back, eyes wide with shock, and dropped to his knees slowly. With several heavy breaths, the former Guardian descended down to all fours and bowed his head.

"Finally." Gennai slumped and put a hand to his chest, his own breath coming in heaves. He looked down at his fallen enemy, and for a moment, an expression that looked like pity crossed his face. "You- you brought this on yourself, KiAdjae. You-"

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Gennai." The Assassin's voice was surprisingly calm and even, and he looked at his old adversary with a partial smile and glowing white eyes as he rose back to his feet. "This isn't over."

"What?" Gennai's eyes betrayed a sense of disbelief.

"Or maybe it is," The Assassin continued. "For you."

The exhausted Guardian stepped back and started to take up a defensive stance, but was a step too slow as the Assassin blasted him full-on with a blindingly powerful mass of energy. The light practically roared as it came forth from his hands, and Gennai unleashed a primal scream when the wave of force overtook him, tearing through his robes as if they were made of paper. Instead of being knocked back, he collapsed to the ground right there and did not move as smoke rose from his body. A very slight stirring of his chest was the only indication that he wasn't actually dead.

"One of the first rules of killing, Gennai," The Assassin took a few deep breaths to recover from the energy expenditure of his attack. "If you're going to stab someone, hit something vital."

He turned to where Cody and Noriko stood, the sword still protruding from his back as if it were nothing more than a fashion accessory. "And now, I will avenge Jade. How someone so unworthy as you could have taken her life is beyond me, but it is a wrong that will be righted immediately."

He raised a hand towards them and Noriko drew one of her guns. The Assassin smiled at the useless action. "Admirable. At least you will die on your feet."

"No, they won't die at all." Keyan interrupted from behind him. "You will." She drew upon every ounce of speed she possessed to blast through the air, slamming into him before he could turn to face her. Both went sailing across the expansive rooftop, and as the two began to tumble over one another, she placed her hands around the hilt of the blade embedded within him.

_Remember how they said it works. _She most certainly remembered. Much like Cody, she could recall every single detail of their first meeting with The Assassin and Jade in the shipping tower. Without a word, she began creating raw energy charges around her hands in the form of blue arcs of electricity, and poured every bit that her body could muster into the sword.

The Assassin looked at her in surprise as they finally stopped rolling and skidded along the ground.

"What are you doing, fool?" He said, planting his hands on her shoulders and trying to push her away.

Keyan didn't answer and continued to concentrate fully on maintaining her grip on the weapon and imbuing it with energy.

"You stupid little girl." The Assassin rose to his feet, and all the while the young Avatar maintained her hold. "This sword absorbs digital energy. You are only giving it power. Now let go." He hit her with a brutal backhand, causing her head to snap to the side, but remarkably her hands remained secured around the sword.

The Assassin sneered at her as she turned to face him once again, blood tricking from her lip, and their eyes locked. Keyan could see a hint of fear there, a fear that she knew something that he didn't. He didn't understand what she was doing. Keyan had to force herself not to smile. The beautiful irony of it was that he _did _know, his arrogance just wouldn't allow him to realize it. Predictably, he reacted in the only manner he knew how.

"Fine. If you won't listen, then you'll die right here." He reared a hand back and started to build a sphere of energy around it, casting a contrasting white glow against the electric blue surrounding the sword. "I'll send you to join your mother."

Keyan noted his surprise when she didn't respond to the taunt and instead continued to pour energy into the sword. She stared at him, hard, cold, and unflinching. Inside, however, her nerves were going haywire as she fervently hoped that she hadn't miscalculated in her plan. She only had seconds left.

His expression steeled to match hers and the attack in his hand reached its full size. "Very well. It's not like you would have lived through this night anyway." The Assassin prepared to shove the attack right into her, through her even, but at that moment, his body began to shake. The energy around his hand quickly dissipated.

""W-what's happening-? W-what are y-you-?"

Keyan smiled eagerly. _Finally_. She pressed harder, eyes glowing, and put every last drop of power she possessed into the weapon. "As you said before, Assassin, this weapon can only hold so much. Then, it must release its power-"

The Assassin's eyes went wide, and he put his hands around her wrists, trying to pull them free. "N-no. Stop-"

"-right… into… YOU!"

Keyan forced a final burst of energy into the sword and The Assassin began to shake violently as thousands of tiny cracks suddenly began to race across the surface of his armor, each of them glowing white with the amount of bridled power now trying to break through. His grip on her wrists slackened as he lost control.

"NOOOOO!" He threw his head back and screamed as an unimaginable amount of pain tore through his body, from head to toe. The cracks became wider and even his eyes and mouth began to glow with brilliant white energy.

Keyan released the sword and took a couple of steps back. Her head felt dizzy and her body drained, but she kept her focus firmly trained on her adversary. She had to see this. The Assassin stumbled in her direction, extending a hand and clutching for her in desperation, but he lost control and fell to the side. He hit the ground and immediately began rolling back and forth, hands to his head, and continued his inhuman screaming.

"Stop fighting it." Keyan said, dispassionately watching her parents' murderer as he writhed on the ground. "You have harmed the world enough. You need to die now."

As she said the words, his anguished shouts reached a crescendo, the white glow seeping through his armor became blinding, and abruptly, a massive explosion ripped his body into thousands of tiny pieces that flew in every direction. Trails of light marked their paths through the air like countless meteors against the swirling black sky.

Keyan, forced into a seated position on the ground by the power of the blast, watched the spectacle intently, committing every moment to memory. The light soon faded as each of the projectiles burned into nothingness, and she allowed herself to relax; though battles were still raging all around, she finally felt at peace. In her weakened daze Keyan noticed something, a light weight suddenly lying across her legs. She looked down and saw that the energy sword had fallen into her lap, still giving off a faint glow, and smiled. The Guardian Avatar's sword... her mother's sword. She couldn't have scripted it any better. The drain of her powers finally overtook the young Guardian and she allowed her head to drop, closed her eyes, and let unconsciousness take her.

* * *

"It worked." Cody said the words without emotion. He was spent at this point, wanting only to finally end this harrowing night.

Noriko holstered her gun. "Thanks to you."

"To us." He corrected, looking over the battered landscape of the rooftop. The only parts lefts untarnished by the supernatural battle were the portal, the metal framework it sat atop, and the protected foundation of the tower's spire. As for the combatants, The Assassin was most assuredly dead and Gennai and Keyan lay unconscious on the pockmarked asphalt. Were it not for their bruises and tattered robes, both would have looked the picture of fitful slumber. "We need to get them out of here."

Noriko cautiously released him and allowed him to limp over to Gennai, while she went to tend to Keyan.

Both heard a loud pop and looked up just in time to see Curtis and Rosa appear hand-in-hand in the middle of the rooftop.

"Izzy said the coast was clear," said Curtis. He looked back and forth between Cody and Noriko and those they tended. "Are they-"

"They're fine," assured Cody. "We'll take them downstairs. Just hurry and do what you have to with the portal before it's too late."

Curtis nodded and ran over to the console beside the portal's metal platform and got to work.

"Hurry up, Curtis," urged Rosa, watching the spire overhead as she raised her hands and entered into a battle stance. "We probably don't have much time."

As soon as she spoke the words, a group of sentinels, apparently noticing the Assassin's sudden absence, began to descend towards the rooftop. Rosa fired a few Danger Thorns into their midst, catching a couple and knocking them out of commission, but the others continued in their dive, unabated.

"Heads up!" she shouted to Curtis. "They're coming!"

As the group of Sentinels closed in, they began to fire dark energy blasts from their hoods all at once. Much to Rosa's surprise, before any of the blasts could hit the rooftop, they all crashed against a large, yellow dome of energy. Rosa heard a grunt and turned around to see her cousin coming down to an awkward landing on the damaged surface, Terence suspended in her arms. Both stumbled and rolled after touching down, and Clara grimaced in obvious pain as she struggled to maintain the shield around them.

Rosa rushed to her side. "Clara, stop it! Remember what happened last time!"

"This isn't like last time," said Terence.

Rosa turned towards him and noticed that he was shaking violently, not from pain or fear, but rather a large mass of red energy revolving around him. It was at this point that she noticed the connection between his and Clara's shields and realized what had happened. Using their joint ability, he had absorbed all of the sentinels' attacks, and now-

Terence let loose a scream of rage and fired a dozen beams of bright red energy back at the attackers, hitting a sentinel dead on with each shot, and causing the approaching dark creatures to scream and explode into black smoke with every impact.

"Bullseye," he said, taking a few deep breaths to recover.

"Nice shots." Rosa gave him a passing look of awe as the remnants of the sentinels wafted over them and began to dissipate.

"Thanks," He gestured over to Cody and Noriko, who had moved Gennai and Keyan to the stairwell entrance. "Y'all better hurry. I don't know how many of those I got left."

The couple nodded their thanks to him and pulled the two Guardians though the door before closing it shut behind them.

Rosa helped Clara back to her feet and all three Knights looked over at Curtis, who seemed not to have noticed a single thing that had just happened. He pressed a few keys on the console before him, flipped a switch, and stepped back.

"That should do it." He said.

They waited for a moment, watching the portal, but nothing happened.

"Uh, is whatever 'it' is, done?" Asked Terence. "What, is there a light somewhere downstairs that just switched off?"

Curtis ignored him. "It doesn't make sense. That should have worked."

"Maybe it was the code?" Rosa suggested.

"No, Izzy and Miko did their jobs. If it was the code, I wouldn't have been able to use the console at all."

"Well, then maybe-"

"Damn it!" Curtis punched the side of the machine, causing a few sparks to shoot out. "Why the hell isn't it working?'

"Curtis!" Terence rushed over to his brother and grabbed him roughly by the shoulders, pulling him away from the console before he could break anything. "Look, I'm sure it was a great idea. But it was just that, an idea. Thing is, they don't always work out."

"We don't have time for it to not work out! The world doesn't have time!"

"I know. Look bro, talk it over with Izzy, see if there's something you might have missed. In the meantime we're going to regroup. If this won't work, we have to fight our way to that spire."

Curtis shook his head. "Even with the additional Knights, there isn't enough time."

"Curtis, you keep talking like that, and I'll throw you off this roof my damn self. Now get it together. This fight ain't over, and I'm not going out like that." Terence released his brother and crossed his arms, giving him an expectant stare.

"Yeah, I know…" The Meditative Knight stepped back and took a deep breath. "I know. Let's go. I'll radio Izzy on the way."

* * *

"But why didn't it work? We did everything we had to, right? We reversed engineered the way Hitachi created the portal."

Kari listened raptly to the ongoing radio conversation through her digivice, even as she busily wrapped and bandaged a resistance fighter's wounded arm.

"No," replied Curtis. "We reversed engineered the code, but not the way he created it completely. Hitachi also killed millions of people in order to open the path to Darkness."

"So, what's the opposite of that?" Asked Izzy. "How do you reverse engineer death? We're not gods. We can't just create life."

"I know, man, I know. Damn it! Look, I'm just going to regroup with the others. We don't have time to theorize about this. We have to do what we can in the time we have left."

The communication cut and Kari allowed her head to drop, her hopes crushed. Why hadn't it worked? Was this the length the Light was willing to go not to aid them, just to forsake her? They'd done everything they had to to reverse the portal, fought valiantly, undid all of Hitachi's programming, undid his evil works- well all they could possibly undo- and still the Light wouldn't help them. How could she- Kari's thoughts paused and her eyes went wide. No. No they hadn't undone all they possibly could. In that instant, she knew exactly what the Light wanted.

The sound of squealing tires broke Kari's thoughts and she looked up just in time to see Bertha screeching to a stop just a few feet away. Krista jumped out of the driver's side of the armored van, ran to the back, and flung the doors open. Sora and Matt leapt out, their hands soaked in blood, and Kari's heart skipped a beat. Somehow, she already knew what had happened. When they pulled out the metal stretcher bearing her profusely bleeding boyfriend, she just sat there in shock, unable to react to her fears being confirmed. Words escaped her, and all of her medical training seemed to disappear from her memory in an instant.

"Joe!" Matt yelled, his voice hoarse. "Joe, we need your help!"

The desperation in his voice brought the digidestined doctor running and upon spotting TK, he immediately leapt into action, shouting orders and helping them carry the stretcher over to the medical truck. As they came closer, Kari noticed that TK was breathing, but was labored. Some type of object was protruding from his abdomen and blood was gushing around it. What had happened? Was he stabbed, or shot? Where had he gone? The last she knew, TK had been only a few feet away. How could she have not noticed his disappearance? Was she really so busily reflecting on her own plight that she had completely neglected the fates of those around her-?

"Kari!" someone shouted faintly, then a little louder a second time. "Kari!"

Joe finally had to grab the girl's shoulders and shake her to bring her attention back to the present. Only then did she notice that her vision was blurred by tears that flowed freely down her cheeks.

"I can't imagine how hard this is for you," Joe continued. "But I really need your help."

"Y-yes. O-of course." Kari nodded rapidly and furiously tried to wipe the tears from her eyes. She couldn't be useless. TK's life depended on her. She moved to the side, allowing them to slide the stretcher into the vehicle. To her surprise, his eyes opened a bit and he gave her a weak smile.

"I need you to hold his attention," Joe said as he pulled out disinfectant and a suture kit.

Kari nodded absently and stared into TK's pained eyes. "O-okay."

A few pops of gunfire sounded outside.

"The mercs found our position!" Krista shouted. "Positions everyone! Fan out and engage!"

Matt, at the foot of the van, drew a weapon and gave TK a reassuring pat on the leg. "Don't worry bro, I'm not letting any of them get near you." He looked up at his old friend with a pleading expression. "Joe-"

"I'll do my absolute best." Joe answered, pausing in preparing his tools to give Matt a sincere look.

"So will I." Matt cast one last anxious look at his brother, then departed. Joe immediately went to work.

"I-I guess I was stupid huh?" Said TK weakly, wincing mightily as Joe began to remove the iron bar. Kari wanted to caution him to save his strength, but the more he talked to her, the less he paid attention to Joe's ministrations. "Going after my father, right into a w-war zone…"

He tailed off and began mumbling unintelligibly over the next few minutes, and Kari gently stroked his matted hair as Joe continued to work. Was this the price she had to pay? Was this what the Light would take from her, as vengeance for being forsaken? It wasn't fair, it made no sense. _She_ had committed the sins. _She_ should have been the one lying there, not TK. Despite what Davis had told her, Kari knew the truth. Perhaps the gods were selfish. Perhaps they did ask too much. Perhaps this entire war was nothing but a game to them. It didn't matter. If the Light had desired that she be unfailingly selfless, if that was what it took to prevent what was transpiring on this night, then it's what Kari should have done. She had risked the safety of the entire world for the sake of her own happiness. It couldn't get much more selfish than that.

She had to do something.

Joe exhaled loudly and wiped a forearm across his forehead. He tied off the last stitch and looked up Kari. "It looks like it didn't pierce the intestine, so we got lucky there, but he's lost an awful lot of blood. It's going to be touch and go. Just stay with him, alright?"

"You're leaving?"

"I have to." Joe said, strapping his field bag over his shoulder. "It sounds like we're winning out there, but there's bound to be more wounded. I've done all I can for TK, for now. He's strong, Kari. He'll pull through." Joe gave her a brief smile, but she could see the shadows of doubt behind it.

Kari nodded, and after Joe departed, the tears began to flow once again. She couldn't believe the way this night had gone. Her brother had warned her of the possibility that this could happen to one of them, but it honestly never entered her mind that it could be TK. She couldn't afford to sit on the sidelines any longer. Kari knew what she had to do. She knew how she could end all of this and save everyone, and she knew that she was the only one that could pull it off. There was only one way.

Kari pulled out her digivice and stared at it for a moment. Angewomon was busy fighting OmegaMyotismon. If she called on her partner for help, she had to be sure of what she was doing. She shook her head. Nerves. Of course she was sure. This _had_ to be done. She pressed the beacon option on the screen and pocketed the digivice once again.

"Why, why did you call Angewomon?" TK looked up at Kari with one eye open, his chest heaving. "She has to… has to help fight Myotismon."

"You saw that?"

TK gave the barest of nods.

"I called her because…" She took a deep breath. "Because I have to end this TK. And I know how to do it."

"Th-the light?" TK tried to smile, but started coughing instead.

Kari helped him to take a drink of water from a small canteen, grasped his hand, and nodded. "Yes. And I have to do something, something wonderful, something that will save us all."

"Th- then what are you waiting for, dork?"

Kari tried to smile through her tears, but the expression that resulted was one of pain. "TK, I love you more than anything, more than anyone ever will. You have meant everything to me and you, _you _are my light." She leaned closer to him and began to sob.

"K-Kari?"

"You hear me? You are! I want you to never forget that!"

TK nodded weakly, but even in his state his face conveyed a lot of concern at her words. "Kari.. why-why are you talking like-?"

A mighty woosh of air, signaling Angewomon's arrival, interrupted him. The angelic digimon landed behind the van and looked in at the scene in surprise. "TK! Is he-?"

TK's head lolled as consciousness began to abandon him once again.

"He'll be okay." said Kari, stifling another sob. "Everyone will." She took a deep breath and looked up at her partner with determination. "Angewomon, I need you to take me up to the top of Hitachi's tower."

"What? Kari, I can't do that. It's more dangerous up there than anywhere."

"Well that's where I have to go. Angewomon, you _have_ to take me up there. I can stop all of this."

"Is- is this you or the Light talking?"

"Who do you think?"

Angewomon pondered her partner's face for a moment before finally coming to a decision. "Okay. I'll take you."

"Thank you." Kari leaned down and gave TK a loving kiss on the forehead and gently brushed some of his stray hair aside.

"K-Kari, I-" His breath came in gargled wheezes.

"Hush. Save your strength." She looked out of the van and saw Matt and Sora in the distance, already heading back from the fight. She had to hurry. "Don't worry, we'll all be safe soon." Kari slowly rose to her feet and pulled out a handgun that had been stashed in her medical bag. She cradled it against her abdomen as she exited and allowed Angewomon to scoop her up into her arms.

With another blast of wind, they took to the air.

* * *

Hatori, standing sentinel nearby, watched them ascend and pondered exactly what the Light could have in store that required the girl to be heading for Hitachi's tower. He thought about what he'd heard via the Digital Band, what the others in the ops room had discovered; that it wasn't enough just to reverse the programming of the rooftop portal, but that they had to actually reverse the actions Hitachi had taken to make it- and then it hit him. He knew exactly what Kari was planning to do, and he knew that he couldn't allow it. He'd promised Tai that he'd do his best to ensure his little sister's safety.

A rapid set of footsteps alerted him to the arrival of Krista, who greeted him with guns drawn and barrels smoking. "We, have them on the run." She reported. "As long as we don't draw anyone else's attention, I think we'll be okay holding this ground-" She paused, noticing Hatori's expression. "What is it?"

"It's Kari. She just asked her partner to take her to the top of Hitachi's tower. Took a gun with her. It can't be good."

Krista looked up in the same direction he was and saw the receding speck that was Angewomon departing with Kari in her arms. "I agree. We have to go after her." Krista put her fingers to her lips and let out a shrill whistle that got the attention of a Knight flying past, hot on the heels of a fleeing sentinel. The girl suddenly stopped, mid-pursuit, and swooped down to a landing beside the van. "You need something, Ms. Lee?"

Krista greeted the shorter blonde Knight with a hand on her shoulder and a grateful smile. "Nadia Petrova, the Independent Knight. Good to see you're alright. Look, we need a ride."

"Sure, where to?"

"The top of Hitachi's tower."

If the young girl was surprised by the request, she didn't show it. "No problem." She said, stretching out her hands. "Come on. We need to hurry."

Hatori was once again impressed by the amount of loyalty Krista inspired in her students. The girl readily offered her aid without a single question as to who he was or why they wanted to go to the most dangerous area of the night's battlefield. Lee must have been a damn good instructor. He reached out and took Nadia's hand along with her, and once they were secure, the Russian girl took off, zooming the three of them up through the air. In less than a minute, and after a couple of close calls from stray attacks, they reached the rooftop. Nadia brought them to a landing in a somewhat secluded corner, hidden beneath the shadows of a group of ventilation sheds.

"Thanks." Krista said as she and Hatori drew their weapons. "Go on back to the battle where you're needed, Petrova. We can take it from here."

"Yes ma'am. Be careful up here. Eyes open."

Krista smirked. "I'm supposed to tell you that."

"You have, like a million times. I suppose that's why it stuck." With that, Nadia gave a small salute and took off towards the spire.

"Nice kid," said Hatori after they watched her depart and began to strafe through the shadows.

"Yes, very loyal, and smart too. Good student."

"Aren't they all?"

"I wish. Her best friend, for instance..." Krista shook her head.

"Drove you nuts, huh?"

"I could tell you stories."

They rounded a corner, revealing more of the expansive surface of the roof. Hatori found it eerie, the way the top of the tower was completely deserted. From afar, it seemed to be the epicenter of all the night's battles, but up close, it was easy to tell that all the real action was going on overhead, around the spire. The roof itself was quite tame by comparison. It was, however, covered with signs of previous battles, from missing sections of the railing lining its edge, to various jagged craters in its asphalt surface.

"Well, there was definitely a war up here," said Krista. "I don't see Angewomon, you?"

"No. But I wouldn't expect to. Kari would have ordered her to leave."

"Really? What exactly is it that you think she's up to?"

"She's trying to change the portal."

"I thought I heard that they tried that already. It didn't work."

"Yeah, well she thinks she knows something the rest of us don't."

"_You_ certainly seem to know something."

"Maybe, but I hope I'm wrong. Either way, we need to find out where the portal is as soon as pos-" Hatori paused as he peered around a corner and spied a burnished metal platform with a swirling black vortex atop it. As expected, just in front of the structure stood Kari, staring at the construct as if she were hypnotized. A stream of sentinels was still coming from the portal, but the dark creatures ignored the girl, instead heading straight up to reinforce their rapidly thinning ranks around the spire.

"What the hell is she doing?" Krista grumbled. "How does she think _that's _going to change it?"

"I have an idea, a bad one." Hatori broke into a run, heading straight for the digidestined of Light. Confirming his fears, Kari pulled out a gun and pointed it at her own temple halfway through his approach. Her shoulders rose and fell as she took a deep breath and her trigger finger twitched.

"NO!" Hatori shouted, leaping into the air.

The girl paused, surprised by the shout, and the hesitation was just enough to allow him to plow into her before she could do the deed. They hit the ground, rolled over each other a couple of times, and the gun was knocked free. It went clattering through the rail and over the edge of the roof and they came to a stop just a few inches away.

"No!" Kari yelled, quickly getting to her feet. "You can't!" She hit Hatori in the chest when he too arose. "Damn it! No! I have to do this!"

"No you don't Kari!"

"Yes, I do! You have to let me!" She began to frantically look around. "The gun! I need the gun! Where is it?"

"Kari, you're confused. The stress is-"

"No I'm not! I'm the only one that knows that it's what she wants! It will save everyone! Don't you get it?"

She glared at him for a moment, hot tears falling from her eyes, then broke down and began to sob uncontrollably, causing Hatori to pull her into his arms. He surveyed the scene from the rooftop, saw the countless battles going on, two gods fighting in the distance in one direction, OmegaMyotismon and all the digimon in the other, felt the winds whipping about, stirred by the orbital portal that was looming closer with every passing minute. He thought of the wounded and dying back at the base, one of them TK, and all those that had already been lost. And this girl, slight of build with a gentle heart, thought that it was all her fault. She felt the weight of her friends, of the entire world fighting for its life, resting squarely on her shoulders, and she knew a way to stop it. She had to try. Anyone would.

"Yeah, I get it, kid. I get it."

Kari's sobs faded into forlorn whimpers. She must have known that even if Hatori understood the sacrifice, he would never let her actually make it. Gently he led her away, back across the rooftop to where Krista stood.

"Was she really about to do what I think she was?"

Hatori gave a nod and sighed as Krista took the stunned girl into her arms. "It's the only way, as far as she knows."

"But that's ridiculous."

The statement gave Hatori pause. Kari's logic _did_ make sense, at least to him. Why were they the only two that understood? "Is it?"

"What? Shooting herself in the head?" Krista raised a perplexed brow. "Am I missing something here?"

"If you believed yourself responsible for all this, that you were complicit in the destruction of the entire world, you wouldn't go to the same extreme to stop it?"

"If I knew it would work, I suppose." She narrowed her gaze at him suspiciously. "But I don't… And just who exactly are we talking about here?"

Hatori ignored the inquiry and turned back to look at the portal. He stared at it for a while, pondering something he would have thought impossible just a few moments ago.

"Hatori," Krista said, speaking his name in a warning tone, "Remember our talk. It's not your role to-"

"Relax, Lee. I'm fine. I just have an idea. Here, take this." He reached down and pulled a second pistol from a holster on his back and handed it over to her, then unstrapped a dagger from his belt. "There should be one in the chamber. Do me a favor and check it for me."

Krista looked down at the weapon, then back at the CADE general. "Um, sure… okay. But Hatori-"

"Don't worry, it'll be fine." He said, backing away. "Just want to try something."

"Try something?" Krista's eyes went wide. "Kageru! You can't-"

Before she could say anything else, he turned away and headed back to the portal, his decision made. Kari was right. It was the bargain, the balance, a million lives taken... one life given; equal contributions on the ethereal scales. It seemed a small price to pay to undo all the damage Hitachi had wrought, and yet, to the one paying the price, it was everything. Hatori knew that it had to be done. He couldn't let children give their lives trying to stop something that they hadn't created, something that wasn't their fault. Those responsible should be the ones to make the sacrifice.

Hatori quickly leapt up onto the metal rigging and fell to his knees in front of the portal, dagger in hand. Perhaps Krista had been right before. Perhaps he _was _a man seeking redemption. But in this... in this, maybe he could find something more. Before another thought or twinge of doubt could cross his mind, Hatori acted.

Krista found herself unable to react before Hatori plunged the weapon into himself. Before she knew it, blood was spilling forth and he was leaning forward. He slumped, took a couple of breaths, then fell onto his side, never to move again. Krista fought her shock at the scene enough to keep herself from alerting Kari, whose face was buried in her shoulder. The girl was distraught enough. Someone else making the sacrifice she intended to be her own was something she absolutely could not see.

And _why_ he made the sacrifice was something that Krista just couldn't understand. How could Hatori have done that? And seemingly without hesitation? It made no sense. Hatori was a lot of things; regretful, mournful, guilt ridden- but she'd never gleaned suicidal from his demeanor. Some part of him must have really thought it would work, that he could really alter the portal by taking his own life. How could he have been so foolish?

Krista fought back a gasp when she noticed Hatori's body suddenly lift from the ground in a sickening manner, like a suspended marionette, and be pulled into the portal. The veteran instructor shook her head, holding back emotion as she held on to Kari. How could he have possibly thought that would work? Did the portal hold some kind of hypnotizing hold? Some kind of dark ability that caused people to act- Krista's thoughts came to a sudden halt as she looked at the swirling construct. The steady stream of sentinels coming forth from it had stopped. The winds it kicked up began to subside and it stopping pulling in debris. The portal was starting to change.

A gust of wind caught Krista's attention and she looked up in time to see Angewomon come down to a landing beside her.

"I couldn't stay away," explained the ultimate level digimon. "No matter what she told me, I can't just leave her here." She looked over at the portal and its changed appearance gave her pause. "What happened to-"

"I'm not sure," Krista interrupted, "but hurry and take Kari back to the base."

The girl pulled her face away from Krista's shoulder at the mention of her name, revealing her tear stained face, and looked up at her partner though bleary, reddened eyes. She opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came forth. Instead she dropped her head and wrapped her arms around her own trembling body.

Angewomon gasped and stooped down to her partner's height. "Kari, what's wrong?"

"She's not all here right now," said Krista. "That's why you need to get her out of harm's way."

Apparently coming to the same conclusion, Angewomon quickly took Kari into her arms. "And what about you? You're not coming?"

Krista shook her head. "There's something I need to take care of here. Now quit asking questions and get moving!"

Angewomon gave the woman a look of consternation for a moment, but finally assented and took to the air.

Krista watched them depart, then looked down at the gun Hatori had given her. The weapon was familiar. She remembered seeing him use it once before and a sudden understanding dawned upon her. Her expression steeled and she looked out over the cityscape. Hatori had made one request of her, and she would definitely oblige him.

* * *

High above the wounded metropolis, a one-on-one battle with no less than the fate of the entire world at stake continued. The Dark God faced down Miracles' chosen avatar with a scowl and accrued spheres of dark power around his hands. The boy had struck several decisive blows since his re-arrival, and was starting to become quite an annoyance, one that needed to be dealt with immediately. With a vigorous thrust, the Dark God sent a wave of energy, so powerful that it caused the air around it to ripple, at his opponent, striking him head on. The boy's shining golden aura dimmed as he took the blast full in the chest, and he grimaced as he was sent flying backwards.

The all-powerful being allowed himself a devilish grin. Finally the boy would succumb. He'd put up quite a fight since his return to the battle, but he was still just a man attempting to take on a God. He couldn't win, after all. It- A frown suddenly crossed the Dark God's face. As the effects of his blast faded, it didn't reveal the expected image of the boy's unconscious body falling to the ground. Instead, he was nowhere to be seen. The god scanned the sky for any sign of the Miraculous Knight, but saw nothing but darkness. How could he have possibly recovered from such a powerful attack that quickly? Where had he gone?

"What's wrong? Am I faster than even your eye can see?"

The Dark God whirled about, towards the source of the shout, and received a blast of energy to the chest that slammed into him with a concussive crack. The blow actually stunned him, and he was surprised to find it accompanied by a certain amount of pain. That particular revelation infuriated him.

"Insolent speck!" He shouted into the air, still searching for his enemy. "I'll make sure you pay for th-"

A golden fist appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, and slammed into his face. The blow sent him careening head over heels through the air and right into the upper levels of a skyscraper construction site. He fell, smashing through several support beams before slamming into the ground, and shortly after, the entire framework of the partially built structure came tumbling down on top of him in a collapse of epic proportions.

As he lay in the darkness, under tons of debris, The Dark God ruefully had to admit that the boy was not only much stronger than before, but now may have been every bit his equal, at least while he was trapped in this human form. With a frustrated grunt, he unleashed a massive blast, sending all of the tons of steel and concrete lying on top of him flying away in every direction, only to reveal Davis hovering overhead, his glowing body standing out harshly against the backdrop of the dark orbital portal above.

"Give this up, Dark God," the boy said. "Just go back to your own dimension. You can't win this fight anymore."

"And you can't win either. All that you do to me, I can return. At best you may have equaled my power, and unlike you, I'm not fighting this battle on a timetable."

"Oh really?" Davis gave him an irritating smile and crossed his arms. "Because, as you can see, I have a lot of friends that joined this fight, and it looks like they're starting to outnumber yours. At this rate, your spire will be gone in no time."

The Dark God glowered. So the boy had noticed that development. Damn him. Why his loyal sentinel's numbers had started to drop, he couldn't fathom. He should have had a virtually infinite supply. If they were disappearing from the battle, then the boy was right, his spire would be unprotected soon. He had to find out what was going on. The Dark God ascended back into the air, heading straight for Davis, and the boy raised his fists, ready to trade blows once again. There was no time for this. The Dark God sent a beam of dark energy at the boy, forcing him to take the defensive, then turned and blasted away, speeding off in the opposite direction.

He hated to flee, but no other choice remained. He could not truly harm Miracles' avatar, not now that he had realized his true power. The boy's discovery of his full ability was a wrinkle that the Dark God had not anticipated, and certainly an annoyance, but nothing that he couldn't handle. The arrival of hundreds of other Knights into the battle did throw a wrench into his plans, however. They were destroying his Sentinels now, and soon the tower would be unprotected. That was unacceptable.

He arrived at the tower just in time to see the last of his followers standing guard at the spire fall at the hands of that infuriating girl and the conjoined Knight cloaked in white. With the last of his army out of the way, the two and their allies descended upon the spire and began attacking the meager forcefield he'd left surrounding it. At the rate they were going, they'd break through it in no time. He had to put a stop to this.

The Dark God raised his hands before himself and quickly built up a sphere of concentrated dark energy, then unleashed it in a radial burst. The wave overtook all of the airborne Knights, devolving most as they were caught in its ever-expanding wake. Many of them dropped from the air, apparently reverting to non-airborne states, and their more fortunate companions were forced to scramble to dive down and catch them. The Dark God then sent out a mental command to what remained of his sentinels, scattered across downtown, and instructed them to return to the tower and attack the weakened Knights. He was aware that his dark followers would likely not prevail in the ensuing fight, but that was not the goal. He simply needed to buy time.

"Thought you could just get away from me that easily?"

The Dark God groaned inwardly at the all-too familiar voice. That boy was definitely trying whatever shred of patience he had remaining. But if it was a fight he wanted-

A blast of golden energy collided with the god's back, knocking him through the air, and he quickly recovered, turned, and sent a retaliatory beam of dark energy back at his attacker. Davis crossed his arms in front of himself, deflecting the attack, and fired again. The Dark God repeated Davis's maneuver, deflecting his attack in the same fashion.

"As I said, boy, anything you can do…"

A powerful twinge, an instinct, hit the god just then and he found himself pausing in his battle with Davis. He looked down and was greeted by a sight that he absolutely did not expect. On the tower rooftop, where his glorious gateway had once been, there was now a blight, an abomination, on his burgeoning empire. The portal that had once been there was somehow changing, unforgivably warping somehow into what he could already sense would be a gateway to _her_ world. The magnetic blackness of his dimension was gone, and was gradually being replaced by an incredible warmth and outgoing thrust of light. So _that_ was the reason for his sentinels' dwindling numbers. Somehow, his enemies had altered his portal. How those ignorant worms could possibly have accomplished such a feat was actually beyond him, but it wouldn't matter any longer. The massive portal in the sky was growing ever closer. So close, in fact, that the clouds themselves were beginning to disappear, pulled upwards like mere lint into the giant vacuum overhead. In the distance, he could see the surface waters of the ocean transforming into mist, a fine vapor that drifted upwards and gradually coalesced into thousands of tendrils of liquid that snaked around each other as they ascended into forever.

Even the ground below had begun to quake with the power of the portal's pull, and soon the very earth itself would literally be torn asunder by unimaginable gravitational forces acting upon it. The Dark God had to allow himself an indulgent smile. Very soon, despite Miracles' interference, despite his avatar's newfound resolve, and despite the way the boy's allies had usurped the purpose of his rooftop portal, this world would be entirely engulfed by darkness. Whether anyone would live through the process was utterly inconsequential. All that mattered was that he would be the victor. He would proudly stand over the rotting corpse that was the ideals and sentimentality of the Light. In mere moments, everything he had ever worked for in the entirety of his time here would come to fruition, and if these mere children thought they stood the slightest chance of even causing a delay, they would soon find out the truth. Nothing could keep him from his destiny, and no one could stop a GOD.

_To be continued…_

* * *

Next up: **Tennozan** **Part VII**, the last chapter (besides the epilogue)! Will the Dark God be defeated in time to save the entire world? Find out in the next chapter of Digital Knights!


	33. Tennozan Pt 7: The End

Sorry I wasn't able to post this earlier guys. The family illness that I spoke of last chapter turned into a funeral when my grandmother finally passed on. She went peacefully and I was prepared for the worst, but it still didn't prevent that "nothing matters" period of time that happens after you lose someone close. So, naturally, it took me a while to finally get my "groove" back and finish edits on this chap. This is essentially the final chapter, save for a relatively short epilogue I am writing. It was supposed to flow directly from the last chapter and picks up right in the swing of things. Hope you enjoy.

* * *

**Tennozan** **VII: The End**

Davis took note of his opponent's stature and frowned to himself. The Dark God was still smiling, and not without good reason. Technically, they may have been fighting to a standstill, but with each moment that passed, Davis knew that he was actually losing this battle. He could hear the sounds of the waters of the sea rushing upward, the rumbling of the ground shaking below, the rustling as even the debris from the night's battle began to be pulled into the sky. They were running out of time. He had to defeat Hitachi or destroy the spire from which the wormhole was generating, and he had to do it now. The world had literally run out of time. What stood between him doing either was the fact that he and the Dark God were too evenly matched at this point. Davis's recent increase in power had only served to put them on equal terms.

"So you now understand," said the Dark God. "Just as you now have the ability to neutralize my power, I can do the same with yours."

Davis shook his head. Somehow, he knew from within that that wasn't true. The whole while their battle had progressed, he'd been holding back, tempering his attacks and preventing himself from crossing a power level his instincts told him was too dangerous to broach. He could no longer afford such trepidation. It was time to throw caution to the wind. "I haven't even started to show you my full power. I know I have another gear."

The Dark God laughed. "Oh, I know of the 'other gear,' as you say. Every Avatar has it. But if you use your ultimate attack technique to unleash the full power of a God, even for a moment, I'm sure you must realize that the energy expenditure will definitely kill you. Such power would utterly obliterate a weak wielder like the human body."

Davis didn't respond.

"Of course, if you seek obliteration, to destroy yourself along with me, that is your choice. Mind, this body of mine is simply a vessel. I will live on to threaten your world yet again, but you, you will be gone forever."

Davis took in the words with a grim expression. His head told him not to believe any of it, that the Dark God was lying- as was his nature- yet in his heart, he knew that the deity was, for once, actually speaking the truth. Somehow, he had always known. Perhaps it was knowledge imparted from Miracles, perhaps it was his own instinct, but regardless, he knew it to be true. The only way to destroy the Dark God was to destroy himself. At that moment, Davis understood. This was always the way it was supposed to be. They had been fortunate thus far, but there was no way he could win this war without sacrifice.

Perhaps the original prophecy was still in play. One of them, one of the eight destined, would still have to die, and if Davis could control who it was, he would do so. He would attack, giving every bit of himself, including his life. It was the only way they could win. It had always been this way. For the world to live, he had to die. The act would be his final miracle.

He raised his hands, accruing energy around them, and allowed the light to spread from his fingertips and surround his entire body.

The Dark God's eyes widened. "Are you foolish, boy? What do you think you're doing?"

"What I have to." Davis felt the flow of energy coursing though him, barely restrained, as he released the mental blocks he had been subconsciously maintaining. "If you're scared, you could always run away." He allowed himself a smirk. The Dark God would never fathom leaving his spire.

"You don't understand the consequences boy. You'll kill yourself."

"I understand that quite well." He enjoyed the stare that the Dark God gave him in response. "But it looks like you don't."

The world began to fade away for Davis as his consciousness was pulled in to another realm, one created by the release of his power. In place of the cityscape, the swirling sky, and the scowling glower of the Dark God were now four golden walls, encasing a vast room the size of a gymnasium. In the middle of the room stood an ornate podium, on top of which sat a speck of brightly glowing light.

Davis immediately knew what the light represented- the full power of Miracles. He began to approach the podium, and as he did, the point of light began to grow in luminosity and size, as if to beckon him to continue. All he had to do was reach it, grasp the power, and the world would be saved. It seemed almost too simple.

He tried his best not to think of the world he would be leaving behind, of the people he loved that he would never see again. His own happiness and desire was inconsequential. This is what had to happen. This is why he was chosen as the Miraculous Knight. He could make this decision, this sacrifice, when others might have failed. The podium was close now, the glowing source of unbridled energy that sat atop it now within an arm's reach. Davis raised a hand and reached out for it. He couldn't hesitate. _This was his destiny._

_That's stupid!_

Davis blinked rapidly at the sudden intrusion of the thought that was not his own. He felt a presence approaching and turned to see a feminine purple silhouette moving towards him, gradually coming into focus as she drifted across the ether.

"This is your destiny?" she repeated. "Davis, are you mental?"

"Kuri, I have to do this. It's the only way."

"The only thing we _have _to do is _win_! Now I see why we're connected. You need someone with common sense to keep you from offing yourself and wasting all of our hard work."

"What if _this _is supposed to be the result of our hard work? So that I can make this sacrifice and end this war?"

"Sounds like something the Light might have you do, but not Miracles. Really, you think he would be capable of that? Draw you in, give you this power, just so you can sacrifice your life? All while conspicuously not mentioning that 'oh, by the way Davis, you're gonna have to die to win?'"

"Well…"

"And what the hell are the rest of us supposed to do? Why are we even here if that's all it takes? We're ready to put in the work, and you should be too. Don't take the easy way out. Please Davis, come back here before you do something crazy."

Davis paused, drawing his hand back, away from the source, He wasn't sure how, but her words actually made him feel sheepish. An action that just moments ago seemed selfless, courageous, and logical, now seemed selfish, cowardly, and foolish. She was right. He couldn't take this all onto himself, making a decision that all of them had worked so hard to avoid. He had Miracles' full power, putting him on equal standing with the Dark God. When you counted the other Knights, that actually gave their side an advantage. A small one, but still, that had to be good for something, right?

Davis nodded, answering his own question. Kuri had a point; this wasn't how Miracles' operated. There was another answer. He needed to trust them to find a different way. The moment this thought crossed his mind, the room around him faded away, along with the vision of Kuri, and he found himself once again face to face with his now smiling adversary.

"So it seems you don't have the fortitude," the being snarled with an air of superiority as he watched the heightened glow around Davis fade back to normal. "Pity. For a moment there, I was almost impressed."

Davis turned, looked down, and saw a single figure standing on the roof of a lower building, staring up at him as a tendril of bright light connected their shields. She did not seem too happy with him.

"That's right." said the Dark God. "Consider what you would be leaving behind. Are you sure you have the heart for such cruelty?"

Davis turned back to him with a scrutinizing gaze. The world didn't have long left, but he wouldn't lose tonight on the whims or advice of the Dark God. Kuri was right, there had to be another option. He began to descend.

"As I thought, a coward's choice."

Davis ignored the taunt as he departed. As expected, the Dark God didn't follow. It was much too great a risk for him to leave the vicinity of his spire. Davis came to a landing in front of Kuri and the light of their connection brilliantly illuminated the space between them as they stared at one another.

A beat passed before Davis spoke. "We're running out of time."

She nodded. "I know."

"But what can we do? I know it's not something we want at all, but Kuri, with the power of Miracles and our connection, I can stop him-"

"No, we can stop him."

"What?"

"_We_ can stop him."

"That's exactly what I'm saying-"

"No, Davis, not us. _We."_

He slowly shook his head, perplexed. "I'm not sure I-"

"Davis," a voice interrupted, "we're here."

Davis turned at the sound of his sister's voice and saw she and Tai land on the rooftop nearby, the former in the latter's arms. The Dark God's attack had caused them to devolve, but otherwise, they seemed relatively fine. The more powerful form of J'ai had allowed them to revert back to only their ultimate levels. Tai let Jun down and they walked over.

"Wow." Jun took in her brother's glowing appearance and gave him a proud smile. "The full power of Miracles. I knew you could do it."

He shrugged. "Yeah, but it won't mean much if-"

A popping noise and burst of air interrupted Davis and he looked up in time to see Rosa and Curtis suddenly appear in midair near the edge of the roof. They looked fine, and apparently must have teleported out of the range of the Dark God's attack. Rosa dropped them down to a landing, and the two quickly approached the others.

"Okay," said the Willful Knight, stamping her foot angrily, "It's time to do whatever the hell we're gonna do. We're not going anywhere, so let's send this bastard back to where he came from."

"That's right, cousin!" The shout came from overhead. The group looked up and saw Clara diving towards them, Terence suspended in her arms. The last remnants of a shield surrounding the two Knights disappeared as they touched down. "We're going to finish this tonight, one way or another."

Terence looked at her with a frown. "Hey, don't say 'one way or another,' all dramatic like that. I, for one, just plan on kicking _his_ ass."

"See?" Said Kuri. Davis turned to look at her, the glowing connection between them as bright as ever. She nodded towards the others. "I told you. _We_."

Davis took them in. They all looked very worn, tired, bruised, scarred, and battle weary, but there was a determination on their faces and a fire in their eyes that he knew could never be extinguished

As Clara checked the wrapping on his forearm, Terence smirked and took in Davis' appearance. "Wow, man. Cross your arms and you'd look like a friggin Oscar."

It was amazing, that in spite of everything, despite their raw exhaustions, their bruised and battered states, the immediate peril that the entire world faced, the Inspirational Knight could still find it within himself to joke around. It was amazing that the Protective Knight could still worry about something as inconsequential as a bandaged wrist, that the Willful Knight could still be ever-ready for the next fight. Davis understood then what made his friends so special. He realized that, no matter what, even in the direst of circumstances, they were who they were. Tied together by immeasurable bonds of love, they would maintain until the very end, and they would never leave each other's side. Davis glanced back at the Dark God and was filled with a new wave of hope. This battle was most certainly not even. Maybe Miracles and Darkness stood at a standstill, but Davis had more than Miracles. He had Compassion, Courage, Insight, Inspiration, Protection, Meditation, Will, and Perseverance. Kuri was right; they were supposed to do this _together_.

Kuri stepped up beside Davis and entwined her hand with his. "I'm not exactly sure what you're thinking about," she said, leaning in close to him. "But I know I like it."

He looked down at her, at her long silken hair, billowing in the winds, her face glowing radiantly from the light continuing to connect their two shields, and for a moment could think of nothing but the forever he wanted them to spend together. He would not be robbed of that future.

"We're going to win this war." Davis looked into the distance, at the sky and ground littered with battles between various Knights and the remaining dark Sentinels, at the flashes of light in the distance as the digimon continued trying to stop the unyielding juggernaut that was OmegaMyotismon, and above it all, The Dark God, arms crossed as he floated in the air above his tower and looked directly at them. There had to be something they could use, some advantage that would allow them to take the near-omnipotent being down.

Curtis let out a gasp and ran to the edge of the rooftop, pointing up. "Guys look! Look! The light coming from the top of the tower! It's white!"

Davis gave him a quizzical look. "What does it mean?"

"It means it worked! We created a portal to the dimension of Light!"

"I'll be damned," said Terence as he walked over and gave his brother a pat on the shoulder. "Way to go. But how do we use it?"

Curtis shrugged and faced the group. "If the Dark portal pulls in, then the portal of Light must radiate out. I assume we just have to get the Dark God in front of it."

"He's not leaving that spire for anything," lamented Rosa.

Tai shook his head. "Don't think so. As long as he protects it, it doesn't matter what we do. It's just a matter of time to him."

Kuri shrugged. "Then we'll have to try something different."

"Agreed," said Curtis. "But what can we do? Our attacks bounce off of him like they're nothing at all, and he and Davis are pretty much equal."

"Davis..." The Miraculous Knight felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Jun, who gave him a knowing look. "Shades of gray, remember? The world is full of compromises."

"Compromises?" Scoffed Terence, crossing his arms. "What are you saying? That Davis should actually go up there and make a deal with him? What, ask him 'Mr. Dark God, would you just kindly obliterate yourself so we can save the world?' I mean, come on-" He paused, his demeanor shifting, and raised a brow in thought. "You know, I'm actually not totally against trying that."

"No," said Tai. "What she's saying is that there is more to the world than black and white; more than Darkness and Light. That may be the Dark God up there... but there is Hitachi too."

Jun nodded. "Davis, if you think about his actions tonight, you'll realize that the Dark God may not be in complete control. You can use that."

Davis turned his attention back to the God, just hovering there, watching... Jun and Tai were right. He understood now more than ever that no person fell in black or white territory, with purely good or evil goals or intentions. If Hitachi was still in there, then the Dark God was still partly human, with human motivations. Davis looked up at the wormhole swirling overhead, and suddenly the two things didn't add up. He found himself understanding exactly what his sister was saying, and it made perfect sense. He smiled privately. For the past few years, he'd grown with Jun and Tai as the biggest elder influences in his life. It seemed that even in all this, they still had lessons to teach him.

"I can feel _that _too, Davis," said Kuri. He looked back at her and saw that she was smiling, a strange sight when accompanied by her eyes glowing due to their increased power transfer. "And I _really _like it."

"So then you know," Davis returned her smile. "That I have a plan."

"This plan," said Rosa. "Doesn't involve you doing everything by yourself, does it?"

"Are you kidding me? Of course not. As you saw, a direct attack from me can be blocked. We share the same power levels. But if I can double that power..."

Clara frowned. "And just how do you plan on doing that?"

"Thanks to Jun, I think I have an idea, if you guys are up for it."

"You already know we are," said Terence. "And the crazier the better."

"Alright," Davis clapped his hands together. "Good. Now what we need to decide is if we should go after the Dark God, or his spire. We don't have much time."

"Then we go after both," said Tai. "Leave nothing to chance."

"You sure?" Said Curtis. "That spire has protection. It's weakened a bit, but even without a force field it would still take a very powerful attack to take it out in one shot."

Tai reached out and grasped Jun's hand. "We can do it."

"Good," Davis rubbed his chin as he began to formulate their course of action. "Because I was thinking about the prophecy, and the fact that Miracles said the eight of us are necessary. We all have these shield abilities for a reason, and I think we need to all use them together."

* * *

The Dark God watched as the boy finally flew towards him once again. The others stayed behind, save for the boy's mate, who approached but maintained some distance, still funneling him power through the connection between their shields. The Dark God momentarily entertained the thought of killing the defiant girl, but the distraction would leave his spire unprotected. He couldn't do that. Instead he stared at the boy, who came to a stop about ten feet away.

"I came to talk."

"I have no words for you boy, only punishment."

"I'm sure." Davis seemed unperturbed. "But there is something I don't understand about all of this."

"That does not surprise me."

"It just seems like this plan has no purpose."

The Dark God only responded with a narrow glare.

"Honestly, how does the destruction of the entire world gain Hitachi the power and recognition he always wanted? What kingdom is left for him to rule? His whole deal was about getting the world to recognize his genius and bow down to him. That can't happen if everything's destroyed."

"The desires of a mere man are irrelevant. With this act, I and darkness will reign supreme. That is all that matters. Hitachi was simply a vessel, a tool that I used in order to bring myself into this world and win this ethereal battle of wills. A battle which, by the way, does not concern you."

"Hmm," Davis scratched his head. "Well that's strange. You depend entirely on Hitachi to exist in this world, and yet he's completely letting you run over him this way. The Hitachi I knew was ruthless, a cold-hearted businessman. He'd never wind up in a partnership where he wasn't the one calling the shots. Your power _must_ be great to completely bend the will of a man like that."

"The wills of mortals, of worthless humans, mean nothing to me. And neither do their tricks. I know what you are trying to do, boy, and it is useless-" The Dark God suddenly paused as he felt something; a troubling twinge from deep within.

"No, I get it. This has always been about people using each other to get what they want. It makes sense now. Oikawa used Ken, Myotismon used Oikawa, Hitachi used Myotismon, and it looks like you used even him. All this time, I thought that everything that happened was because of this huge conspiracy headed up by Hitachi, but now I understand. You were influencing him the whole time, because you needed to find some kind of way to get into this world, even if it meant piggybacking on a 'worthless human.'"

"Please. Why would I do that? Look above you. Why would I go to all this trouble just to come into your world when I could simply have your world brought to me?"

"Exactly. You couldn't do that from your side." Davis glanced up at the portal. It was so close now he could feel his weight waning as the Earth's gravity began to be negated by the construct's pull. He had to hurry. "Hitachi wanted your power. You managed to give him a little. Because of that, you probably had just enough influence over him to get him to make that orbital portal for you- so long as you agreed to give him your full power in return. That worked out for you, because that's exactly what you wanted. He wasn't getting control of your power. No, your power was getting control of his body. And you had to. If you didn't join with him fully, I'm pretty sure Hitachi probably would have overcome your influence and shut the portal down the moment he saw that it didn't benefit him."

The Dark God frowned as Davis continued, "So you seduced the greedy bastard. Made him believe you would give him the power to conquer the world. You never wanted to fight a war. The only reason you were ever here is to do exactly what you're doing now. Bring our world to yours. You just want to protect your precious portal and make sure no one destroys it."

"So, you think you have it all figured out."

"Oh, I do. It was a good plan, except for one little wrinkle, if Hitachi really wasn't a part of you right now, I'm pretty sure we wouldn't be alive."

"Really now?' The Dark God continued his efforts to quell the uprising resistance within. "I readily admit that the man was exceedingly fallible, but mercy was never his strong point."

"No, but trust me, he was arrogant as all hell."

"You're not making sense boy." The Dark God honestly didn't care what Davis's point was. The longer the conversation lasted, the closer he came to claiming this world. He only needed to maintain control.

"He doesn't want to kill us because he doesn't want to admit that he _had_ to. He's always been like that. You have no idea how much easier this could have been for you. You teamed up with a guy that would rather have his strongest enemies _fear_ him than actually beat them. Man, if I told you the chances he's had to get us out of the way…" Davis chuckled derisively. "It explains why you didn't try to kill me until you absolutely had to, and why, when I got back here, everyone was still alive. Your pride, Hitachi's pride, won't let you win. Hitachi doesn't want Darkness. He wants what he thinks the world never gave him; credit, fear, and respect. Now, with you taking over his body, it looks like even if you win he'd still never get it. You would."

At those words, the Dark God grunted and doubled over, focusing every bit of his power on maintaining control of his suddenly rebellious avatar. The boy had made a brilliant move, appealing to Hitachi's most crippling weakness, his vanity. Still, the Dark God had come too far to lose control now. He closed his eyes, and after a moment of extreme concentration, his senses fully returned, just in time to raise a hand and block an oncoming beam of golden energy that Davis blasted at him.

"Please." The ethereal being scoffed, countering the boy's continuous attack with one of his own. The two beams clashed in midair in a bright point of energy that began vacillating back and forth between them in a duel of wills. "Did you really think that would work? That I wouldn't be able to quell the impulses of a pitiful man?"

"No, but I figured the 'pitiful man' could distract you."

"And as you can see, that ploy did not work."

"Who said I wanted him to distract you from _me_?"

"What?" The Dark God turned his head just in time to see one of the boy's allies, the conjoined one called J'ai, heading straight for his spire, now conspicuously unprotected since the god's internal struggle with Hitachi had caused his force field to disappear.

"No!" He reached out a hand and sent an extremely powerful blast of concentrated energy, strong enough to disintegrate, at the interloper.

But just before the fatal attack would reach his target, something entirely unexpected happened. An object appeared right out of thin air between the beam of dark energy and Jai; an object the Dark God recognized as the other four knights surrounded by a yellow sphere of energy.

"What?" The Dark God smirked as his beam smashed into the group at full force and enveloped the small yellow bubble of energy as if it wasn't even there. He laughed as he prepared to fire another attack at his original target. "That has to have been the least inspired plan I've ever-"

He paused. The four within the force field had not been destroyed by the attack. Instead, after colliding with the barrier, the beam he fired hadn't continued on through them. It had stopped, and its dark energy essence had begun to morph and revolve around the four Knights within the sphere. Instead of destroying the shield, the attack seemed to have been absorbed into it, and now its energy was gradually changing from dark black to red in color.

"What-?"

The surprised being then felt a surge of power from Davis, as the boy increased the strength of his attack as far as he could, forcing the Dark God to return his full attention to blocking the stream of bright energy. He'd thought that Miracles avatar had reached the limit of his abilities, but somehow the girl behind him was pushing them even further. By the time the Dark God was able to match Davis' power and turn his attention back to the others, he saw that his attack had been entirely transformed into a glowing red mass of energy. It was at that moment that he realized the truth. The boy's plan had worked, after all.

* * *

Davis smiled as everything came to fruition. Using Hitachi, he had been able to distract the God long enough to get him to drop his force field and allow J'ai to make a dash for the spire. By the time the all powerful being had noticed J'ai's approach and attacked, Rosa and Curtis were able to teleport themselves, along with Terence and Clara, directly in front of the beam of dark energy. Normally, the Dark God's attack would have obliterated Clara's shield, but Davis had taken a gamble and figured that with Terence, the two would be able to use their joint abilities to absorb the attack and redirect it. He had trusted their bond, and it paid off. Instead of caving under the immense power of the Dark God's strike, Clara's shield had instead redirected the energy and given it to Terence, who was now, with a yell of defiance ("Get some!"), sending the power back at its original wielder, and he wasn't wasting time. In the brief moments he had to react, The Dark God glanced at Davis, who treated him with a grin.

"Looks like you _and_ Hitachi lose."

* * *

Damn him. The boy knew that it took almost all of his power to counter just one ethereal level attack. He certainly couldn't block two. The boy's ally attacking the tower had actually been bait to get the God to fire another powerful attack. One they could usurp and send back at him. Had he the time, the Dark God, would have cursed Davis's name with all the vitriol he could muster. But instead his world was blinded by the intense pain of him being struck, unbidden, by his own attack. It destroyed his concentration, and he soon felt the power of Davis's sustained beam slamming into him as well.

Hs vision turned completely white and then he was dropping from the sky…out of control…tumbling...falling...until he felt himself crashing violently on the hard surface of what he knew had to be the top of Hitachi's tower. For a moment he wanted to just lie there, recovering from the power of multiple God-level attacks hitting him at the same time, yet he knew he only had seconds to save his spire. He had to get up.

He immediately opened his eyes and started to get back to his feet, but was smashed back down by Davis landing on top of him and pinning his shoulders. The girl joined him, grasping and holding down his legs. The Dark God tried to shake her free, but alarmingly discovered that he could not. Somehow, she, with unremarkable ability or strength, was able to overpower him. It was at that moment that he noticed why; the transformed portal. A great amount of pure Light energy was washing over them, stripping away his Dark essence and destroying his bond with Hitachi. _Her_. It was the only force that could defeat him in this form, the only thing he couldn't fight.

"No, stop!" He shouted desperately, struggling to no avail. "STOP!"

It was useless. The Dark God knew that this vessel was defeated. The only chance he had left was for his spire to stand just a few moments longer. He was _so _close. If the world went through the portal, he could still claim victory. He looked up at the spire hopefully, just in time to see J'ai thrust both of his sais into the construct, filling it entirely with white hot energy, then saw cracks shoot up and down the length of the structure. The black beam of energy shooting up from the spire into the heavens disappeared, and shortly after it began to crumble, falling down towards the tower in a massive cascade. The Dark God then knew that it was over. There was no longer any victory to be had. He stopped struggling against his opponents' holds and allowed the last of his essence to be stripped from Hitachi's body. There was no point in fighting a battle he couldn't win. _Se la vie_. At the very least, it had all been a fun diversion.

* * *

Kuri heard the overhead rumbling of the collapsing structure and looked up to see it crumbling down towards the rooftop. Thousand of jagged, razor sharp, pieces of tempered steel and iron were about to rain down all over them. She squeezed her eyes shut and braced. This was going to hurt.

At the last moment, however, Kuri heard a loud popping sound and Terence, Clara, Curtis, and Rosa appeared out of thin air beside her. Clara hastily threw up a shield, and all of the pieces of the spire harmlessly crashed off of it and cascaded over the edges of the roof. The portal calmed down suddenly, the blinding light and power bursting forth from it downgrading from a raging torrent to a gentle stream.

Davis and Kuri shared a look, and together released their grips on the body of what had once been the Dark God. They both got up and took steps back as J'ai came to a landing on the roof, and all of them gazed down at the being now lying within the calmed aura of the portal of Light. It was no longer anything resembling a God, but instead a withered old man in a tattered and torn suit, who trembled as he looked at all of them with fear filled eyes.

"Myotis Hitachi," said Terence, cracking his knuckles. "Welcome back."

* * *

The air was filled with screams as throngs of Tokyo citizens huddled along the sea shore, fearfully looking oblivion in the face as it bore down on them. OmegaMyotismon continued his determined march towards them, laughing as hundreds of digital attacks bounced harmlessly off of his impenetrable armor. Imperialdramon, standing alone between the beast and the people he sought to destroy, took a deep breath and stared down the oncoming approach of what was quickly becoming a hopeless situation. Moments earlier, most of the digimon that were trying to help him hold back the monstrosity had spontaneously devolved down to their Champion level forms, essentially taking them out of the fight, if they'd ever really been in it. The robed creatures with the hoods that had been helping the dark digimon departed soon afterward, but that hardly helped the current situation.

OmegaMyotismon was about to perform a mass execution, and there wasn't a damn thing any of them could do to stop him. There were just too many people for them all to evacuate, though Imperialdramon had ordered many of the digimon to do so anyway. They'd managed to get a couple hundred citizens out of harm's way, thus far, and now he stood between OmegaMyotismon and the thousands of people that remained as a living shield. If the Dark God's partner fired and killed him, at least a few more people would be able to escape before the beast took a second shot. At this point, they had to look at things realistically. None of them could stop The Dark God's murderous colossus. The mission was now just to try to save as many lives as possible. The gargantuan digimon raised his hands and pointed them at the crowd. His familiar red energy began to accrue around them.

"Don't think so!" Shouted Peko. She abandoned firing arrows at OmegaMyotismon and suddenly began flying in zigzag patterns right in front of the giant's face. He blinked, roaring in indignation. "That's right, big fella! Can't hit what you can't see!"

Imperialdramon breathed a sigh of relief. It was a sound strategy that he wished he'd employed sooner. "Hurry and get them moving!' He shouted to the other digimon, pointing to the people huddled behind him. "She can't hold him off forever!"

"Yeah, we're on it!" Said Rose. The Piximon landed, took a couple of children into her grasp, and took off. Two Cylonemon, Stone and Granite, allowed a group of people to climb onto their backs, then ferried them to safety. More digimon arrived to help and Imperialdramon frowned as he watched them get to work. There were still far too many people to move in any reasonable amount of time, certainly not in the few moments that Peko could buy them. He turned his attention back to her fight with OmegaMyotismon,

The giant began swinging his arms about wildly, scratching and clawing, trying to knock the annoying Valkyrimon away. She twisted and dove, and seemed to be easily avoiding his swipes for a while, but a sudden flash of red light from his eyes blinded her, and one of his swinging appendages caught Peko full on. With a loud scream she was sent flying out of control, sailing well out over the waters of the harbor before starting to drop like a stone.

"Peko!" Imperialdramon yelled, watching helplessly as she fell through the air. He took a few steps and almost went after her, but had to stop himself. He couldn't afford to leave the people there unprotected. Just before the Valkyrimon would hit the water, however, another winged digimon, very similar to her in appearance, caught her in his arms. Angemon's wings flared and he dipped low at the addition of her weight, skimmed over the water's surface, then began to ascend once again.

Somewhat relieved, Imperialdramon retook his position between the people and OmegaMyotismon. The evil digimon had raised his hands again, building up energy once more. Imperialdramon closed his eyes and waited. If this was what it would take, then he would make the sacrifice necessary to save every person he could. Still, he didn't want to see it coming. After a beat had passed and the mega-level digimon still found himself very much alive, he opened his eyes again. OmegaMyotismon's arm was still raised to attack, but the expression on his face had changed appreciably. His red eyes had gone completely wide, his mouth hung open. As best as Imperialdramon could guess, it seemed that some development had shocked the monster into complacency. He certainly wasn't about to complain.

"No!" the giant shouted. "My-my master! Where-!" He frantically swayed his enormous head back and forth, as if scanning the area, then stomped his foot down and shook the ground in a manner reminiscent of a toddler throwing a tantrum.

Imperialdramon allowed himself a smile. Not only had whatever had happened halted OmegaMyotismon's advance on the people, but it clearly had also caused him to break his concentration. And if he'd lost his concentration…

"Something's wrong with him!" Said Stingmon. "Now's our chance!"

"Yeah!" yelled Taps. "We should rush him now!"

"No!" Imperialdramon raised a hand. "Give it a moment!"

"A moment?" Asked Marta. "A moment for what?"

"Trust me, just wait!"

"This is ridiculous," complained Pings, drawing his mace. "We're going to miss our opportuni-"

Before he could finish, OmegaMyotismon's chest suddenly burst open in a spherical explosion of light, thrusting outward with a magnificent blast of power that caused the entire area to quake with its raw unbridled energy. The supreme being let out an anguished scream as the powerful detonation tore through his body, sending pieces of himself and his armor flying in all directions. The other digimon and people along the shoreline ducked down, shielding themselves when the resulting shockwave of force passed over them. After the light of the explosion faded, they could see that OmegaMyotismon's armor was riddled with damage; there were holes all over his body, from each of which seeped a sickening black ooze. A particularly gaping cavity was left in his torso, which SaberGreymon came flying out of, still shining with the afterglow of his powerful God's Fury attack. Once everyone figured out what had happened, their vigorous cheers and shouts filled the air.

OmegaMyotismon threw his head back and roared in a mixture of anger and agony. This was one wound that was not going to heal.

"Alright everyone," shouted Imperialdramon. "NOW!"

If the multitude of attacks that had taken out Daemon had been a spectacle, then the combined forces of nearly 200 different digital attacks converging on one twenty story tall, all-powerful being, was truly a once in a lifetime sight to see. Hundreds of explosions hit every one of OmegaMyotismon's exposed points of vulnerability, causing him to scream and stumble forward, down to the very edge of the water. All of the people still standing there were sent frantically fleeing in different directions before one of his massive feet could crush them. He bent over, the black liquid from his injuries spilling all over the ground around him like a torrent of charred molasses. The surge of digital attacks ceased then, as everyone looked on, hoping that the massive digimon had finally been defeated. He only responded by slamming a fist on the ground and unleashing another ear-splitting roar.

"NEVER!" He shouted into the air, finding the strength to regain his full height despite his injuries. "You will never defeat me again!" He turned around to face them, his eyes glowing like beacons and illuminating the entire shoreline with a harsh red radiance.

Imperialdramon was unimpressed. He trained his positron cannon right on the colossal being's snarling, vampire-like face. With OmegaMyotismon's body now so weakened, the Miracles-empowered digimon knew he'd never have a better shot.

"That's enough," he growled as he took aim. "You have _got_ to go back to whatever hell you came from."

He fired, unleashing a massive blast of golden energy that flashed across the space between them and separated OmegaMyotismon's head from his body as easily as knocking a golf ball from a tee. It sailed up, high through the air, as the rest of his massive body collapsed into the harbor with a gargantuan splash, and landed in the water with an accompanying _plop_. Moments later, both burst into a mass of black pixels that quickly began to fade away into the air and allowed Imperialdramon to let loose a sigh of relief.

"Whatever hell you came from, eh?" Said Taps, walking up beside Imperialdramon and giving him a pat on the back. "That was nice. A little corny, but I liked it."

"Thanks." Imperialdramon blew wafting smoke away from his cannon, watching in satisfaction as the last of OmegaMyotismon's remains disappeared.

SaberGreymon landed next to them, and the rest of the digimon, particularly Marta and Birdramon, quickly began to collapse in around the group.

"Great job," said Imperialdramon to the dual digimon. "See, I told you it would work."

"Barely," he grumbled. "You know, for a moment in there we actually devolved? Just know that at no point in my life had I ever wanted to strangle you more."

"Aww, I'm touched. Is that coming from Sparks or Agumon?"

"Both."

Angemon landed, with Peko in his arms, and released her. She stumbled forward, placed a hand to her temple, and shook her head, trying to recover her senses.

"You okay?" Rosemon asked.

"Yeah, just got my bell rung pretty good there. Comes with the job, I guess. Lucky my savior here came along." She placed a hand on Angemon's shoulder and gave him a warm smile and sincere gaze. "Thanks."

"Sure." He flushed with color before changing the subject. "So, it looks like we finally beat him, huh?"

"Yeah," said Pings. "We're lucky he got distracted. Gave us the opening we needed."

"Sure did," said Rosemon. "What was that about, anyway? Did you see the way he was calling for his master towards the end there?"

Imperialdramon nodded. "It's like he lost his connection with him. As if the Dark God was…gone."

At that, they all looked at one another, all sharing the same thought.

"Hey guys," Ikkakumon spoke up, looking around the group hopefully. "You don't think-?"

"Only one way to find out," said Garurumon.

The ground started to rumble when, at once, all of the digimon began to run or fly back towards Hitachi's tower, even as the throngs of people on the shoreline waived and shouted their thanks.

* * *

Atop the tower, a fragile old man's heart was filled with absolute fear. It must have been harrowing for him to find that he was surrounded, completely surrounded, by Gennai's Digital Knights. Even more harrowing was the fact that he'd lost all of the Dark God's power and had returned ungraciously to the weak human form that he'd fought so persistently to escape. His eyes widened as he looked at all of his enemies and clumsily got to his feet. They stood, watching him, holding themselves back from unleashing unimaginable amounts of vengeance upon his weakened form.

"Stay back!" He shouted, stumbling backwards. "St-stay away!"

"It's over, Hitachi," said Davis. "Give up."

"No!' The old man coughed and struggled to gain his equilibrium. "If you don't stay back, you'll all die!"

Terence rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on, you crazy old bastard. Just-" He paused as Hitachi pulled something out of his tattered suit pocket that looked a lot like the remote detonator his former head lab tech had wielded at them just a few days prior.

"I push this, and this whole building, including its nuclear materials, goes up. So just stay back!"

"He's serious," Curtis cautioned the others. "This entire tower is laced with high capacity explosives, just like his last one."

"You'd better listen to that boy if you know what's good for you. One step and I'll-" A blast rang out and an eruption of red suddenly appeared on Hitachi's chest. His eyes went wide and he looked down at the wound as blood started to soak his shirt. "You- you-" A second shot shattered the remote, along with most of his hand. He stumbled backwards, staring at the stump that remained, and bumped into the rail behind him. Hitachi teetered for a moment, then flipped over it and fell without another sound.

Davis turned away from the scene to see Krista standing on the other side of the rooftop, holding a smoking pistol in one hand, and her own rifle in the other.

"That bullet had his name on it." she said with a grim expression. Her gaze shifted briefly to the quieted portal of Light. "Literally."

"Ugh, well he's definitely dead." Kuri said, peering over the edge of the roof with a sneer of disgust. "The funny thing is, there are what, at least 50 people here that could have caught him before he hit the ground? Great show of restraint everybody. I've never been prouder of all of you."

Curtis's digivice crackled to life with Izzy's voice. "Incredible job guys. Just thought you'd like to know that the digimon have apparently defeated OmegaMyotismon as well."

"Yeah!" Rosa pumped a fist. "Of course they did!"

"Guys, look!" Exclaimed Curtis, pointing up.

The steady streams of water that had been rising from the sea came crashing back down from the sky, the whipping winds calmed, and the portal that had been filling the entire sky shrunk all the way down to a small singularity that disappeared with a wink of light.

"It's over, isn't it?" Said Clara. Her voice sounded completely amazed, as if it was something she'd never considered possible. "We won? We really won?"

The rays of a rising sun appeared over the horizon, as if to punctuate the statement. The light rushed over the waters, hitting the façade of the mostly damaged Tokyo skyline, and providing a morning glow that Davis had never felt so welcoming.

Terence pumped a fist into the air and let out a shout of excitement. "Hell yeah we won!" He ran to Clara and lifted her up into the air, twirling her around and grinning. "We did it angel! We did it!"

J'ai devolved, separating into his separate forms, only for Jun and Tai to come right back together with a passionate kiss. Curtis and Rosa mirrored them, and Davis instead reached both hands into the air triumphantly. He closed his eyes and sighed, allowing himself to absorb the warmth of the sun, finally able to enjoy the peace brought by knowing that he'd fulfilled his role as the "chosen one," the Miraculous Knight. The peace didn't last long, however, as Kuri leapt onto him in glee and both fell to the ground.

Krista stood near the rooftop's edge, much more subdued than the others as she looked down at the streets below.

"I think they got the good news down there, too," she said.

The others rushed to the edge of the rooftop to see what she was talking about. Below, hundreds of Knights, resistance fighters, and citizens had already gathered in the streets surrounding the tower and many more were rushing in from all directions. They had all noticed the disappearance of the giant portal, along with OmegaMyotismon, and knew exactly what it meant. Their side had won. The eclectic mixture of citizens and soldiers were all celebrating by firing weapons into the air and letting out loud whoops and hollers.

"Yeah!" Terence yelled down to them. "Yeah! That's right! Who kicked his ass? Us! I told you we would, didn't I? Didn't I? I told you!"

Clara laughed. "Baby, I don't think they can hear you."

"Then let's go down there! Come on!"

"Let's not celebrate too much yet." Tai cautioned. "We don't know who or how many we lost tonight."

"I'm sure everyone's fine! Come on!"

Terence's excitement was infectious and soon everyone was leaping down from the roof or joining hands with someone that could fly them down. Krista gave one last glance back at the spot where the portal to the dimension of Light once stood. Most of them didn't know about the sacrifice that had been necessary to create it, and she wouldn't spoil the celebratory mood by revealing it now, but Kageru Hatori would be appropriately honored. Of that she was certain. For now, she had to give him credit. His action had saved the world. She could only hope that he was in a better place now. No. Krista shook her head and a small smirk crossed her lips. She didn't hope, she _knew_ that he was.

"Um, Ms. Lee?" Said Rosa. Krista turned to see that the Willful Knight and Curtis were both waiting for her to join hands with them. She walked over and flashed them a rare smile. "You two did a great job tonight. I always knew there was a reason you were my favorite students."

Curtis raised a surprise brow at the statement. "You're serious?"

Krista winked at him as she took their hands. "Don't tell anyone."

"See?" Rosa said to Curtis. "Just like I told you forever ago. You owe me dinner."

Curtis answered her with a roll of his eyes and with that, they disappeared.

* * *

The scene in the streets was chaos of the best kind. Many were yelling in excitement, many laughing, many crying tears of happiness. Families and soldiers were reuniting, celebrating whenever they found an old friend that had survived the battle. The Knights were assaulted by words of thanks, shouts of adulation, and hugs from complete strangers. Kuri immediately rushed to Kyoji the moment she found him among the crowd and pulled him into a fierce hug. Prompted by the siblings' reunion, Davis reached out and pulled Jun to him, draping an arm around her shoulders. Clara did the same with Rosa, and Terence ran a hand over Curtis' head, as if to tousle his braids.

Jun smiled up at her brother and patted him on the chest. "Yeah, I love you too."

Tai looked around for Kari, but couldn't spot any sign of her, nor Sora or Matt. He saw most of the other digidestined, including Mimi and Izzy exiting the ground floor of Hitachi's tower, alongside Noriko, a severely limping Cody, their digimon, and…Cody's family? A groggy and battered looking Gennai and Keyan followed behind them, along with a bespectacled man Tai had never seen before. He made a mental note to ask about all of that later and continued his search, eventually spotting Yolei, Ken, Kin, and Jiro among the throng. Still no sign of the others. Where could they be? Perhaps Joe needed their help with tending to the wounded?

Tai's search came to an abrupt end when he felt the ground start to rumble beneath his feet. Loose stones and gravel strewn about began to rattle as the sound became louder. The crowd quickly quieted down and everyone tensed. It was obvious what they were all thinking. Was the war not really over? Had OmegaMyotismon or the Dark God returned?

"If you're not a Knight, get back!" Tai yelled, turning towards the sound of the rumbling and taking up a stance at the crowd perimeter. He looked to his periphery and saw Terence, Clara, Davis and Kuri line up on one side of him, Jun, Curtis and Rosa on the other. The Courageous Knight stared in the direction of the disturbance, took a deep breath, and clenched his fists. Whatever was coming, they were ready.

When Tai saw a creature round a corner in the distance, he let out a sigh of relief. It was Sparks. And that meant the others… Hundreds of digimon came flying or running around the corner behind him, all smiling, shouting, and waiving as they spotted their partners. The already dilapidated buildings lining the street shook with the vibrations caused by the horde of stampeding digimon, and various pieces of loose debris began cascading from the structures to the ground.

"Look at those idiots," Kuri said, smiling. "Everyone, devolve them before they cause one of these buildings to collapse on top of us."

At once, all of the Knights pulled out their digivices, devolving their partners back to their rookie levels, then eagerly ran to greet them. The two groups clashed in a deliriously disorganized mess. Tai was tackled by a laughing Agumon and both went tumbling to the ground. Most of the other Knights were taken down in much the same manner until the street was filled with large giddy entanglement of humans and digimon, all celebrating their victory.

"We did it!" shouted Agumon.

"That's right," replied Sparks. "Nobody messes with the Digital Knights! Didn't I tell you there was no way we could lose?"

"Sure you did." Said Peko with a roll of her eyes. Kuri chuckled.

"Well _I _said it!" Said Veemon, leaping onto Davis' back.

Sparks shrugged. "Good enough. Somebody said it."

Jun grinned, scratching the Elecmon behind the ears and giving him a kiss on the head.

"You all did wonderfully," said Clara, holding Marta close to her chest. "We couldn't be more proud of you."

Terence laughed. "Angel, only you could make beating an invulnerable hundred foot tall monster sound like they just finished their math homework."

"Hell," said Gotsumon. "It was about as hard."

"Damn right!" Tai laughed and hugged his partner. From what he could tell, most of them had made it through the battle alive, maybe not unscathed, but still, he could not have hoped for a better outcome. He just had to find out where Kari and the others were. He pulled out his digivice to call for them, but paused and squinted as a sharp pain suddenly pulsed through his head. Tai put a hand to his temple and grimaced.

"What's wrong?" Asked Agumon.

"I-I don't…"

Tai's vision became blurry, his head felt light, and everything around him began to dim. All energy drained from him, and his body suddenly felt like a mass of dead weight. With what strength he had remaining, he looked over at Jun, and saw she was already lying on the ground, unconscious. Tai briefly heard the other Knights shouting their names in concern, felt their footsteps as they rushed to their sides. He wanted to reply, to at least make it over to Jun, but instead everything quickly turned sideways, and then his world went completely dark.

* * *

Tai awoke with a start. He bolted upright and frantically looked around the room he was in. It was all very familiar; His alarm clock, his nightstand, his laptop… He was in his room at the Academy. But the last thing he remembered was... They had defeated Hitachi… He had been celebrating... He groaned. No way he had dreamed the whole thing, had he? With that level of detail? No way in hell. He leapt from his bed and got dressed, stormed out of his room, practically leapt down the entire staircase to the main room, and burst through the door to the hallway beyond. As soon as he did, he knew that his fears were unfounded. He was practically assaulted on all sides by people shouting his name and rushing over with excited words of congratulation and pats on the back.

"Finally up I see!" Said Jonathan, forcing his way to the forefront of the crowd. "It's about time!"

Tai rubbed his neck, suddenly self-conscious. "Uh, yeah. How long was I asleep?"

"Almost a whole day mate! I'd say a good twenty hours, at least."

"What? Are you serious?"

"Gennai said you and the others suffered from extreme fatigue," explained Nadia. "Hit us all, but you two were the worst."

Jonathan nodded. "He said it was from you and Jun staying in your fusion evolved state for so long. It takes more power than any of us. In fact, Jun herself just woke up about an hour ago."

"Really?" Tai looked around. "Where is she?"

"I saw her heading for the infirmary a little while ago." said someone approaching from behind. Tai turned to see Jason standing there. The Valiant Knight reached out a hand and Tai took it.

Jason smiled as they shook. "I just want to say, you did an incredible job yesterday. It truly is an honor for me, for all of us, to say that we were led in battle by you."

Tai shrugged off the compliment. "Thanks, but it wouldn't have meant anything if you guys hadn't shown up when you did. I should be thanking you all."

A chorus of "You'd have done the same" and "no problem" rang out among the group and Tai found himself shaking a few more hands and accepting hugs. It was all like a dazed whirlwind for him. In his mind, he had just been facing down Hitachi and the Dark God mere minutes ago. Unlike them, he still was unaware of everyone's fates, or any of the battle's aftermath, really. And right now, more than anything, there was only one thing he wanted to do, one person he wanted to see.

"Okay guys!" Jonathan shouted, raising his hands. "He just woke up! Let's give him a bit of space, shall we? There will be plenty of time for catching up later!"

"Thanks." Tai smiled gratefully at the Curious Knight as the crowd parted.

"No problem," he answered quietly. "I know you'll likely want nothing more than to find Jun right now, so we'll step out of your way."

"I have no idea where to look."

"Last I saw, she was headed upstairs to the infirmary." Said Nadia.

The mention of the infirmary diluted Tai's lasting elation. He still didn't know of the causalities they had suffered. "Who's up there?" He asked somberly.

"Come on," said Jason, "We'll walk with you and fill you in on the way up."

* * *

The Realm's lake was quite the idyllic scene on this day. Digimon frolicked in the lush grasses around it, enjoying each others' company and wildly reenacting scenes from the previous night in the real world. They mingled, strengthening old bonds and exploring new ones, unleashing pent up childlike enthusiasm that dire circumstance had forced them to restrain. The Otamamon in the water laughed at their antics and throughout it all there was an ambiance of freedom and peace the likes of which none of them had known for quite some while.

On the other side of the small lake, the scene was a bit more subdued. A pristine constant breeze flowed over the area and created small ripples in the water that lapped onto the shore. The grasses and nearby treetops rustled, providing a peaceful ambiance to the two lovers that lay on a blanket in the clearing, completely oblivious to anything that wasn't each other.

Kuri pulled back from Davis and tempered her gasp for air with a broad smile. She gazed down at him, drawing him into her jade eyes and holding him there as he too took a few breaths.

"Wow."

Kuri chuckled, leaned down and nuzzled him, and placed another kiss on his lips. Davis responded in kind, and the series of kisses began to lengthen once more when an abrupt shout echoed over the area, followed by a loud splash. They broke apart and looked up to see Sparks flailing in the middle of the lake. The other digimon were laughing uproariously on the shoreline.

"Terrible cannonball!" Yelled Marta between fits of giggles. "Now come back here!"

"Would-" Sparks sputtered, bobbing above and below the surface, "if I could! Damn all this fur!"

Marta rolled her eyes. "Gomamon?"

The seal-like digimon sighed. "Sure, I'll save your boyfriend. But you owe me." He made a great show of languidly stretching before finally diving in and setting out to retrieve the floundering Elecmon.

Davis shook he head at the scene and smiled before returning his attention to Kuri. "When will we be able to hear something like that and not think we're under attack?"

Kuri frowned. "Honestly? Maybe never. We've been conditioned now. We're programmed fighting machines."

"You make us sound like terminators. I'm the same guy I've always been."

"No, you're the famous Miraculous Knight. The Chosen One. When we go back to the real world you'll be the one getting all the interviews and nonstop attention. Heh, good luck with that."

"Oh, so that's how it is? Then I'll just tell them that all of my power came through you and we'll be the chosen ones 1A and 1B."

Kuri scoffed. "I can't believe you'd throw me under the bus like that."

"Misery loves company."

_Like we have any other choice._

Davis grinned at the thought and took a deep breath, basking in the moment of contentment. He gazed at his love and found himself yet again unable to believe that she was his, that someone so forceful, so incessantly compelling, was satisfied to be at his side.

Kuri pulled back and gave him a bemused look, her brow furrowed.

"What?"

"I'm not sure. Getting a weird vibe from you. Can't quite read it. It's like you feel..."

"Lucky?"

She cocked her head to the side and nodded slowly. "Maybe so. Yeah."

"It's because I am. If it weren't for you Kuri, I don't know where or what I'd be, but it wouldn't be this."

"I could say the same, you know."

Davis held her tightly, marveling at the essential truth of the words. In many ways, they had both become very different people, and yet remained remarkably the same, as if they had combined both of their personalities and traits into one, dynamic being.

_That's a little weird, isn't it?_

Davis smiled. _K, we read each other's minds. We're way beyond a __**little **__weird._

She laughed. _I guess so._

With twin sighs, they settled again, the shouts of the digimon fading into the background.

"I meant it," Davis said. "You know, about not knowing where I'd be if it weren't for you."

"I never thought you didn't."

"No, I mean like this whole power, this thing I have with Miracles. It wouldn't even exist at all if it weren't for you and your Compassion. You led me to Miracles, like a path. God knows what would have happened if you didn't show up that morning in front of Highton View."

"You would have still found a way. That's what you do."

Davis reached down and grasped her hand. "No, I wouldn't have. One thing I realize now is that the whole purpose of all this wasn't for us to complete the prophecy, or for me to contact Miracles even. It was for us to find each other."

"Sounds a little selfish, don't you think? Call me crazy, but it seems like a lot to go through just so we could hook up."

"You know what I mean."

"Yeah," she admitted with a chuckle. "Had to be real frustrating for Miracles, when you think about it. You pining after Kari, me avoiding getting close to pretty much anyone, us seeing each other almost every day and barely even having conversations. I'd be pretty pissed. Here are these two morons that the world depends on, perfect for each other, and they don't even realize it."

"You know what's funny? I think I realized it, or at least part of me did, that first night I walked you home."

"So that's why you badgered me about coming here with you. Awww, you had a little crush." Kuri giggled when Davis frowned at the teasing. "To tell you the truth, I think I did too. That next morning I almost got in a fist fight with my dad just so he would let me leave."

Davis guffawed. "That's insane."

Kuri frowned. "I'm glad you find my dysfunctional family amusing."

Davis stiffened. "Well, I-uh thought they weren't so dysfunctional anymore. Kyoji said-"

"Kidding."

He relaxed with a smirk. "I knew that. I mean, I _do_ know what you're thinking."

"Oh really?" She pressed up against him again and her lips hovered just half an inch above his. "Can you tell what I'm thinking now?"

"Oh, definitely." The combination of Kuri's transmitted thoughts, her piercing eyes, and her flowery scent drove Davis into intoxication. He pulled her down to him and they joined once again with such intensity that bursts of gold and lavender began to populate the air around them.

There was a sudden rustling in the nearby bushes and an all too familiar voice rang out, "Here they are! See, I told you, their little make-out lights are as good as signal flares!"

Kuri reluctantly broke away from Davis with a groan. "Damn it Terence! What the hell?"

The Knight in question emerged from the foliage, casually clad in a wifebeater, shorts, and his ever present sunglasses, and gave the couple a broad smile. He toted a large cooler in one hand and carried a couple of lawn chairs in his other arm. After a moment, Clara too emerged from the brush, wearing a yellow sundress and holding a beach blanket in her arms.

"Sorry," she said to Kuri. "But we've seen everyone but you two and Tai and Jun, who're still sleep. You can't just sneak off and hide here all day."

She spread out the blanket and Terence set up the chairs and cooler.

"Besides," he said. "You know you guys could use a drink."

Davis raised a brow. "Well…"

"Hey!" Kuri poked him in the chest. "Same team here!"

Terence waived her off as he settled into his chair. "Ah relax, you know we only have a little while before we all have to go making public appearances and return to whatever's left of our old lives. Figured since we already made the rounds and checked up on everyone, we'd come down here to the lake and grab a little chill time."

Kuri eyed him. "Ironically, that's what we figured too. You know, some _private_ time here."

"Ha. How could you have private time with us here? That's just a plain lack of logic there."

Clara gave Kuri an apologetic shrug, and the Compassionate Knight gave in with a roll of her eyes. "Fine, just pass me a damn beer."

Terence grinned and reached into the cooler. "Thought you'd never ask."

* * *

Tai carefully nudged open the infirmary door, unsure of what he would see on the other side. He'd been given a brief update from Jason, Jonathan, and Nadia on his way up, but still- Suddenly the knob was jerked out of his hand as the door swung all the way open, revealing on the other side a tall, silvered-haired man in a white coat who looked at Tai with a scowl.

"Honestly, you people have no decorum, do you?" Grumbled the man. "Just have absolute run of the place." He forced his way past Tai, who was too surprised to offer any response, and continued down the hall, mumbling to himself.

Tai stared after the man, perplexed. Who in the world was that?

"Hey Tai. Glad to see you're up."

The statement brought Tai's attention back to the doorway, where he found Joe standing, giving him a warm smile. The two shared a handshake and hug, and Joe led him into the room. There, Tai saw a multitude of beds set up, surrounded by medical equipment and more than a few familiar occupants.

Everyone in the room turned their attention him and extended warm greetings, save for TK, who winced when he tried to sit up too quickly.

"What did the doctor tell you?" Warned Sora, gently forcing him to lie back down.

TK groaned. "I was just trying to say hi."

"And you can do that lying down," said Ms. Takaishi, gently patting her son on the head. Matt rose from his seat beside the bed and walked over to Tai, grinning as he gave him a handshake and patted him on the shoulder. "We were just wondering when you'd wake up, seeing as Jun already came by."

Tai frowned. She'd already come and gone? Damn it. He brushed aside the disappointment and turned his attention to TK. "What happened to him?"

"He ran off trying to be a hero and his reward was a piece of iron railing right through his gut."

"Matt, be nice."

"Ah, Mom, he could use a bit of ribbing now that we know he's gonna be fine."

"So he's going to be okay?" Asked Tai.

Joe nodded. "Lost a lot of blood, so we've given him a couple of transfusions. He's been asleep almost as long as you have, actually. Woke up a couple hours ago."

"Which is why he's so antsy to get up." Explained Sora, eyeing TK sternly when it looked like he would try to move again. The younger digidestined crossed his arms and grumbled under his breath.

Tai then looked over at the other beds, some occupied by members of the resistance he didn't know who were being attended to by nurses, and noticed the perplexing presence of a bandaged Chikara and Kotomi Hida. Though the latter was sleeping fitfully, the former gave Tai a nod and a wink.

"You two were at the battle?"

"In a manner of speaking," said the elder man. He related to Tai the events of their kidnapping at Jade's hand and Cody's rescue of them.

Tai shook his head once he'd finished. It was almost dumbfounding that so much could have happened in one night.

"So where is Cody?" He looked around. "And Kari, for that matter?"

Matt rubbed his neck and seemed uncomfortable with having to answer the question. "Well, they were both here for a long time, but now they're outside at-"

"Well, would you have a look at that!" Exclaimed Cody's grandfather, pointing to a television on the wall.

Tai turned to look and saw that a live news report was on, featuring video of the battle, along with a montage of massive street celebrations in cities all around the world. They were periodically interrupted by grainy shots of the battle along with narration by Mr. Ishida. Tai winced as he watched himself take a blast to his side from an unseen assailant and slam into a building in a cloud of dust. Though not the most flattering piece of film, he was still amazed that the man had managed to get such clear angles of all the fighting.

"Wow," he said. "He must have been right in the thick of things to get video like this."

"I have to admit," said TK. "Dad did an awesome job. Even if I did almost get killed trying to track him down."

"He's not here now?"

"He was," said Matt, "and he didn't want to leave until we forced him to go file his report."

"I told him there was no point in nearly getting our son killed if he was just going to sit here and waste the footage," said Mrs. Takaishi with an almost wistful smile. "Imagine that, me actually having to _tell _him to leave his family for the sake of his job. Wonders never cease."

"Well I'd be working too," said TK, frowning. "If someone would just bring me a laptop so I could start writing all of this down. I have stories to file too, you know."

"Oh no you don't." The grey haired man from earlier swept into the room, holding a clipboard in his hands. "You're going to lie right there and get the rest necessary to heal, not that having all these people here is helping any." The doctor scowled around at everyone in the group before continuing on to other patients in the room.

"You'll have to forgive them," said Joe. "Willis managed to bring in some of the most renowned doctors in the entire world to help out. They're really good, but probably haven't had to worry about bedside manor for years. I'd practically kill to get an internship with any of them, actually."

"You'd better," said TK, "after the way you saved my ass."

"What I don't get," said Tai, "is why isn't he and everyone else in an actual hospital? Wouldn't that be better?"

Joe shook his head. "This _is_ the best place to treat them. Believe it or not, right now this is the best hospital the world has ever known. Willis' ability to generate any piece of equipment or medication we need has proven invaluable. We've even started thinking of setting up some type of permanent medical center here."

Tai nodded. This infirmary had seen plenty of use during the Academy term, but he'd been so focused on his training at the time that he had never really considered just how advanced the facility was. He turned to Joe as another thought came to mind. "Did we lose anyone?"

Joe nodded. "No one that I personally treated. But there were many that I wasn't able to get to in time. A lot of the resistance was taken out by OmegaMyotismon and those plane attacks, but there were no casualties among the digimon, Knights, or digidestined. Some serious injuries, obviously, but no deaths."

"We got lucky."

"Yeah," Joe gave Tai a pointed look. "But we also had great leaders who did a remarkable job of protecting us."

"Besides, we didn't really get all that lucky," said Sora. "We still lost people."

The room turned silent then, and a few people bowed their heads.

"Like who?"

"You don't know?" Asked Matt.

Tai shook his head uncertainly, thrown off a bit by their solemn expressions. "No, I don't."

Sora rose from her chair then. "Matt, how about we walk him down to the memorial and fill him in on the way?"

"Memorial?"

"Yeah," said Matt, heading for the door and beckoning for Tai to follow. "It's where Jun went after visiting us, and where Kari and Cody are right now."

Tai nodded then. The two things he wanted to do most at the moment were to find Jun and pay proper respect to those they'd lost in battle. After promising to the others that he would return soon, he departed along with his two old friends.

* * *

"So what will you guys do next?" Kuri asked of Terence and Clara, now resigned to the fact that they weren't going anywhere.

All four were reclining on the lush grass, each nursing a beer as they watched the digimon frolicking in the lake.

"I'm not sure." Clara said. "I don't think I can just go back to hanging out, taking care of Rosa, and hitting the club every weekend."

"Certainly can't," said Terence. "Not with a recording career to get off the ground."

Clara smiled and shook her head. 'You're really serious about this, aren't you?"

"He should be," said Kuri. "You're a great singer."

"See?" Terence lowered his sunglasses and gave her a pointed look. "And you know how stingy Kuri is with the compliments."

"Well, I guess... But I'll have to work something out with my aunt and uncle so Rosa can spend time with us too."

Davis finished a gulp of his beer and smiled. "Yeah you better. She will be so pissed knowing you two and Curtis are hanging out and she's stuck back home."

"It's not like we'll all be apart," said Kuri. "With no more Ineg, the Realm is just a quick portal jump away from wherever we are."

Clara shook her head. "Yeah, but you know Rosa. That's not going to matter."

"What's not going to matter?" There was rustling noise in the trees behind them. "What were you guys saying about me?"

Kuri sighed as Rosa and Curtis walked into the clearing. "Great, more gate-crashers."

The two took seats opposite the others and Kuri reached into the cooler and tossed them a couple of beers.

Cutis grinned as he caught the bottle and popped the top. "Really? Distributing alcohol to minors?"

Kuri shrugged. "What alcohol? Who's a minor?"

Rosa chuckled. "I'm not complaining. We saved the word. We deserve a drink."

"Damn straight," said Terence. He raised his bottle. "To saving the world."

The others copied the gesture and took swigs.

"Can you believe we actually pulled it off?" said Curtis.

"Sure," said Davis. "Why not?'

"Come on, a bunch of teenagers and twenty-somethings saving the planet from an evil, globe-spanning conspiracy to destroy the world. To be honest, when Gennai first told us his plan, I thought he'd lost his mind."

Davis nodded. "Eh, I think it was always meant to be. Miracles knew it."

"No." Terence shook his head. "You knew it, kid. Miracles and the rest of us were just along for the ride."

"I wouldn't say that-"

Kuri laughed and rested her head on Davis's chest. "Isn't he just too cute when he's trying to be humble?"

"Yeah," said Clara, "It's adorable."

Davis rolled his eyes. "Whatever. My point is, it's not like any of this would have been possible without you guys."

Terence raised his beer. "Nice to see he remembers the little guys. Still hasn't forgotten where he comes from."

"Ugh, this is never going to end, is it?"

Curtis laughed. "Better get used to it. I have, and for better or worse, we're all a family here now."

"Yeah." Kuri sat up. "We are, aren't we?"

Davis noticed something in the way she said this and sat up as well. "Of course we are," he said, placing an arm around her.

Rosa eyed Kuri curiously. "And?"

"And nothing." She shrugged. "That's just... cool."

"Hell, I don't even want to think about what your _legal_ extended family will be," Terence muttered to the couple. "Especially after seeing the sparks flying between Kuri's brother and Yolei's sister in there. Soon enough, y'all are all going to be one big mess of some kinda incest or something."

"Poetic." Clara said, lightly hitting him over the shoulder.

"He has a point." Kuri laughed. "I'm so stuck in the 'in' crowd now, I'll never find my way back out."

Clara eyed her with a grin. "Must be killing you."

"Ugh, you have no idea."

The group shared a chuckle and all nursed their drinks, watching the digimon frolic as a comfortable silence settled.

"So," said Rosa. "When are they gonna get here?"

Terence looked down at the clock on his digivice. "I give 'em about twenty minutes."

Rosa scoffed. "You don't even know if they're awake yet."

"Oh really? You wanna put something on it?"

"Sure," she said with an all too sweet smile that prompted an "uh-oh" from Curtis. "Whatcha got?"

* * *

Tai walked out of the front doors of the Academy with a bit of trepidation. He'd been told what to expect by Sora and Matt, but was still a bit intimidated by the gravity of what he'd heard and what he was about to see. Even from the front steps he could see the tops of a meticulously planted row of headstones in the distance. There was a girl kneeling before them, her head bowed. Kari. Tai descended the steps, set out for the memorial, and on his way, he saw a familiar couple approaching him, one using a pair of crutches.

"Cody. Noriko. I'm glad to see you two okay."

"You too." said Cody. As he reached out to shake Tai's hand, he faltered, and Noriko was quick to catch him and offer support before he could fall painfully on his foot, now encased in a blue cast.

"Thanks." He muttered.

"I heard what you guys did," said Tai. "Helping with the Assassin, and taking out Jade. We wouldn't have won without you."

"Yeah, well we all made our contributions. We just did our part."

Tai smiled. Typical Cody. The kid was the epitome of modesty.

Cody sighed. "I only wish that a few more of us could have made it to see this day."

"Yeah, I heard about Sato. I'm sorry."

Cody acknowledged the condolences with a nod. "He didn't give his life in vain, and he will always be honored and remembered here-" His words cut off there and he bit his lip as he glanced back at the memorial.

"Um," Noriko cleared her throat. "Willis is contacting Mr. Kobe's family as soon as possible so that we can arrange a meeting with them."

"Yes," said Cody. "I want to let them know that their husband and father was a great man. That he was never the monster that Jade and The Assassin framed him to be and tried to turn him into. He deserves at least that much."

Tai reached out and placed a hand on the younger boy's shoulder. "That sounds like a great idea. I'd like to be there, as well. Will you let me know when they get here?"

Cody gave a brief nod. "Of course. Thanks Tai."

"No. Thank you. Both of you. You both did much more last night than any of us had any right to expect."

"We all di-"

"No Cody. I'm not accepting that today. You always try to deflect praise, and then it looks like we take you for granted. For once, I want you to know that we all do recognize and appreciate what you do. You're a great fighter, you're dedicated, and you set an example that all of us, even I, look up to."

"Wow, Tai I..." Cody bowed his head when words failed him.

"Yeah, he _is_ pretty great, isn't he?" said Noriko. She leaned over and gave Cody a kiss on the cheek, prompting him to look up at her and smile.

Tai recognized the gaze the two shared, the emotions and feelings it passed between them, and it made him want to find Jun all the more.

"Well, you guys better get back to the infirmary," he said. "You have people waiting for you up there."

A pensive look crossed Cody's face and Noriko giggled.

"His mom's been driving him crazy all day worrying over his foot," she explained. "We had to wait until she fell asleep just to sneak out here."

Tai smiled. "Well, you had better hurry back. She's had a rough day and we don't want her waking up and wandering around the Academy high on painkillers, trying to hunt you down."

Cody sighed. "Yeah. You're right." As he and Noriko resumed walking, he mumbled, "You know, I'd almost rather be fighting Jade again."

Tai shook his head in sympathy as he watched him limp away with Noriko's support, then continued his trek down to the memorial. Once he reached the edge of the cordoned off section of gravel paths and flowers, he could see Kari clearly, kneeling on the other side of the expanse, in front of one headstone in particular. Before going in, Tai came across a large, black, marble slab situated at the memorial entrance with an engraved heading that read: "The World's Truest Heroes"

He looked over the names listed there; Xian Chan, Kageru Hatori, Scott Barke, Sato Kobe, Gavin Drake, and more that extended on in seemingly endless rows down to a significant amount of empty space at the bottom, left blank intentionally for more names to be added later.

Tai heard a set of footfalls in the grass and looked up to see Krista walking out of the memorial entrance.

"So, you're awake. " She came over to him and stopped at his side, reading the list of names, as well.

A minute passed before Tai finally spoke. "There's a lot."

Krista nodded. "Yeah."

"None of them had to die. If only we-"

"Tai, stop it. Don't you dare do that." She looked at him sternly. "No, they didn't _have_ to die, but it was their decision, their sacrifice to make. Have you heard about Hatori?"

"Yes." Tai bowed his head. "It looks like we pretty much owe everything to him. We'd have never defeated the Dark God if-"

"If he hadn't changed the portal, if Xian hadn't saved Rosa's life, if Sato hadn't saved Cody's, if Scott hadn't led to all of our intel. They all gave their lives for a reason, Tai, and without regret." Krista placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't disrespect them by forgetting that."

Tai let loose the breath he'd been holding, and all the guilt and regret that went with it. "You're right."

"Of course I am. Now, go to your sister. She needs you." She gave him a pat and began to walk away.

Tai watched Krista go, wondering how she could possess such unfailing character and strength. He'd always thought that Gennai had chosen her as an instructor due to her impressive combat skills. But over the last few days, he understood even further, that she wasn't brought in just to teach them how to fight. She was always meant to be a guiding hand, a general in their war. The teaching part was just a bonus.

Tai made his way into the memorial then, passing by the multitude of white stones, each with a name carved into it, and a brief poetic description of the person it memorialized. He real all of them as he walked, committing them to memory, even those commemorating resistance fighters he'd never met. It was the least he could do. All of them had given much more to the battle than he. After a while, he finally came upon the row where Kari was stationed. Quietly, he approached, stopped beside her, and looked at the headstone she was kneeling before. It read; "HATORI, KAGERU. Hero. Leader. Redeemed Soul." It couldn't have been more succinct. A lump built in Tai's throat, which he attempted to clear with a small cough.

It got his sister's attention. "So you're up," she said without turning to look at him.

"Yeah."

She continued to stare at the headstone, and Tai looked at her, waiting for her to put into words the thought he knew was going through her mind.

"That should have been me."

Just as he expected. He extended a hand. "Kari, this isn't your fault."

"I know." The girl looked up at Tai and smiled, wiping a tear from her cheek as he helped her to her feet. "He saved my life. I realize now that he made the sacrifice for me, for all us, so that we could live on without the burden, the guilt that he must have carried every day. It's hard, but I know that I have to honor his wishes and do that. Still…"

"It hurts."

Kari nodded and they both stood there, listening to the gentle wind sweep across the grasses between the stone epitaphs. After a while, Kari broke the silence. "She came to me last night, Tai."

"Who?"

"The Light. In my sleep."

"Really?"

"She asked me if I wanted to be the child of Light again. If I wanted to be her avatar. She said that because I was willing to give my life for her, that I was…I was worthy of her."

"What did you say?"

"Well, I was tempted... and I was relieved. For so long, I've wanted nothing more than to return to her, to know that nothing was wrong with me. But feeling that way, it made me ashamed."

"I get that."

"So I turned her down. I mean, that's a terrible thing to make me 'worthy,' isn't it? That I was willing to kill myself? Davis was right, Tai. They were just using us. We were pawns in their game. I think he's the one that Miracles chose because he was the first to figure that out. The most ready to believe that we were more than good and evil. And for so long I thought of him as…" Kari looked away from the headstones and shook her head.

"Don't beat yourself up, Kari. We all underestimated him at some point. For a while there, I really did think he was just a younger version of me- it's probably why I like him so much- but then I started to realize that he was so much more."

"I still regret the way I treated him."

"And you always will. But so will a lot of people. It was always hard to tell what was lying under that goofball façade until he grew out of it. Don't dwell on it. You guys practically grew up together. He's like a second brother to you, well third actually, if you count Matt. You're always going to be there for one another, and that's something you should feel good about."

"Yeah, you're right… thank-you." Kari gave a small nod that told him that although she wasn't quite ready to let go of her guilt, she would in time. "By the way, Wills has been trying to track down our families and bring them over."

"Wow. What _isn't_ he doing right now?"

"I know. According to Keyan, he's been working feverishly, almost non-stop, since we got back. Mom and Dad are scheduled to be here in about an hour or so. Better enjoy your freedom, because once they're here, you know they're not letting us out of their sight."

"For once, they can't blame this all on me." Tai placed an arm around Kari's shoulders and began to lead her away, back towards the mansion. "Come on. TK needs you, you know."

"Yeah, I know." Kari leaned into the embrace. "Have I ever told you how much I love you, big brother?"

"Plenty. I love ya too, lil sis."

They both smiled, knowing they were thinking the same thing. It felt just like when they were kids, leaving the park to return home before the street lights turned on.

"By the way," said Kari. "When Jun left earlier, she said she was going to the control center."

"Oh, really?"

She chuckled. "Don't try to play it off. You've probably been going crazy trying to find her since you woke up."

"You know me well, sis."

"For once. It's nice to be able to say that again."

"Yeah, it is."

They finished the rest of the trek to the mansion in amicable silence and parted ways at the main hall, Kari heading back to the infirmary and Tai to the control room.

Once he arrived at the control room Tai leaned against the doorway and grinned as he watched the two occupants within. It struck him odd that Willis's "feverish" work seemed only to involve him locking lips with his beautifully exotic, white-maned girlfriend. It also occurred to him that the fact that Keyan was haphazardly seated across Willis' keyboard, causing his monitor to cycle through a litany of programming screens, might present something of an inconvenience later on. Tai bowed his head to stifle a chuckle and rapped on the wall beside the door.

The two abruptly parted, amusing Tai as they hastily straightened their clothes

"Tai!" Keyan exclaimed, running a hand through her hair as she leapt down to the floor. "You are awake, I see."

"Yeah." Tai could hold it in no longer and let out a laugh. "Nice to see you too, though I think you might prefer if I just leave right now."

"Oh, stop." Keyan admonished him with a dismissive wave and walked over to give him a quick hug.

Tai noticed that the girl was still moving a bit gingerly. He knew that for her, a Guardian Avatar, not to have fully healed when the other Knights had, she must have taken a significant amount of punishment in the battle. It's wasn't apparent by her demeanor, however, as the normally reserved girl flashed him a bigger smile that he'd ever have thought her capable of.

Willis walked over and shook his hand. "And it looks like you've recovered nicely."

"Yeah. I'm a little sore, but other than that, just fine. Anyway, I hear you two kicked some major ass yesterday. You both took out Guardians."

"We did what we could," said Keyan. "Just like everyone else. Though I must admit, it was quite exhilarating."

Willis nodded in agreement, though his face expressed a strong vibe of "glad _that's_ all over." "That it was."

She smiled and leaned against Willis, taking hold of the hand that he'd draped over her shoulder.

Tai was a bit surprised by their posture. He'd never seen the two look so content expressing their affections for one another, and said as much.

"It is because we are happy." Keyan responded. "It is a terrible thing to have to hide or deny your love. And now that this is all over, we can finally…" She sighed, wrapping her arms around Willis, who gave Tai a sheepish grin as he returned the embrace.

Seeing the couple's euphoria brought Tai back to the reason for his visit. "By the way," he said. "Have you two seen Jun? I was told she came by here."

Willis nodded. "She stopped by here for a few minutes, but left a little while ago. I think she was heading for the dining hall."

Tai cursed under his breath and sighed. Would he _ever_ catch up to her?

"I know the feeling," Keyan said sympathetically. "I have been waiting for Willis to finish here all day. I finally decided to simply come in here and-"

"-completely distract me from getting anything done."

"Well, I would not be here if you would simply take a break, as you promised."

Willis frowned apologetically. "Hey, I want to. Izzy was supposed to come here and relieve me for a bit like twenty minutes ago. Don't blame me; he's the one not answering his digivice."

"Well, in that case, then I must forgive you." Keyan bounced up on her toes and gave him a kiss, prompting Tai to roll his eyes.

"Well, I'll give you two your privacy back," he said, backing out of the room. They seemed to not have heard him and were completely invested in one another once again. Tai gently shut the door and shook his head. There was no way any of their families would be arriving within the hour. He continued on his trek, accepting enthusiastic greetings from Naji, the Peterson twins, and Tony, amongst other Knights, as he crossed through the Common Room and entered the dining hall.

There he found the rest of the Odaiba digidestined that he hadn't seen. He quickly crossed over to a booth where Kentaro, Kin, Jiro, Kyoji, and Momoe were seated. Curiously enough, the last two were so engrossed in conversation that they barely noticed his arrival.

"Hey bossman," said Kin, diverting his attention from a bowl of Digitamamon's award winning chili. "How ya feeling?"

"Better than I was before I went to sleep. You guys?"

"Pretty good, for the most part. We're-"

"Are you kidding me?" cut in Jiro. "My nerves are still on edge! I mean there were missiles being fired at us, humongous monsters, mutants, bloodthirsty soldiers of fortune, Grim Reapers, evil gods. My therapy bills after all that are going to be insane!"

Kin sighed, Kentaro grunted, palm to his forehead, and Kyoji and Momoe laughed.

"Come on, guys," Jiro continued. "You mean to tell me you didn't at least have nightmares about those grim reaper things?"

"'Fraid not, kiddo," said Momoe. "Seriously, you might need a valium or something."

Tai smirked. Jiro's sentiments reminded him of more than a few sleepless nights he'd spent in the Digital World as a kid.

"Don't worry about them," he assured the younger digidestined. "Being a little shook up just means you're not jaded by this stuff. That's the quality of a great Knight."

Jiro adjusted his glasses and beamed at the praise, though Kin and Kentaro looked less than convinced.

"I dunno," said Kyoji. "My sister doesn't seem fazed by any of this."

"No offense," said Jiro, "but I've never known Kuri to be fazed by anything…well, except Davis."

Kyoji chuckled. "I'm starting to notice that."

"Kuri is what you would call an 'outlier," said Tai as he looked around the room. "Not too many normal things about her. By the way, have any of you seen Jun?"

Kentaro gave a nod. "Yeah, she came by and said hey, then went over there and talked with them before she left."

Tai looked in the direction Kentaro pointed and saw a booth where Yolei and Ken were seated, side by side. With a quick thanks, he departed for them. They waived as he approached.

"Hey old man," said Yolei. "I heard you were up finally. It's about time. You enjoy the beauty rest?"

"I suppose. I was so out of it, it feels like I slept maybe five minutes."

"You must be starving," said Ken. "Aren't you going to grab a bite to eat?"

Tai looked down at the table and their plates of Salmon, rice, and steamed vegetables. His stomach churned at the appetizing sight. "Well, I am hungry, but-"

"You're looking for Jun, right?"

"Yeah."

"See Ken," said Yolei. "He would starve for his love, and you won't even share your almonds."

Ken walled off his plate with a protective arm and warded away her prospecting fork. "Well, you shouldn't have eaten all of yours."

Yolei frowned. "And here I thought we were soul mates."

Ken grumbled to himself, took a forkful of the shavings from his plate and placed it them on hers.

"Thank-you sweetie," she cooed, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

Ken shook his head. "I suppose next you'll be wanting us to act like those two." He nodded to the bench opposite them, and for the first time Tai noticed that it was occupied. Two people were seated- or rather laying- there; one a familiar pink-haired digidestined, and underneath her what he could only imagine was her boyfriend, whom Willis would be very interested to find here. Tai found it remarkable that the two were even able to breathe with the fervor they were going at it.

"Pitiful," grumbled Yolei, glaring at the couple. "And just plain rude."

She slammed a fist on the table, rattling the plates and utensils atop it, and getting the attention of the two preoccupied lovers.

"What is it?' Mimi asked, quickly rising up and looking around. "Oh, hey Tai!"

She jumped up from the bench and gave Tai a warm hug, leaving Izzy to sit up and attempt to straighten out his ruffled hair and shirt. "How are you feeling?" she asked. "Probably wide awake since you were asleep forever! I mean, Joe said you'd be okay and all, but still, it doesn't seem all that healthy for someone to sleep almost a whole day! Oh my god, and you must be sooo hungry! Are you hungry? You want to join us? The salmon's good. Well, that's what I heard anyway. As you can see, I haven't really tried it myself yet, but-"

"Mimi!" Yolei shouted, bringing the bubbly girl's incessant ramblings to a halt. "First of all, stop and take a breath. Secondly, why would Tai want to sit here and watch you and Izzy suck face the whole time he's trying to eat? Take it from me, it's not very appetizing."

Izzy groaned, covering his face while Ken snickered.

Mimi turned to Yolei with her hands on her hips and glared. "Well excuse us, but some of us have been busy in the infirmary and control room since we got back and haven't had time to see each other, unlike certain other people that had all day to spend together."

Tai placed a calming hand on Mimi's shoulder. "Alright, alright. That's enough. I'm sure Yolei didn't mean any harm, since she and Ken would be doing the _exact_ same thing if they were in your position, isn't that right Yolei?"

"Yeah, sure." The lavender haired girl stabbed at a piece of broccoli on her plate while grumbling something that sounded like "-can't believe I used to idolize her."

"Besides, Izzy's supposed to be relieving Willis right now, anyway." Tai shot his old friend an amused look. "Right?"

"Um, well…" Izzy rubbed the back of his head. "I mean-"

"If I'm mistaken, then I'd suggest you guys find a more secluded place, because Keyan's under the impression that you're supposed to be in the control room right now, freeing up her boyfriend. She'll probably come hunting you down any moment now."

Mimi and Izzy shared wide-eyed looks, neither apparently interested in crossing paths with a rampaging Guardian Avatar. Mimi grabbed her boyfriend by the arm and pulled him out of the booth.

"Hey, what gives?" he protested. "I haven't even eaten my-"

"We're getting the hell out of here. Unless you just want wait here for a pissed off Keyan to find us."

"Hmmm," Izzy rubbed his chin. "I have to admit, the prospects of taking a lightning bolt to the ass aren't particularly appealing…."

"Then I'd advise going through the kitchen, where there's no surveillance." Tai said with a wink.

Mimi grinned. "Thanks Tai! We'll see you later!" With that, the two hurried off.

"Nicely done," said Ken, chuckling as he watched them depart. He turned to Yolei. "See honey, how he used that 'tact' thing I've been telling you about?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. My way's more fun."

Tai had to smile at that. Yolei. The girl would never change. "Now," he said. "In return for your peaceful meal, would you guys mind telling me where in the world Jun went?"

Ken shrugged. "She said if you came through here looking for her, to tell you that you should know where to find her."

"What?" Tai gave them a perplexed look. "How would I know where she is? This place is huge. She could be in a hundred different-"He paused, realizing just then that Jun was right. Damn it all, he knew _precisely_ where she was. "Nevermind." Tai quickly bid the couple goodbye and hurried out of the hall.

Moments later, he arrived at the second floor rec room, which was entirely empty, save for one person. Tai felt the longing that had been eating away at him finally disappear. There she was, exactly where he knew she would be, standing in front of the window, staring out of the large glass pane and over the meadow beyond with a contemplative look on her face. As he approached her, she felt his presence and turned around, a glowing smile on her face. Neither said a word as they fell into one another's embrace and their lips joined, passing all the joy, relief, and emotions they'd felt in the last hour between them like a radiant spark.

"I love you." She said when they broke, tenderly framing his face with her hands.

"I love you too."

"You've been looking all over this place for me, haven't you?"

Tai chuckled and captured her lips once more. When they separated again, he leaned back, taking her in all at once, knowing at that moment that he would never see anything more beautiful in his life. She was just so perfect… He had to say it. It was now or never.

"Jun, I- I should have asked you this before we went off to fight Hitachi. I wanted to, but I guess we had bigger things to deal with."

"I would think so."

"Jun, I love you and I need you, more than I ever have or ever will need anything else in my life. From the first night we were here, in this room, on that couch, looking out that window -the first night we spent together- I knew everything that my whole life had turned. It had nothing to do with a uniform, or a badge, or new power." Tai paused and swallowed. He'd run these words through his mind a million times. He had to get it right. "It was you. We could have never come here, never become Knights, and I know I would still be happy. Truth is, loving you gave me more purpose than saving the world ever could."

"Oh, Tai…" Jun's eyes glistened and she locked her hands behind his neck, staring into his eyes with absolute enchantment.

He continued. "I knew that with you next to me, there was nothing I couldn't do, nothing we couldn't do together, even back during our movie nights." Both chuckled at the memory of so many late nights spent together at each other's apartments, as "friends." Honestly, what had they been thinking? "Jun, I never want that feeling to go away. We filled our role as Knights, but our time here was about so much more than that. And I never want that to end. What I'm trying to say is-"

Jun put a finger to his lips and shushed him with a smile. "I know, Tai, and yes, I will."

For just a brief moment, Tai registered some surprise, but just as quickly, he realized who he was talking to. "Of course you know. You always know."

"And don't you forget it." A couple of tears fell and her smile broadened as she stared up at him. "I am eventually getting an awesome ring, right?"

He grinned. "Definitely."

They came together once more, this time not daring to break the hold as they pressed deeper into one another, savoring every scent, every taste, the sensation of their skin touching, the embrace of a love that had transcended so much… Things eventually became so intense that Tai began to consider scooping Jun into his arms and heading right back to his room-

"Ahem."

They broke apart, turned towards the sound of the disturbance, and saw an amused looking Gennai staring back at them. He moved a bit deliberately, much like Keyan, but seemed otherwise okay.

"I'd tell you two to get a room, but you already have one here. Two, in fact."

"Sorry Gennai," said Tai. "We-"

"Please." He waived him off. "You two are my most prized students here. You deserve a little quality time with each other. Especially before you have to return."

"Return?"

"Of course." Gennai walked over to the two and looked out of the window, smiling as he watched various Knights and digimon milling about on the grounds outside. "Sure, one reason I started this Academy was to counter the threat of Hitachi, but I also did it because when digital threats come from the real world, it's going to take people from the real world to stop them. Those threats haven't stopped. There are still thousands of mutants, the Roots Gate communities, Hitachi loyalists, less than moral digidestined, corrupt moguls… The Knights will still be needed to police and protect the world from those that would use the power and technology of the digital world to their own evil ends. I trust you'll be there?"

"We're in," said Tai. He paused and looked at Jun. "I think. I'm in at least."

"Of course I'm in." she said, chiding him with a gentle tap on his shoulder.

"Good." Gennai nodded, encouraged. "I knew you would be."

"After all this though," said Jun. "What more do we need to learn?"

"Well, I was thinking we could have a graduate program for you all from the first batch. you know, bring in world class criminologists, experts in even more fighting techniques from both the real and digital worlds- maybe make some enhancements to the realm and the Academy in order to use it as a central dispatch center. Of course, it will all require a lot of work. Perhaps I could have Willis split my personalities again-"

"NO!" Tai and Jun shouted in unison.

Gennai chuckled and gave a wink, causing both to sigh in relief. "Still it's going to require a lot of effort to get it all up and running. Once done, I guess we could call the new academy 'Digital Knights, 2.0.'" His eyes glazed over and took on a faraway look, as if he were already imagining it all. "I'll need to start in on the preliminary mock-ups of the new Academy design, of course, plus run some data analysis-"

"Gennai," Jun interrupted with a hand on his shoulder. "Word of advice. Take a vacation. You're past due for one."

He smiled knowingly and patted her hand. 'You know, maybe you're right. What is it with you always advising me to relax?"

"I just want what's best for you. And after everything that's happened, that definitely means taking a break."

"I suppose." He gave Jun an appraising look. "You know, I think you're going to make for a wonderful mother someday."

Tai's heart skipped a beat at that. "Hey now Gennai, don't start rushing us into things."

Gennai grinned and turned around, heading back out of the room. "Honestly, knowing you two, you'll beat us all to the punch."

Tai and Jun shared a glance, both conveying the same message; He was probably right.

He paused at the doorway and looked back at them. "Also, word of advice for you, you may want to head down to the lake. They're having something of an 'eight chosen' reunion down there and are still a couple short."

"Thanks Gennai, for everything."

"Same to you." With that, he departed through the doors.

Jun wrapped her arms around Tai once again and grinned up at him. "Look at that. You _can_ make a career out of your favorite thing to do. How great is that?"

"Yeah, it's pretty awesome, but what about you? I always figured you for something more brilliant than the whole head-bashing hero routine."

"Did you hear what he said about criminology? That's right up my alley." The Insightful Knight laughed. "I'm going to be the next Sherlock Holmes."

"If Ken doesn't beat you to it." Tai chuckled. "So, you're sure?"

"As I ever have been of anything, of _every_ commitment I've made today." She reached up and brought him down into another kiss. "Now, let's go see our friends."

* * *

"Finally." Terence said as Tai and Jun emerged from the tree line. "It's about time you got here. Now I owe this girl a friggin car."

"Yes!" Rosa squealed, pumping a fist. "My Maybach's on the way!"

"Not until you're sixteen, it's not," said Clara.

Rosa's smile quickly faded into a scowl. "What?"

Terence shook his head and tossed a couple of drinks to the newcomers as they sat down and received greetings from the others.

"How long were you out, man?"

Tai shrugged. "Dunno, about 20 hours, according to Jonathan."

"He would know," said Kuri. "Nosy little bugger."

"Well, we did it Tai," said Terence. "Can you believe it?"

"I feel like I'm supposed to say yes, of course I believe it."

"But you know that's BS and we got lucky as hell."

"I can vouch for that," said Davis, "I lost count of how many times I should have died."

"I think all of us have."

"True," said Jun. "If it weren't for Clara, I'm sure many of us would be dead ten times over. Hell, we'd have never even made it back from the Academy if it weren't for her."

"There's a lot that weren't so lucky." Said Curtis.

"Yeah," Davis looked over at Tai. "I take it you heard about Hatori?"

Tai nodded. A somber beat passed before he said anything. "I-_we_, owe that man a lot. Everything. He saved us, saved my sister's life, and gave his own."

"We can never repay him," said Clara. "Never."

Rosa sighed. "That's the one thing that gets me about winning this war, y'know? Mr. Chan didn't suddenly come back, Scott's still dead, Hatori… Why did _we_ get so lucky?"

"Because we had people like them on our side, and Hitachi didn't," answered Davis. "That made all the difference."

"Still doesn't seem fair." Rosa hung her head and her eyes began blinking rapidly. Curtis put his arm around her and held her tightly to him. Her plaintive sniffs echoed over the silence that followed.

"Guys, we _did_ win, you know," said Jun. "I think the people that we lost wouldn't want us to be sitting here, morbidly dwelling on our own mortality."

Kuri nodded. "You have a point. I imagine they'd be annoyed. I know I would if I gave my life just to see the people I saved sitting around moping about it later on."

"Poor Hatori," said Clara, though not in a saddened tone. In fact, she wore the hints of a smile. "We gave that man such hell when we first came back. Remember that meeting we had?"

"Yeah," Curtis said. "The one where we learned that after a year of intense training, we were all basically being babysat by CADE? I remember that. I'd never been so upset."

Tai shook his head. "He tried his best to convince us that CADE would work with us if we kept a low profile, and how did we repay him?"

"By hacking into their private systems-" said Rosa.

"-breaking into a prison," added Davis,

"-and burning a famous nightclub to the ground," finished Terence.

Clara chuckled. "Man, what a bunch of hellions we are."

"Hey, we're Digital Knights," Kuri said with a shrug. "We don't do subtle."

"And even after all that we put him through," said Tai. "Hatori still became the greatest ally we could have ever asked for." He raised his bottle. "To Hatori, and those we lost."

The others did the same and repeated the toast, reaching over and clinking their bottles together.

"Remember our first day here?" Said Tai, looking around the area with a nostalgic grin after they'd all drank. "After we all met and came down here to the lake to hang out?"

Curtis laughed. "I do. In typical fashion, my brother here had already categorized and ranked the girls by their types of hotness."

"Oh really?" Said Clara. She sat up and looked at Terence suspiciously. "I'm curious to know what he came up with."

"Damn it Curtis." Terence chucked a pebble at his little brother, who easily ducked it while laughing.

"Like it matters," said Rosa. "Back then you two couldn't stop flirting like third graders anyway. Man, that was annoying."

Curtis agreed with a nod. "Yeah, the music superstar falling for the girl that got him arrested for kidnapping. It was meant to be."

"Like you were any better," scoffed Kuri. "You two always sneaking around the Academy at all hours of the night, and still had to be practically hit over the head to realize how much you liked each other."

"Ha!" exclaimed Rosa. "You're one to talk! I can't count how many times we ran into you and Davis running around at night too."

"And as I recall," said Curtis, "you got together the same night as we did, after Jun's dance."

"And they had to be coerced into it, too," Jun added.

"That's right," said Tai. He reached over and bumped fists with Terence. "We did a great job."

"Please." Kuri rolled her eyes. "Like we didn't know what you all were up to."

Davis sat up. "Wait, who coerced what now?"

Kuri put a hand to her forehead and shook her head as everyone laughed. After the laughter faded and silence started to settle, Kuri sighed. "There's a part of me that isn't glad it's all over, though. It's weird."

"I feel the same way," admitted Jun. "It was a fun ride. But it's not completely over."

"Yeah," said Tai. "We were just talking to Gennai, and he said there's a lot of work left to be done. We're not out of the woods yet."

Kuri nodded. "I know. We spoke with him earlier and he told us the same thing. Still, I am going to miss this life less ordinary we had here, and I'm really going to miss seeing you guys every day. Even that assclown R&B singer over there."

Terence put a hand to his chest. "I'm touched, Kuri. Really. It's not every day a cynical ice-queen throws a compliment like that your way."

"You're welcome."

At that moment, the group was suddenly assaulted by a mass of gleeful shouts as all of their digimon partners came running over from the lake. They'd separated from the rest of the digimon, who continued on towards the Academy.

"What do you little guys want?" Asked Kuri as Peko leapt into her arms.

"Yeah," said Clara, scratching Marta behind the ears as the Salamon settled beside her. "I thought you all were way more interested in each other than your frumpy old partners."

"Well _she_ can have both," said Gotsumon. "Since Sparks is sitting right over there."

Sparks glared at him. "Hey, you act like we're hitched or something!"

"You probably will be, soon enough," said Pings, "at the rate you guys are going."

Jun bit back a grin and glanced at Tai. "Then I guess they'll be joining the club."

"Club?" Asked Curtis. "What club?"

Jun looked around the group, her gaze settling on Clara as she suggestively raised a brow.

"He asked?" The Protective Knight shouted, bowling over her boyfriend in her fervor to rush over to Jun and pull her into an embrace. "He finally asked you to marry him?"

"Finally?" Tai furrowed a brow. "What do you mean-"

Terence leaned over towards the groom-to-be. "Damn it, Tai," he hissed. "Do you know what you just started? You and me are gonna have to have a talk."

Clara turned. "What was that, sweetheart?"

"Oh, nothing angel. I was just saying how wonderful a moment this is."

"Sure," said Kuri with a sardonic smirk, "because that's what he does. He's famous for always poignantly capturing the beauty of each passing moment."

"Yup. That's me." Terence smiled and looked between Tai and Jun. "Seriously though, I'm happy for you two. You're the ones that pretty much set the example for every other couple here. I'm sure we'll all be following in your footsteps soon enough."

Clara looked at him with a loving smile, which he sincerely returned.

"Congrats sis," said Davis, walking over and giving Jun a hug. He glanced at Tai. "Is this the part where I threaten to kill you if you hurt her, or is that at the wedding?"

Tai chuckled. "You already did that before, like a year ago."

"Oh yeah, that's right. Well, the offer still stands."

"The offer to kill me? Thanks."

"No prob."

The others extended their congratulations and well wishes, and throughout it all, Tai enjoyed the beaming look of contentment on Jun's face. She deserved every moment. Once the flurry of excitement calmed and they'd all returned to their positions, the group turned their attention to the realm's beautiful evening, as the sun settled below the tree line and the lake reflected the lavender and scarlet hues painted across the sky.

Rosa let out a contented sigh. "I could live in this moment right here forever, "she said, closing her eyes and throwing her head back as the setting rays glanced off of her tanned skin. "It's the perfect ending."

Abruptly a loud belch interrupted the moment, and everyone turned their attention to a sheepish looking Davis.

"Sorry," he said, shrugging and pointing to his beer as if it couldn't be helped.

"Ha!" Said Veemon. "Don't be modest. That was a nice one!"

"It's just as well." Terence shrugged. "Things were starting to get a bit corny, anyway."

"Don't be mean to my cousin," chided Clara.

"Oh please, she acts like we're at the end of the movie and the damn credits are about to roll or something."

Rosa shot him a glare. "Okay, forget the Maybach. I think I'm taking the Lambo now."

Terence scoffed. "Please. I'm giving you whatever's left of my Hummer."

"What?"

Kuri laughed. "That's awesome."

Rosa's eyes narrowed. "Terence Dumars, if you try to settle our bet with that gas guzzling, banged up POS, I swear to god I'll…"

"What? Either drive it or be walking? I already know that."

Rosa leapt to her feet. "That's it!"

Curtis and Davis leapt between the two, and Kuri laughed as she reached out and pulled the cooler to relative safety.

Tai smiled as Terence hid behind Clara and Rosa went into a tirade, the digimon laughing and cheering her on. To think, these were the people that just saved the world.

As their argument continued, his thoughts drifted to a time before, back to where he was a year ago, alone, heartbroken, with no direction, no reason to live, entrenched in a pit of despair. Now, here he was, with a group of friends so close they'd become family, a girlfriend-no- _fiancée_, he loved with all of his heart, and a life and purpose that lay before him like a shimmering path. He felt like the most fortunate man ever to walk the earth.

"Tai." The mention of his name broke his reverie and brought his attention to the girl that was staring deeply into his eyes. He returned the stare, the shouts of the others faded into the background. "What?"

"That expression on your face."

"What about it?"

She smiled and edged up to him. "What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing really. Just where we were before we came here."

"Ugh, Dark times, huh?"

"Yeah. Makes me appreciate this," he gestured to their boisterous friends. "and you, even more."

"I like when you get all introspective on me." Jun giggled and ran gentle fingers along his jaw. "It's incredibly cute. In fact, I must demand that you kiss me right now."

Tai grinned, thinking of nothing in the world he'd rather do, and obliged.

* * *

**Somewhere Beyond**

He sat there, amidst the stars, staring out into distant galaxies, his golden legs swinging back and forth in the nothingness as if he were a 5 year old seated on a park bench. Ok, he had to admit it. He was giddy. He'd had a wonderful day.

A bright point of light appeared in the space in front of him, warm and inviting, and quickly grew in size. From it emerged a glowing feminine figure, clothed in flowing white shawls.

"Hello mother."

"Greetings, Miracles. I see congratulations are in order. Your avatar won the day, while mine has rejected me."

"Well, we knew that could be a casualty of our plan. Once you left the battle to me, she would think you had abandoned her." The Goddess of Light looked hardly comforted by this. "And anyway _we_ won the day, as I told you we would. _His _avatar is dead."

Her perpetual frown lifted a bit. Miracles then noticed that behind her stood the glowing form of a man he recognized. "Kageru Hatori?"

The Goddess nodded.

He shrugged. "Appropriate."

Another incursion appeared, this one dark and cold, and the being that came forth from it seemed hardly more than a shadow. He looked over at Miracles with a disdainful frown, then over at the goddess of Light and the man that stood silently behind her.

"Who the hell is that?"

"He is the appointed guardian of my realm, much as Oikawa is to the digital world. He made the ultimate sacrifice in order to reach me. This is his reward."

The Dark God grunted, then turned to look at Miracles. "Your boy almost made the same gesture, but his cowardice overwhelmed him."

"More like he realized that it was never my intention in giving him his powers. I would never ask that one take a life, or give their own. Only that they preserve life and appreciate it for what it is."

"Foolishness."

Miracles chuckled. "I'd expect no less from you, father."

"I do wish you would stop calling me that."

"Why? You two are essentially my parents. If it weren't for your dichotomy, there would be no middle ground, no balance, and I would not exist. I am a combination of you two that you created when you took the stances that you did. What does that make me, if not a son?"

"Still," said the Goddess. "I must agree with him. It is rather…unsettling."

"As I understand it, parenthood usually is, especially for those with particularly ornery children. Perhaps these are my rebellious teenage years."

"You're billions of years old."

Miracles shrugged. "Details…"

"Humph," said the Dark God. "No son of mine would show allegiance to such unremarkable creatures."

"They beat you."

"They had a moment of good fortune. It does not change the fact that they are hopelessly fallible."

Miracles gave a broad smile. "Yes father, men are fallible. Hell, it's probably their most defining trait. But fallibility only exists if they have a goal to fall short of. This is what you didn't realize, and this is where their power comes from. They may fall short, but only because they strive for something that is greater than any of them individually, yet includes them all. They don't want to take everything, but they don't want to give it all up either. They want to be successful, to be happy, but they want to bring everyone else along for the ride as well. So, mother and father, while you both draw your power from the actions of individuals, I draw mine from their collective conscious. And not from who I want them to be, but who they already are."

"Interesting." The Dark God said thoughtfully. "Flawed, but interesting."

"Flawed?"

"They are human. They will fail you. It is who they are."

Miracles shook his head. His father would never understand. It was who _he_ was. "Perhaps. We shall see. And now that this 'game' has ended, and father did not win, you two have to hold up your end of our agreement."

"Very well," said the Goddess. "We will still exist here and we will still draw power from their decisions, but as agreed upon, we will no longer directly interfere in their affairs."

"Thank-you."

"Then, I suppose we should move on to the next world," grumbled the God. "This one no longer holds my interest if it cannot be manipulated."

"Agreed. And in this world you will finally realize the truth."

The Dark God looked over at the Goddess of Light and smiled. "Don't count on it."

"We shall see."

Miracles smirked and shook his head as they disappeared into the ether, headed to their next destination. He knew he would once again have to try to stop them from utterly destroying whatever dimension they visited next, but before leaving he took a look down at the tiny spinning blue marble below. Though they did not know it, the people there had much greater challenges lying ahead of them. They would most certainly be tested again, pushed to their limits, but they would be alright. He knew they'd be ready to face anyone foolish enough to bring the fight to them. They were, after all, the first world to triumph in a direct conflict with his father. As long as they remained true to themselves, there was nothing they couldn't do. They were all- humans, digimon, and Digital Knights- truly remarkable.

"No," the god corrected his own thoughts, "Not simply remarkable. Miraculous."

And with that, he was gone.

…_to be concluded_

* * *

Next up: **Epilogue. **1 year later, what are our heroes up to and what new challenges await them?

And there it is, The End, save for the upcoming 1 year later epilogue. Wow, did it take a long time to get here or what? Over 500,000 words. Seven years. It's been fun guys, and thank you so much for reading and reviewing faithfully. I really appreciate it. The same way you all often say you look forward to new chapters being posted, I look for your great and uncommonly detailed reviews. Reading those really kept me going and even encouraged me in other completely unrelated projects. So again, Thank-you. It's been a great ride.


	34. Epilogue

This is crazy, I know. 2 years late for a short epilogue? There's totally a reason for it. I did finish this two years ago, but… See notes after the chapter.

* * *

**Epilogue**

**Odaiba, One Year Later**

It was crowded. God, was it crowded. People everywhere. Dignitaries, heads of state, presidents, monarchs, influential celebrities, and their protection staffs all squeezed into this one room. Granted, it was a massive ballroom, and normally would have been more than accommodating. But still this was a lot of people. A lot of important people. Damn near every person that played a crucial role in preserving the safety of the digital world. They were taking an incredibly stupid risk, gathering in one place like this.

"Honey, calm down. It's okay." Tai felt a hand on his shoulder and a tender kiss on his cheek. He turned to face Jun, and she gave him a smile made all the more radiant by a brilliant wedding gown that glowed with the scattered light of the many crystal chandeliers overhead. Sora's design hugged her form perfectly and the material felt like some exquisite combination of silk and velvet, which Tai couldn't help but absentmindedly rub as he placed a hand at the small of her back and leaned towards her.

"Just all these people in one place. It's dangerous. What if the Evolvers or CoDiT decided to hit this place?"

Jun laughed and shook her head. "Digital terrorists? Honestly honey, this is the last place in the world any of them would be."

Tai looked around the room, at the hundreds of digital knights, digimon, and cadets, most of them in same state of alert as he. "I guess you're right."

"See? I told you-" Jun paused, a contemplative scowl crossing her countenance. "Of course, it would be an excellent opportunity for them to strike elsewhere…"

Tai groaned. "She giveth and she taketh away."

"Oh, hush." Jun tapped him on the chest with a light chuckle. "We're supposed to be paying attention to Clara, anyway."

Tai nodded at her mention of the Protective Knight and turned his attention back to the ornate performance stage at the end of the hall where the girl in question was belting out a beautiful tribute to them, as usual her voice touching on every note in the song perfectly.

"Speaking of which," whispered Tai, "Why is she singing Moon River? What kind of wedding song is that?" His gaze narrowed. "What did you tell her?"

A small, mischievous grin crossed Jun's face before she chided him with finger to his lips. "Hush."

The groom shook his head and gave in with a shrug. If Jun was going to betray his secret to anyone, of course it would be to her best friend. And, he had to admit as Clara crooned and navigated the notes with expert skill, he'd never heard it performed better. When the song finished the room filled with applause, particularly raucous shouts and cheers coming from all the Knights in attendance

Terence, seated immediately to Tai's left, cupped a hand to his mouth and stood up. "Clara Sanchez everybody!" he shouted over the din. "Give it up! Remember, her debut album releases next month, so cop it on our website or at your local music stores! And if I hear about any of you downloading it off torrents-"

"Terence-" Curtis grumbled.

"No, seriously. I lost money on my last album from those damn sites. You know they can rip the audio from Youtube? It's ridiculous." He turned back to the others. "I'm serious people! If I catch any of you-"

Rosa interrupted him by slamming a fist on the table. "Terence, if you don't shut it right now, I'm going to come across this table and strangle you."

Terence looked down the bridesmaids side of the table, where Kuri, Sora and Kari were also seated, all of them glaring at him. Even the digimon seated between them looked angry.

"Come on guys," said Tai, barely restraining his laughter. "Leave my Best Man alone."

"Yeah, ya'll didn't even let me get to me and Matt's mash-up album that drops next month."

Matt, seated at the end of the table across form Sora, raised his hands defensively. "Hey leave me out of this."

"Well Terence," said Jun, with an sardonic smile as she looked at him over the top of her champagne glass. "I can't say that any of that was any less appropriate than the toast you gave. You do remember that there are children attending our wedding?"

"What? That was practical advice! You'll be thanking me on your honeymoon when-" Terrence stopped and stood, beaming proudly as Clara arrived back at the table. She blushed and accepted another round of applause from the group, a hug from Tai, and a kiss on the cheek from Jun before taking her seat.

"I'm glad you liked it." she said to Tai. "Jun said that song was one you used to s-" She paused when she noticed the bride making a neck-slicing gesture. "Nevermind."

Clara was barely able to return to her seat before a virtual army of tuxedoed men, all bearing musical instruments, swarmed around their table, on their way to the stage. Many of them gawked at the Knights seated at the table as they passed, their amazement at being in the presence of the "Eight Chosen Saviors" evident on their faces

"Would you look at all those people," said Rosa. "They can barely fit on the stage."

"Who are they?" Davis asked, frowning in disapproval at the spectacle

Tai gave a shrug. "I dunno, some country's philharmonic or something."

"Wow," said Matt, watching as the seemingly endless line of musicians filed onto the platform. "And I thought our wedding was insane."

"It was," said Tai, remembering the surprise mutant attack that had interrupted the couple's outdoor reception and the exhilarating battle that ensued. "But at least you were able to invite who you wanted. If we left some ambassador or dignitary off the list it could start an international incident."

"Ugh," Jun shook her head. "My fingers still hurt from all that hand shaking we did."

"That's what you get for being superheroes," said Marta. "Comes with the territory."

"Which is exactly why our wedding will be held at a secret time and location that no one knows," said Terrence. "You'll get you invites by armed courier." He gave a confident smile and winked across the table at Clara, who grinned back at him.

Tai leaned towards him. "This wouldn't happen to be the same private island you're letting me and Jun borrow for our honeymoon, would it?"

"Ok, so _you _know," Terence whispered. "Don't blab it."

"Honestly," said Kuri. "All this effort and ceremony. No offense, but I don't see the point. Davis and I practically share a brain. How much more together can you be?"

Tai didn't fall for the aspiring actress's façade for one second, not when her hands were always somehow in position to prominently show off her recently acquired engagement ring.

"Oh, please Kuri," he said. "Just stop. You can't fool us with that routine."

A brief smirk crossed her face, confirming his suspicions, before she said, "Tai, look at me." She gestured to her bridesmaid dress with a scowl. "This ceremony is the only time in my entire life where I'll be required to wear a bright orange outfit and not be in prison or on a roadwork crew. I look like a giant creamsicle."

"A _stylish _giant creamsicle." Terence gave a mocking thumbs-up, which earned him a glare from the Compassionate Knight. "What? It's not like _I _made the dresses."

Sora shrugged. "Don't blame me. I had a more…reserved style picked out, but Jun changed her mind."

Kuri turned her attention to the bride. "Jun, what the hell?"

Jun bit her lip and pretended not to hear.

"It was _too_ stylish." Said Sparks with a laugh. "Even Jun isn't above wanting her bridesmaids to look like dogs compared to her on her wedding day."

Now Rosa turned to look at the bride. "Jun?"

"Clara convinced me to do it."

Clara's eyes went wide and she put a hand to her chest. "You just put me out there like that?"

"Well, it's my wedding day…" Jun gave an exaggerated pout.

"Fine." Clara sighed, shook her head, and raised a hand. "It's all my fault then."

"Everyone shut up and clap," hissed Agumon. "The guys that we have no idea who they are just finished."

As one, the group looked up to the stage and gave broad smiles and applause. Terence, of course, took it overboard, whistling and banging the table. The band took this as encouragement and immediately began playing another selection.

"Oops." Terence shrugged. "Sorry."

Tai grinned. "Way to go. Some Best Man you are."

"That's not what you were saying the other night in Vegas when I threw you the most awesome bachelor party ever."

Clara cleared her throat and looked pointedly between the two. "Speaking of which-"

"Oh damn," Terence muttered. "Sorry again." Every male at the table suddenly looked down, finding the embroidered tablecloth intensely interesting.

"Yeah." said Kuri. "Exactly what went down there? I saw on the news they had to contain several fires and they're talking about enacting a 'no drinking and digivolving' law."

Kari nodded. "And there was that ridiculous picture of Imperialdramon posing on top of the MGM Grand."

"What?" exclaimed Gatomon. She glared over at Veemon. "I thought you said you guys didn't go to the party?"

Veemon cleared his throat with a nervous guffaw. "D-did I say that?"

"Pretty sure you did." Sparks offered with an amused smirk.

Marta glared at her boyfriend, as well. "So did you."

The Elecmon chafed under the withering stare. "Well, I -uh, chalk it up to a learning experience. Besides, Patamon was there too."

"What?" Exclaimed Peko. "You were?"

"You know," Patamon scratched his head. "I honestly don't remember."

"See?" Said Sparks to Marta. "One thing I learned was that Patamon are terrible at holding their liquor."

"Now I'm curious." Kari leaned forward and looked down the male side of the table suspiciously. "What exactly went down at this party?"

"We'll tell you," said Terence, "just as soon as you fill us in on the bachelorette party."

Now it was the girls turns to share anxious glances.

"Alright, time for a change of subject!" Said Sora, clapping her hands together, and prompting a curious look from Matt.

Tai smiled and gave in to the suggestion "So," He said, glancing between Curtis and Rosa. "Mr. and Mrs. Academy prefects, how are things going with your new position?"

"Ugh." Curtis put a hand to his forehead. "You had to bring that up."

"Not the reaction I was expecting."

"We have to do night patrols," explained Rosa. "It kinda sucks."

Jun chuckled. "So you guys are the new Sensei Enn, huh?"

Curtis gave a nod. "It was one thing when the Academy was just a three story mansion, but now that it's a 30 floor complex…" He shook his head. "Damn near impossible."

"Oh, cry me a river," said Kuri. "Only the first ten floors are the actual academy. You don't have to patrol dispatch or the med center."

"What?" The Meditative Knight scowled. "You think the little bastards don't sneak up there? They're devil-spawn, I tell you."

Terence snickered. "What goes around. Karma's a bitch ain't it?"

"Well I love it," said Rosa, beaming. "It's like a new challenge every night, finding whatever new make-out spot they're using, busting them trying to sneak down to the lake. And this is just summer training. Can you imagine how crazy it will be when the new semester starts?"

"Yeah," chimed in Kari, "I'm pretty excited. Especially since Gennai's giving my Early Start sessions a try and will bring in a couple 10 and under classes for me to tutor."

Curtis groaned and let his head drop to the table.

"Oh, don't sweat it," encouraged Davis. "Jiro, Kin, and Kentaro are entering this year, so that's three new informants for you. Plus, we'll all be back to help you out by then."

At that moment, Joe, Mimi and Izzy came by the table and greeted the newlyweds with warm hugs and congratulations.

"Oh Jun," cooed Mimi to the bride, bubbling with excitement as she took her hands. "You look beautiful."

"Thank-you." Jun blushed at the compliment, as she had continuously done all day. Tai still found it adorable.

"Also," Davis cut in, giving Mimi a bright grin. "Congrats to you on this great food!"

"Well thank-you Davis, and before you ask it, no, my ramen recipes are not for sale."

"Mimi, come on!" the Miraculous Knight pleaded, "I'm trying to get a franchise going here!"

"You have what, five carts so far?"

"So?"

"So, you giving me a part ownership stake?"

Davis sighed, grumbled something to himself, and looked away.

Mimi giggled. "You big grump. We'll negotiate it. I'll be catering for Digitamamon at academy events this next semester too, so I should see you plenty."

"I'll be there too." said Izzy, "now that I'm running Tech Ops with Willis."

Mimi reached out and took his hand at this and the two shared a smile. It was more than evident to anyone that cared to look that she was particularly proud of Izzy's renewed involvement in the cutting edge technology of the Digital World. It made him happy, and he'd finally realized that was all she ever wanted for him. The two had already set up their in-semester residence in the Realm; lavishly plush, of course, to suit Mimi's tastes.

"And I've decided to set up a permanent practice in the Med center instead of shuttling back and forth all the time," added Joe. "Serving both humans and digimon. So I'll be around." Joe said this in the offhanded and humble way in which he did everything, but Tai saw right past it, knowing that the Digidesined of Reliability was incredibly proud of participating just as much as anyone in the never-ending fight to protect the Digital and Real worlds, all without having to throw a single punch.

"Good to know." Said Terence. "Because those kids are gonna need you after I get done putting them through their paces."

"Yeah, right." said Clara. "You'll just be the combat assistant. Like a glorified TA. Ms. Lee would break you in half before she let you harm a student."

"A guy can dream."

Tai chuckled at his wistful tone and looked up just in time to see another group approaching the table. A broad grin crossed his face. "Well, look who it is."

He stood, along with Jun, and both shook hands and shared hugs with Ken, Yolei, Cody, and Noriko. "So glad to see that Odaiba's finest detective could make it today."

Ken grinned. "Wouldn't miss it for the world. By the way, I'm just Odaiba's finest sergeant. Still have to complete my exams."

"What?" said Davis. "Helping to save the world didn't put you on the fast track?"

"Would've," answered Yolei. "But he insisted on doing it 'the right way.'" She said the words as if annoyed, but a constant grin betrayed her true pride.

Jun turned to Cody. "And I hear you're going to law school soon?"

He nodded and Davis gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Cool, so now we'll have someone to make sure the guys we catch get put behind bars."

"Actually, I'm planning on becoming a defense attorney," said Cody. "I'd like to do my best to make sure what happened to Sato Kobe isn't repeated."

"Well, that's a very honorable thing to do," said Tai. "Of course," he looked between Cody and Noriko, "you'll also have to deal with this rash of vigilantism going around lately."

"Yeah," added Kuri, "for instance, word on the street is there's this armor plated mutant and gun wielding ninja chick going around town, bashing criminals' heads at night."

"Really?" Noriko gave her a perfectly innocent stare. "Imagine that. Weird."

Cody gave a shrug. "You never know with these kids today."

"Uh-huh." Kuri crossed her arms and chuckled. "Well, I guess you could look into it, being an armor plated mutant yourself. It's interesting that particular detail about you was left out of T.K.'s _Chronicles II_."

As TK fidgeted uncomfortably, Kari had to laugh, and added, "I've also noticed that these vigilantes always seem to catch criminals from cases that Ken's precinct happens to be working."

"Alright guys," Ken raised his hands, smiling. "Let's leave the rumors out of-" He paused and pulled a vibrating cell phone out of his jacket pocket. "Hang on." Ken scrutinized the screen for a moment and his expression dropped.

"What's up?" asked Tai.

"Nothing we can't handle, but it looks like I may have to go."

Tai held out a hand. "Let me see."

"No, it's okay. We-"

"Ken."

"Fine." Ken handed over the phone with a pensive frown and Tai read the message on the screen. A smile gradually crossed his face and he looked at the other Knights around the table. This was perfect.

Jun leaned towards him. "What is it?"

He held up the phone for her to see and her expression brightened, as well.

"You up for it?" he asked.

"You know it."

Tai handed the phone back to Ken and gave him a nod. "We got this one."

"But guys," he protested with a huff, "this is your wedding day."

"And you just gave us the perfect wedding gift. Thanks."

The aspiring detective was about to argue further, but paused, looked at the couple, and shook his head, realizing then that they really _did_ consider this the perfect wedding gift.

"Alright," He gave in. "Have fun, I guess."

"Planning on it."

"And please don't leave me with a ton of paperwork."

"We make no such promise," said Jun, grinning when Ken shook his head and sighed.

The bride then turned back to the rest of the table. "Well, guys, I just want to thank you all so much for being here for us and with us today, but by the anxious looks I'm getting from our wedding planner across the room, I do think that it's time for the bride and groom to make their grand departure."

"Sure," said Matt, raising a brow suggestively. "Can't wait to get to the honeymoon, eh? I've been there."

"Yeah…" said Sora wistfully, a flirtatious smile playing across her face as she looked at her husband. She shook her head to break the reverie, then gave the groom a pointed stare. "Tai, you be careful with that dress. It's ridiculously expensive and a one of a kind Takenouchi original design. Don't go ripping it off at the first-"

"Ugh," interrupted Agumon, dropping a piece of chicken back onto the plate before him. "Do you mind? Some of us were trying to eat."

"Thank-you," added Pings.

Jun laughed. She looked over at the one-time holder of Tai's affections, now one of her best friends, and gave her a wink. "Don't worry Sora, we'll be careful."

"Alright then," said Terence. "You two get out of here."

The couple rose from their seats and quickly went about greeting anyone they'd missed, making one last lap around the cavernous room, exchanging pleasantries with hundreds of their fellow Knights, along with countless dignitaries they'd never seen before, before finally being escorted out to their waiting limo amid a cacophony of loud cheers and raining rice. As the two piled in, Tai furtively pulled out his digivice and sent out a mass message.

"Well," sad Tai, looking out of the back window of the luxurious car as they pulled away. He ran a hand through his hair and let out a deep breath. "That was fun."

Jun leaned in towards him, a sensual look in her eyes, and wrapped her arms around his neck. "It certainly was," She pulled him to her, closing her eyes with an anticipatory sigh, but stopped with their lips just an inch apart. "Husband."

The sound of her calling him that exhilarated Tai in a way nothing ever had and he pushed forward to complete the kiss, partly motivated just to erase the goofy grin he knew was plastered across his face. Jun responded with more fervor, curling a leg around his waist and forcing him down to the seat on top of her

"Jun," Tai gasped between kisses. "We have to-" She pulled him to her again and he abandoned all pretense of expressing a rational thought, emitting only a droning "Mmmmm..."

After another minute had passed, Jun broke off and pushed them apart, giggling as she used a thumb to remove her lipstick from his face. Tai groaned at the loss.

"Your plan, silly." She said, sitting up.

"Damn the plan." He pushed towards her again and she held up a hand to stall him before pointing out of the window.

"Looks like we're here."

Tai turned and silently cursed when he saw that she was right. Out of the window was the familiar facade of Highton View Terrace staring back at him. Jun began easing out of her wedding dress and Tai called out to the driver, "Hey, this is our stop!"

The older gentleman lowered the limo's partition and looked back at the couple through the rear-view mirror. "I'm sorry sir? I thought we were heading to your home, then the airport?"

"Yeah, change of plans, actually." Tai removed his tux jacket. "We have something to take care of first. Just wait here for us. I promise we won't be long." The driver sighed, grumbling something about "kids today" and raised the partition again. Tai helped Jun carefully slip out of her dress, making sure not to rip any of the frilled edges or crease the satin fabric like Sora had warned, and the two then stepped out of the car, Jun wearing only a knee-length gown.

"I can't believe I'm standing in the middle of town in this," she muttered, giving him an accusatory glance.

"Well, let's do something about it then." Tai produced his digivice from his pocket and Jun followed his lead. With twin flashes, both were quickly cloaked in their Knights uniforms and shields.

"So," said Jun, "When are the others-"

A concussive boom and blast of wind interrupted her words, forcing the newlyweds to duck down and shield themselves. Tai looked up and found the source of the disturbance, an amused Kuri and Peko in her Prariemon form.

"So," said Kuri, wearing a smirk that gave away her enjoyment at surprising them. "What was so big that you guys couldn't even make it out of town before calling us?"

Tai ignored the question, instead giving the Compassionate Knight a nonplussed stare. "You got here fast. You changed that quick?"

Now it was Kuri's turn to give a look of confusion. "Changed?"

"Oh no." Jun put a hand to her chest. "Kuri, you didn't!"

"What? Oh, the dress? Jun, I told you guys I hated that thing."

"Sora's going to kill you." Tai said with a shake of his head

A shadow fell over the group and they all looked up to see a fully uniformed Davis descending towards them alongside ExVeemon, who held Sparks and Agumon in his arms.

"Hey slowpokes," greeted Peko.

As they landed, Davis looked over at his fiancée with the hints of a smile. "Sora's going to kill you, you know."

"That seems to be the consensus," she shrugged. "Still totally worth it."

"Alright, remember you said that." Davis turned his attention to the married couple as Exveemon released their partners. "And just what is this about? I've got a patrol in Moscow in like half an hour, and don't you two have a flight to catch?"

Tai raised a finger. "Tell you in a sec. Here come the others."

The sound of tires squealing against pavement brought the group's attention to a black sports-car careening through a nearby intersection. The car sped towards them, ran up on the curb, and stopped just a few feet short of an amused Kuri.

She shook her head. "Typical."

The doors of the vehicle opened, rotating up instead of outwards and an ecstatic Rosa spilled out of the driver's side. "Butterfly doors!" She beamed as the car's other uniformed occupants exited warily. Gotsumon fell to his knees and looked ready to hurl.

"Spared no expense, huh?" Tai said to Terence, who was patting himself down to ensure he was still in one piece.

"He has no one to blame but himself for this," said Clara, shooting an irritated glare in the Inspirational Knight's direction. "First he bought her the damned thing, then he taught her how to drive it like a maniac."

"I think she drives okay," said Curtis, shortly before stumbling into the side of the car and leaning against it to regain his equilibrium.

"My brother, the diplomat..." Terence looked over to Tai. "So, what is this all about, anyway?"

"Figured since we're all in the same place for the first time in quite a while, we might as well have a little non-wedding related fun." He pulled out his phone. "Check out this intel we got from Ken."

Tai tossed the device to Terence, who scrutinized the screen for a moment, then released a sigh. "You two don't even understand the meaning of the word "honeymoon" do you?"

Tai grinned and Jun gave a shrug.

"Let me see," said Curtis as he took the phone from his brother. Rosa and Clara peered over his shoulder.

"Hmm, weapons trafficking," muttered the younger Dumars, "and organized too." He passed the phone to Davis and Kuri.

"Damn mutants are really expanding their horizons, aren't they?" remarked the latter.

"We've been seeing a lot of this lately, haven't we?" asked Clara. "They're moving a lot of weapons, but not actually using them?"

Tai nodded. "Looks like."

"For what?" Curtis scratched his temple as he pondered. "And where are they getting the money? Last I knew, they were surrendering in droves just to get three hots and a cot in prison, now they're doing this? They haven't been this organized since Hitachi was around. Are they preparing for something? Who's leading them?"

Kuri shrugged. "I think those are the questions we're hoping to get answered here."

"And this is all going down at the docks, right here in town, right now?" Asked Davis, looking over the info on the phone one last time before handing it back to Tai. A grin gradually overtook him. "Interesting. Stupid, but interesting."

"Sure is," replied his sister. "Apparently, they thought they could catch us napping during the wedding and would pull this off right under our noses."

"It'll be just like old times," said Rosa, pounding her fist into an open palm. "You see the list of names? We even got a few blacklisted mercs on this thing that we had run-ins with last year, not to mention all those mutants. Ken's informant was awesome, because we are about to go bash some heads."

"Alright, alright," Tai raised a hand to calm her, himself struggling to keep from giving in to her infectious enthusiasm. "We're not going in without a plan."

"We already have one," said Sparks, "or did you not hear the whole head-bashing proposal?"

"Dude's got a point," said Kuri, "Guy like Hitachi needed a plan. These guys? Head bashing."

"Okay, okay." Tai rolled his eyes. "How about this? Me, Jun, Curtis, and Rosa take the front. Davis, Kuri, Terrence, and Clara take the back."

"Wait, what?" protested Taps, looking absolutely scandalized. "We digimon are just supposed to sit this one out? That's some bull."

Tai closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. True, it had been a while since the sixteen of them had all worked together, but this was ridiculous. Their independence earned by routinely policing completely separate hemispheres of the planet while the Digital Knights built their ranks had caused his leadership to become the burden it was always cracked up to be. He took a breath. "No, you'll be with your _partners_. I thought that was implied."

"Could have at least told us directly," said Marta. "Don't see why we gotta be the only ones whose roles are 'implied.' That's messed up."

"I-" Tai turned and gave an exasperated look to Jun, as if to ask, _Was_ _it always this hard?_

And she just smiled back at him, in her spectacularly encouraging way, wordlessly telling him, _Of course it was. That's why you have to do it._

Tai nodded to the others apologetically. "Okay, sorry to leave out you digimon. My bad. You'll all be with your partners on this one, okay? Now, are we ready to do this?"

"Hell yeah!" Agumon yelled, throwing a clawed fist into the air.

Peko whooped and kicked up a gust of wind as she ran a few supersonic circles around the group. The rest exchanged shouts of encouragement and fist bumps as Davis evolved ExVeemon to his Imperialdramon Paladin mode and his group piled aboard. Jun and Tai evolved their partners to their respective forms of SaberLeomon and Greymon. Curtis and Rosa then leapt upon the back of the former while Gotsumon and Taps climbed onto the latter's shoulders. With everyone situated and ready to go, Tai surprised Jun by walking up behind her and neatly scooping her into his arms. She gasped at first, then laughed as they quickly lifted off of the ground.

"This will never get old," she said, eyes sparkling with mirth as she looked up at her grinning husband.

"Hey!" Terrence shouted to them from Imperialdramon's back, "Ya'll do know that's not how the whole 'carrying over the threshold' thing works, right?"

"Works fine for me!" Jun shouted back. She pulled in tighter against Tai's chest to buffer against the winds whipping around them as they ascended and watched as a magnificent menagerie of orange streaking across the cityscape, broken here and there by the elongated shadows of its many buildings, gradually came into view. The setting sun was slowly sinking into the horizon, still providing enough light for the two to watch their friends and partners heading off in the direction of the Odaiba waterfront.

"Um, Tai," Jun turned to look up at him quizzically. "Shouldn't we be going with them?"

"In a minute." He leaned down and effortlessly captured her lips with his, meeting not the slightest bit of protest as she instinctively wrapped her arms around him and met his passion with her own, their dancing tongues and caressing bodies further driven and exhilarated by the prospect that they were hundreds of feet in the air. Tai ran a hand through her hair, firmly holding her against him as he lost himself in her, and vice-versa, neither of them fully cognizant of the fact that anyone with a half-decent pair of binoculars could see everything they were doing. Still, the both of them could not forget what they were there for and what they had evolved to do, so the kiss eventually broke with mutual agreement, though not without matching looks of longing in the couple's eyes.

"This is the most perfect day ever." Tai said, planting another gentle kiss on her forehead. "I got to marry the most beautiful, incredible, woman in the world, and we're about to go off fighting the forces of evil with our best friends, just like old times. I can't imagine anything better."

"I can, but I don't think we can exactly do that in mid-air," A pensive look crossed Jun's face. "Though I have no idea why we haven't tried yet."

Tai smiled. She had a point.

"We'll have to file that one for later though," she said. "Right now, we need to catch up with the others, Tai." She made a show of cracking her knuckles. "We wait any longer and there might not be much left for us."

"Yes ma'am." Tai grinned and held her tighter as her rolled them into a dive to gain speed. The buildings below them gradually became larger, then turned into blurs as his trajectory flattened out. Before them he could see where the skyline abruptly ended and the waters of the sea began, and somewhere in there was the warehouse that was their target. Tai put on a burst of speed, shooting forward like a bullet.

He felt the woman he loved in his arms as she clutched him, holding on and trusting him with all of her heart and soul. And even then, he still felt that he trusted her with so much more. She was his future, his motivation, his purpose. She was that one that allowed him to love this expanse of infrastructure and urban sprawl below him in ways he never thought he would again. She was the reason that it, and the rest of the world, hadn't been swallowed into another dimension over a year ago. Tai watched the buildings and the people of the city, his city, his home, speed by, all knowing they would be safe as long as he and the Digital Knights were around to defend them. And they were right. His smile never wavered as they streaked through the air and he allowed one last thought enter his mind before his focus would turn to the fight to come.

Odaiba never looked so beautiful.

**THE END**

* * *

So that's it. The Final Chapter, with a corny little mirror device between the first and last sentences of this story that I just couldn't resist using. Thanks to everyone that read this entire epic beast of a story throughout its twists and turns. It was fun getting lost in this world of Mercenaries, Mutants, corrupt officials, digimon and Knights for months, even years at a time. Wouldn't mind doing it again.

So, the explanation:

First of all, shout out to Anthony1 for making me aware of this. Okay, so here's what happened. I finished the last Tennozan chapter and this shortly after, added them both to my copy of the story on my computer, got started on some other projects (lots of editing, new job, and a comic I'm working on), and whenever I got the urge to read any of this fic or to show it to someone, I looked at the copy saved on my laptop.

I HAD NO FREAKIN IDEA I HAD NEVER POSTED THIS ONLINE. Holy crap, two whole years. All I can do is laugh and apologize for trolling you guys so hard with my epic brainfart. When I got the message in my email from Anthony1 asking when there would ever be an epilogue posted I was like, "What is he talking about? I put that up forever ago." Then I pulled up the story on here, saw the final chapter, and just said, "Well… f-ck." Went and tracked this down on my old laptop, and came straight here to post it

So, anyway, this was just a wrap up type thing that I'm sure is a bit of a letdown now with such a long wait behind it rather than just the couple days it was meant to take. I did leave more of an obvious hint of a sequel in here that I had pretty much planned out (there are hints throughout the story actually, but they're super hidden and would only be recognized in hindsight), but now I'm not sure I could find the time to write it. Haven't given up on it yet, just got a lot on my plate right now. Let me know in reviews and messages if that's something you'd like to see/read (also, you have free license to call me a brain-dead moron for forgetting to post this in your reviews).

(Post Final Edit AN (2012) Would still love to write that sequel, but it could definitely be a while, especially if my comic takes off like I hope. In addition to being a decent writer, I'm a pretty good artist, so I'm finally attempting to combine both talents into one project. Working myself ragged at it too. Once again, thanks for Reading and Reviewing all these years. Trust me, I would have abandoned this thing back in 2005 if it weren't for the reviews encouraging me to continue. Very much appreciated.)


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